Idiocracy (2006)

Director:

Mike Judge

Writers (WGA):

Mike Judge (story)
Mike Judge (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 January 2007 (Germany)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Future Is A No Brainer

Plot:

Private Joe Bauers, the definition of "average American", is selected by the Pentagon to be the guinea pig for a top-secret hibernation program. Forgotten, he awakes 500 years in the future. He discovers a society so incredibly dumbed-down that he's easily the most intelligent person alive.

Plot Keywords:

Hibernation | Experiment | Future | Arrest | Army

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Jan. 4

3:00 AM

COMEDY

Cast

Luke Wilson	...	Joe Bauers
Maya Rudolph	...	Rita
Dax Shepard	...	Frito
Terry Crews	...	President Camacho (as Terry Alan Crews)
Anthony 'Citric' Campos	...	Secretary of Defense
David Herman	...	Secretary of State
Sonny Castillo	...	Prosecutor
Kevin McAfee	...	Bailiff (as Kevin S. McAfee)
Robert Musgrave	...	Sgt. Keller
Michael McCafferty	...	Officer Collins (as Mike McCafferty)
Christopher Ryan	...	Hospital Technician
Justin Long	...	Doctor
Heath Jones	...	Cop #1
Eli Muñoz	...	Horny Guy
Patrick Fischler	...	Yuppie Husband
Darlene Hunt	...	Yuppie Wife
Ryan Ransdell	...	Trashy Guy
Melissa Sweet	...	Slutty Girl
Valerie Posas	...	New Slutty Girl
Wes Davis	...	Trashy Teen Jock
Andrew Wilson	...	Beef Supreme
Mark Turner	...	Officer
Kevin Klee	...	Ow! My Balls! Guy
John Dodson	...	Additional Officer
Melissa Espinales	...	Counter Woman
Joseph Cheatham	...	Doctor in Waiting Room
Jason Schaefer	...	Prison Guard #1 / Costco Greeter
Richard Reeder	...	Prison Guard #2
Lawrence Castillo	...	Prison Guard #3
Turk Pipkin	...	Guy at Costco
Heather Kafka	...	Woman at Carl's Jr.
Christopher M. Campos	...	Congressman #1
Roman Ramos	...	Congressman #2
Randal Reeder	...	Secret Service Thug
Scarface	...	Upgrayedd (as Brad 'Scarface' Jordan)
Brendan Hill	...	Secretary of Energy
Thomas Haden Church	...	Brawndo CEO
Melissa Dawn	...	Female Newscaster
Derek Southers	...	Male Newscaster
Lidia Porto	...	Female Reporter
Greg Kelly	...	Stadium Guard
Greg Pitts	...	Cameraman
Jason Konopisos	...	Cop at Government Center
Mitch Baker	...	Doctor - with Trashy Guy
Daniel Smith	...	Control Room Director
Chris Warner	...	Cop at Costco
Lonnie Nelson	...	Trapped Man
Danny Cochran	...	Secretary of Education
Marcos Martinez Rios	...	Secret Service Thug #2
Earl Mann	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Heath Allyn	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Erik Anderson	...	Angry Court Member (uncredited)
Laetitia Bertrand	...	Hospital Patient (uncredited)
Jason Bohn	...	Hospital Patient (uncredited)
Kevin Cacy	...	Assistant District Attorney (uncredited)
Manuel Cantu	...	Courtroom Idiot (uncredited)
Ricky Cavazos	...	Amusement Park Patron / Prisoner (uncredited)
Josh Christman	...	Little Boy (uncredited)
Ryan Christopher	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Peter Cornwell	...	Car Driver, Town Person (uncredited)
Jack Cruz	...	Hospital Patient (uncredited)
Glori Renee Euwer	...	Museum Visitor (uncredited)
Joanna Gallagher	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Ruben Gonzales	...	President Camacho's Entourage (uncredited)
Beth Gosnell	...	Woman watching car explode (uncredited)
Sammy Harte	...	Jury Idiot (uncredited)
J. Anthony Hernandez	...	Prisoner (uncredited)
Tom Kenny	...	IPPA Computer / Time Masheen Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Kristoffer Kjornes	...	Guitar Army (uncredited)
Max Kruemcke	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Adam Langley	...	Tennessee Senator (uncredited)
Regan Licciardello	...	Child in Mud (uncredited)
T.J. McFarland	...	Old Man (uncredited)
William McMinn	...	Kindergarden student / Birthday Boy (uncredited)
Javier Merida	...	Costco Shopper (uncredited)
Evan Miller	...	Charles Chaplin (uncredited)
James Moreno	...	Front Row Juror (uncredited)
Dan Murphy	...	Congressman (uncredited)
Rajiv Patel	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Ray L. Perez	...	Futuristic Cop (uncredited)
Leila Plummer	...	Third Pregnant Girl (uncredited)
Steve Powers	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Andrew Rice	...	Shopper (uncredited)
Brenna Rivas	...	President Camacho's Groupie (uncredited)
Stephen Root	...	Judge Hank "The Hangman" BMW (uncredited)
Sara Rue	...	Attorney General (uncredited)
Ava Santana	...	President Camacho's Groupie (uncredited)
Craig Saper	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Kati Sharp	...	Townsperson (uncredited)
Justin Smith	...	Rodie (uncredited)
Michael Sorrels	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Dan'l Terry	...	Stumbling Drunkard (uncredited)
Jennifer Roxanne Vasquez	...	Camacho's Groupie (uncredited)
Santiago Villalobos	...	Camacho's Entourage (uncredited)
Angela Ware	...	Hot chick with trashy dad (uncredited)
Curtis Wayne	...	Amusement Park Patron (uncredited)
Herman Whitney III	...	Kindergarten boy (uncredited)
Lynnanne Zager	...	Carl's Jr. Computer (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Mike Judge

Writing credits (WGA)
Mike Judge		(story)
Mike Judge		(screenplay) &
Etan Cohen		(screenplay)

Produced by
Mike Judge	....	producer
Elysa Koplovitz	....	producer
Michael Nelson	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Theodore Shapiro

Cinematography by
Tim Suhrstedt

Film Editing by
David Rennie

Casting by
Mary Vernieu

Production Design by
Darren Gilford

Art Direction by
William Ladd Skinner

Set Decoration by
Ronald R. Reiss

Costume Design by
Debra McGuire

Makeup Department
Troy Breeding	....	key makeup artist
Jacenda Burkett	....	makeup artist
Chelsea Carpenter	....	hair stylist (as Chelsey Carpenter)
Becki Drake	....	makeup artist
Melissa Forney	....	hair department head
Charmaine Richards	....	hair stylist
Melizah Schmidt	....	additional hair stylist
Janet Tallent-Dickson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jeffrey Harlacker	....	post-production supervisor
David McKimmie	....	post-production supervisor
Michael Nelson	....	unit production manager
Christine White	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chris Castaldi	....	second second assistant director
Christina Fong	....	second assistant director
Rip Murray	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Jeff B. Adams Jr.	....	set designer
Steve Allen	....	carpenter
Dawn M. Baker	....	scenic artist
Jim Bandsuh	....	conceptual illustrator
Curt Beech	....	art department coordinator: Los Angeles
Amy Bell	....	assistant property master
Sean Bernard	....	paint gang boss
Wendy Bonn	....	scenic artist
Lance Cheatham	....	set dresser
Dennis Collins	....	painter
April Crump	....	set dresser
Patricia Dillon	....	draper
Nanci Elfrez	....	scenic artist
Ia Enstera-layadi	....	set dresser
James Fowler	....	scenic artist
John Frick	....	assistant art director
William F. Gambill	....	stand-by painter
Ken Gaston-Kilgore	....	carpenter
Shellie Gillespie	....	art department coordinator
Dwayne Grady	....	property master
Mark Hanks	....	set dresser
Jourdan Henderson	....	art department coordinator
Randy Huke	....	buyer
Ellen Lampl	....	graphic designer
David Menefee	....	propmaker
Mark Moore	....	storyboard artist
Randy E. Moore	....	specialty prop fabricator
Forest Myers	....	gang boss propmaker
Jorge Paris	....	set decoration assistant
Shane Patrick	....	leadman
Paul Pleasant	....	art department production assistant
Jeff Poss	....	sculptor
Jeremy Reeves	....	set dresser
Virle S. Reid	....	set dresser
Ricky Riggs	....	scenic charge
Turner Ross	....	guest illustrator
Mary Saisselin	....	set designer
Dean Satkowski	....	picture car visual consultant
Jeffrey Schlatter	....	propmaker foreman
Charles Seale	....	carpenter
Randy Severs	....	construction foreman
Richard Skinner	....	model maker
Corissa Smith	....	scenic artist
Michael Smothers	....	laborer
Suzanne Stover	....	set decoration assistant
Robert A. Sturtevant	....	general foreman
Kara Sutherlin	....	scenic artist
Scott D. Warner	....	propmaker
Michael Wilks	....	on-set dresser
Robert R. Wonson	....	set dresser
Jeri Woodward	....	scenic
Randal Woodward	....	paint foreman
Koen Wooten	....	props
Cher Young	....	painter
Wesley Archer	....	illustrations (uncredited)
Glenn Dunn	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Juliet Guimont	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Michael J. Benavente	....	supervising sound editor
Sarah Bourgeois	....	assistant sound editor
Bryan Carrigan	....	digital recordist
Chris David	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Matt Dubin	....	mixing recordist
Susan Dudeck	....	adr editor
Susan Dudeck	....	dialogue editor
Brian Dunlop	....	adr recordist
Gary Gegan	....	sound re-recording mixer
Shawn Harper	....	cable person
Matthew Iadarola	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Jason W. Jennings	....	sound effects editor
Shawn Kennelly	....	foley mixer
Tricia Linklater	....	first assistant sound editor
Martin Lopez	....	sound designer
Laura Macias	....	foley artist
Mack Melson	....	sound mixer
Marvin Melson	....	boom operator
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
Howard Neiman	....	foley supervisor
Vince Nicastro	....	foley artist
Greg ten Bosch	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Greg Kilmer	....	special effects technician
Jack Lynch	....	special effects technician (as John J. Lynch)
Anthony Montenegro	....	special effects foreman
Joe Montenegro	....	special effects coordinator
Bob Trevino	....	pyrotechnician
Bob Trevino	....	special effects technician (as Robert Trevino)
Jeffery D. Woodrel	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Sean Afshar	....	visual effects coordinator
Toader Alex	....	digital artist: Troublemaker Studios
Kenneth Bailey	....	visual effects: Stargate Digital
Ryan Beadle	....	digital I/O
John Berri	....	visual effects editor
Rodney Brunet	....	digital effects artist: Troublemaker Studios
John Bunt	....	digital compositor
Patrick Clancey	....	digital opticals
Sarah Coatts	....	visual effects producer: yU+co.
Michael Cook	....	digital artist
Robert Cribbett	....	compositing supervisor: yU+Co
Trent Dempsey	....	visual effects production coordinator
Victor DiMichina	....	digital imaging supervisor
Scott Dougherty	....	visual effects executive producer: Furious FX
Michael Eaves	....	supervising digital colorist
J. David Everhart	....	production assistant
Saeed Faridzadeh	....	digital compositor
Darren Frankel	....	VP, post production: Stargate Digital
Spence Fuller	....	digital effects artist
Eric Grenaudier	....	visual effects
Todd Groves	....	digital artist
James David Hattin	....	digital compositor: Pixel Magic
Dark Hoffman	....	matte painter
Shaina Holmes	....	digital compositor
Sid Jayakar	....	digital compositor
Kent Johnson	....	visual effects supervisor
Kristin Johnson	....	matte painter
Tim Kadowaki	....	visual effects
Bonnie Kanner	....	visual effects executive producer: Pixel Magic
Christopher Keithley	....	matte painter
Nicholas Kim	....	digital compositor
Richard Kratt	....	digital compositor
Frank Lawas	....	visual effects I/O supervisor
David Lingenfelser	....	executive visual effects supervisor: Furious FX
Steven Lloyd	....	digital artist
Adalberto Al Lopez	....	3D supervisor
Diane Macke	....	project manager: efilm
George Macri	....	visual effects producer: Pixel Magic
Jerry P. Magana	....	visual effects coordinator
Christopher D. Martin	....	production assistant
John R. McConnell	....	2D compositor: Pixel Magic
Ray McIntyre Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor: Pixel Magic
Brad Moylan	....	digital compositor: Pixel Magic
Patrick Paul Mullane	....	matte painter
Anthony Ocampo	....	CG artist
Chris Olivia	....	digital artist: Troublemaker Studios
Susan Pickett	....	visual effects producer
Eric Reinhard	....	digital compositor
Rob Reinhart	....	digital compositor (as Robert Reinhart)
Matt Rosenfeld	....	digital artist
Victor Scalise	....	visual effects editor
Chad Schott	....	digital compositor
Christian Severin	....	digital effects artist
Mark Shoaf	....	CG supervisor: Furious FX
Danita Slaughter	....	digital opticals editor
Justin Smith	....	visual effects
Mark Spatny	....	visual effects producer: Stargate Digital
Raqi Syed	....	lighter: stargate digital
Renaud Talon	....	visual effects artist
Rich Thorne	....	visual effects supervisor
Devin Uzan	....	digital compositor
Jeff Varga	....	digital artist
Juan Carlos Vargas	....	digital effects artist (as Juan Vargas)
John Vassallo	....	visual effects
Doug Witsken	....	digital compositor
Fabio Zapata	....	digital effects
Judy Elkins	....	visual effects coordinator (uncredited)

Stunts
David Alvarado	....	stunts
Mark Chavarria	....	stunt coordinator (as Mark Anthony Chavarria)
Mark Chavarria	....	stunt performer (as Mark Anthony Chavarria)
Geovanny Corvera	....	stunts
Jack Cruz	....	stunt driver
Jonathan Eusebio	....	stunts
Gilbert Gomez	....	stunt performer
Josh Haggerty	....	stunt double
Josh Haggerty	....	stunts
Timothy Judd	....	stunt performer
Kimo Keoke	....	stunt performer
Jeremy Lopez	....	stunt performer
Lin Oeding	....	stunts
Eddie Perez	....	stunt coordinator
Víctor Quintero	....	stunt performer
Lou Slaughter	....	stunt double
Steve Upton	....	stunts
Bryon Weiss	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Troy Anderson	....	electrician
Roger Basquette	....	digital video assist operator
Stephen Beasley	....	best boy electric
Patrick B. Coate	....	daily film loader
Jeremy Cohen	....	camera intern
Theda Cunningham	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Jerry Eschberger	....	grip
John Eschberger	....	electrician
Mark Figueroa	....	first assistant camera
Adam Flores	....	rigging grip
Paul Goodstein	....	key grip
Jeffrey Greeley	....	camera operator
Robert Hicks	....	key rigging grip
John L. Lewis	....	rigging grip
Greg Lomas	....	dolly grip: "b" camera
Luis Lopez DeVictoria	....	rigging electrician
Paul McIlvaine	....	gaffer
Edward A. Navarro	....	rigging electrician
Heather Page	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Eric Pickett	....	additional grip
Van Redin	....	still photographer
Robert Rendon	....	first assistant camera: 24p HDTV unit
Phillip Renke	....	rigging grip
Donis Rhoden	....	best boy grip
Wally Rowell	....	rigging electrician
Tom Shinn	....	electrician
Peter Simonite	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Greg Travis	....	set electrician
Leif E. Ulvog	....	grip
Steve Urban	....	grip
Peter Vazquez	....	director of photography: effects unit
Atom Vyvial	....	grip
'Josh Christopher' Walter	....	effects electrician
Jesse Wolter	....	rigging grip
Thomas Young	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Glenn Dunn	....	rigging grip (uncredited)

Animation Department
Hiroshi Endo	....	designer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Steve Alterman	....	voice casting
Venus Kanani	....	casting assistant
Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson	....	voice casting (as Caitlin McKenna)
Shalimar Reodica	....	casting associate
Beth Sepko	....	casting: Austin
Sheila Steele	....	casting assistant: Austin
Tracy Shields	....	casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ashlyn Angel	....	costume assistant
Stephany Baskin	....	set costumer
Steve Constancio	....	set costumer
Nyima Johnston	....	costumer
Joseph T. Mastrolia	....	costume supervisor
Katrina Mastrolia	....	costume supervisor
Leeann Radeka	....	costumer
Stephanie A. Steel	....	set costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Marisa Clayton	....	post-production Coordinator: Modern VideoFilm
Michael Eaves	....	supervising digital film colorist (as Mike Eaves)
Charles Harrison	....	post-production assistant
Chris Jensen	....	assistant digital film colorist
Eric A. Lewy	....	additional editor (as Eric 'Right Arm' Lewy)
Ken O'Keefe	....	assistant editor
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Amy Pawlowski	....	digital intermediate editor
Lorene Simpson	....	digital intermediate producer
Patrick Thornhill	....	assistant editor
JoAnne Yarrow	....	editorial production assistant

Music Department
Pete Anthony	....	conductor
Pete Anthony	....	orchestrator
Bruce Babcock	....	orchestrator
Bruno Coon	....	music editor
Jordan Corngold	....	music editor
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
Christopher Elly	....	score assistant engineer
Chris Fogel	....	music scoring mixer
James Fogel	....	assistant score engineer
J.J. George	....	music editor
Jon Kull	....	orchestrator
Tim Lauber	....	score recordist
Jason Lloyd	....	scoring stage manager
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Tom Steel	....	scoring stage manager
Bill Talbott	....	scoring technician

Transportation Department
Monica Allen	....	transportation dispatcher
Charles Coulter	....	driver: honeywagon
Sam Craytor	....	driver: set dressing
Rick Damazio	....	driver
Janice Knox	....	transportation coordinator
Bill Lanier	....	driver: Mr Judge
Mari Phillips	....	picture cars
Phil Schriber	....	transportation coordinator
Marti Wells	....	picture car coordinator
Steven Willhoite	....	driver: production van

Other crew
Natalie Angel	....	production coordinator
John Arszyla	....	medic
Toni Atterbury	....	publicist
Michael Barnes	....	financial legal services
Fred Baron	....	production executive
Jody Beaudin	....	first assistant accountant
Debbie Bilski	....	craft service
Randy Bilski	....	set medic
Loreto Caro-Valdes	....	set intern
Travis Carr	....	accounting intern
Doug Carter	....	production assistant
Alicia Cho	....	set intern
Linda Lee Clark	....	craft service
Bobbi Colorado	....	animal trainer
Logan Cooper	....	location scout
Ginna Faulkner	....	assistant: Ms Rudolph
Zach Freeman	....	stand-in: David Herman
Don Gillespie	....	assistant accountant
Kayse Goodell	....	key set production assistant
Gina Grande	....	script supervisor
Chris M. Jackson	....	production secretary
Jessica Jarrett	....	assistant: Mr. Judge
Miguel Jimenez	....	stand-in
Valerie Johnson	....	set production assistant
Vicki V. Johnson	....	medic
Jay Kennedy	....	assistant: Ms Koplovitz
Nell Kennedy	....	assistant: Mr. Nelson
Kelly Kernan	....	location manager
Deborah Liebling	....	production executive
Shane Mallory	....	additional production assistant
Lori C. Miller	....	title designer
Jonathan Morrow	....	stand-in
Shobie Partos	....	assistant location manager
Grayson Paynter	....	location assistant
Nick Porter	....	stand-in
Katie Pruitt	....	production assistant
Cynthia Quan	....	production accountant
Karen Ramirez	....	production assistant
Jeremy Reisig	....	set production assistant
Kent Richardson	....	assistant: Mr. Shepard
Graham Sonnenberg	....	assistant chef
James Spencer	....	assistant: Mr. Wilson
Max Sturgeon	....	additional production assistant
Alex Theurer	....	production assistant
Raigen Thornton	....	paramedic: pre-production
Karen Wacker	....	assistant production office coordinator
Laura A. Walker	....	additional production assistant
Angela Ware	....	stand-in
Kris Thom White	....	set intern
Robin Williams	....	assistant accountant
Michele Wright	....	key second assistant accountant
Walter H. Norris	....	additional production assistant (uncredited)
Howard R. Schuster	....	financing (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• Ternion Pictures

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2007) (Argentina) (all media)
• FS Film Oy (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2007) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2007) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Stargate Digital (visual effects)
• Pixel Magic (visual effects)
• yU+Co. (visual effects)
• Handmade Digital (digital opticals)
• Custom Film Effects

Other Companies

• Austin Film Society  thanks
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• EFilm  digital intermediate
• Hyperion Sound  music mixed at
• Jo Anne Kane Music Services  music preparation (as JoAnn Kane Music Services)
• Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox Studios, The  score recorded at (as Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox)
• Panavision  cameras and lenses
• Right Lobe Design Group  titles
• Troublemaker Digital Studios  thanks
• Wild Bunch  animals
• Wilshire Stages, The  post-production services (as Wilshire Stages)

Also Known As:

3001 (USA) (working title)
Untitled Mike Judge Comedy (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sex-related humor.

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-13 | Germany:12 | USA:R (certificate #41505) | Argentina:13 | Italy:T | New Zealand:R13 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Austin Convention Center - 500 E. Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The "chase" music in the movie - fast tempo staccato violins and drums - is homage to the iconic music themes used for chase scenes in Planet of the Apes (1968), also about being pursued in a dystopian future, and also produced by Twentieth-Century Fox.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: On the back of the DVD case Luke Wilson's character's name is spelled Joe Bowers, while in the end credits it is spelled Joe Bauers.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: As the 21st century began, human evolution was at a turning point. Natural selection, the process by which the strongest, the smartest, the fastest, reproduced in greater numbers than the rest, a process which had once favored the noblest traits of man...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 4: Dangeresque 3 - The Criminal Projective (2008) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Trio Sonata No. 1 in G

Iddiocracy - Two D's for a double dose of comedy

This movie was quite a pleasant surprise. I had anticipated it for a long time, and was afraid going in that it couldn't possibly live up to my expectations.

It exceeded them.

I adored this movie.

Hilarious from start to finish (stay until after the end credits!), it is absolutely remarkable how a movie about dumb and annoying characters can be so intelligent, witty, and engaging.

With it's obvious matte paintings, the movie's future Earth recalls the Planet of the Apes series and other Sci-Fi movies of that era.

In fact, this movie is essentially Planet of the Apes, but with people who are the mental equivalent of apes.

It moves at a fairly brisk pace, and Luke Wilson carries the movie quite well, with a character that recalls the one he played in "Bottle Rocket." (There's even a not-so-subtle nod to "Bottle Rocket" in an early scene).

Maya Rudoulph is also surprisingly good as a former "painter" who was frozen as well.

Despite all its strengths, "Idiocracy" has the distinct feel of a movie that was taken away from the director/editor before it could be fine-tuned.

I cannot for the life of me understand why a movie this funny would just be dumped into a few theaters with no advanced screenings, no trailers, no marketing whatsoever.

It's as if the studio decided they were not going to spend any more on it and just walked away.

Or maybe they thought the movie had the makings of a cult classic, and the only way for it to become a true cult classic was to set it up to fail?

Whatever the case, it is a shame, because Mike Judge and this film in particular deserve better.

I predict this movie will have real legs on DVD, and word of mouth will propel it to the success it deserves.

Perhaps the Fox Executives saw themselves in the characters, were confused, and thought it was a documentary?