So we watched Idiocracy, the latest movie from Mike Judge. It had one of those Brazil-style production horror stories, complete with public studio fights, reshoots, and a stealth release. I figured that it would either be a misunderstood masterpiece or a flaming train wreck. Either way, given what Judge has done in the past, I expected it to be something to see.

So we saw it, and I can’t really say what all the fuss was about. It was funny, but not hilarious. It was mean, but not really all that mean. It was coarse and crude… but no worse than a lot of what’s on TV.

I’ve seen movies that were much, much worse so I don’t know why Fox buried the release.

Maybe it was a masterpiece that the studio succeeded in lobotomizing. Maybe it was a train wreck that they fixed up enough that we didn’t notice. The voice-over is a dead giveaway that they changed a lot. There wasn’t a commentary track, so I don’t have any details. I’d love to see something like The Devil’s Candy or The Battle of Brazil (both of which are fascinating, btw) to find out what happened.

So stick it in your Netflix queue for an evening when you want some light satire. Keep your expectations in check and you’ll have a good time.

If you do see it, leave a comment and let me know what you think. Did I miss something?