1. It Should Make You Think, Without Meaning To
Idiocracy does what few films manage: it's able to create discussion. Not the type of discussion debating the plot holes of comic book movies and career arcs of famous directors but of what the film-maker is actually trying to say. It holds a mirror up to society in an entertaining yet eye-opening way. When I was recommended this film, I was warned that 'it's not exactly funny, but it's a great premise' and so I shall warn you as well. It doesn't shove facts down your throat like a tear-choked documentary nor does it try to reinvent history in a hail of gunfire or alternate past timelines and interpretative facts-checking. All it does is tell you a story of an average guy and girl put into an extraordinary situation trying to come to grips with what they encounter. When you think that it will start just becoming a send up of itself, the story moves on to its next subtle and/or not so subtle critique. No more different than Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes or Woody Allen's Sleeper. Idiocracy is a movie that should start creeping its way into more and more all-time cult film lists as the mandatory '10 years later' rule takes effect. And that's what a good film should do. While we may not know the Oscar best picture of 2006, we should at least remember that this was the year Mike Judge made made the best comedy sci-fi of the millennium. Agree, disagree? Other suggestions of similar movies? Feel free to add them in the comments below.