ⓘ Details

Movie TitleIdiocracy

Release DateSeptember 1, 2006

TaglineIn the future, intelligence is extinct.

Runtime84 minutes / 1 hour 24 minutes

DirectorMike Judge

Screenplay Written ByMike Judge and Etan Cohen

Based OnOriginal story by Mike Judge

Is It a Remake?No. Idiocracy is an original satirical science-fiction comedy.

BudgetApproximately $2.4 million

Box OfficeApprox. $495,303 worldwide

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👥 Main Cast

Luke WilsonJoe Bauers / Not Sure

Maya RudolphRita

Dax ShepardFrito Pendejo

Terry CrewsPresident Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho

David HermanSecretary of State

Justin LongDoctor Lexus

Andrew WilsonBeef Supreme

Brad “Scarface” JordanUpgrayedd

Stephen RootJudge Hector

Thomas Haden ChurchBrawndo CEO

Sara RueAttorney General

Anthony CamposSecretary of Defense

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🏆 Awards

⭐ No Academy Award nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ No Golden Globe nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ No BAFTA nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ The film’s long-term recognition has come mainly from cult status and renewed political/social satire discussions.

⭐ Idiocracy became far more visible on home video and streaming than during its limited theatrical release.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

Average Army librarian Joe Bauers and Rita are selected for a military hibernation experiment that is forgotten after the program collapses. They wake up 500 years later in a future where society has become aggressively stupid, corporations dominate everyday life, crops are watered with sports drink, and Joe is suddenly the smartest man alive. After being renamed “Not Sure,” Joe must help a collapsing America solve its food crisis before the future gets even dumber.

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❝ Key Quotes

“Welcome to Costco. I love you.” — Costco Greeter

“Brawndo’s got what plants crave.” — Brawndo Ad

“It’s got electrolytes.” — Cabinet Member

“I’m Secretary of State, brought to you by Carl’s Jr.” — Secretary of State

“Go away, ’batin’!” — Frito

“Now I know everyone’s got emotional needs.” — President Camacho

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💡 Trivia

Director

Idiocracy was directed by Mike Judge.
Judge co-wrote the screenplay with Etan Cohen.
Judge also produced the film.
The film satirizes consumer culture, anti-intellectualism, corporate branding, politics, and entertainment decay.
The movie followed Judge’s earlier workplace cult comedy Office Space.

Cast / Casting

Luke Wilson stars as Joe Bauers, the “perfectly average” man who wakes up as the smartest person in the future.
Maya Rudolph plays Rita, who is accidentally trapped in the same hibernation experiment.
Dax Shepard plays Frito Pendejo, Joe’s incompetent future lawyer.
Terry Crews plays President Camacho, one of the movie’s most quoted characters.
Justin Long appears as Doctor Lexus.

Soundtrack / Score

The score was composed by Theodore Shapiro.
The film uses music and sound cues to heighten the absurdity of its dystopian world.
The soundtrack choices support the movie’s lowbrow, corporate-saturated future culture.
The movie’s musical tone works as part of its joke: the future is loud, dumb, commercial, and overstimulated.
Theodore Shapiro is also known for scoring many American comedies.

Location

The film was shot in Texas.
Reported filming locations include Austin, San Marcos, Pflugerville, and Round Rock.
Austin Studios was among the production facilities used.
The future cityscapes combine real locations, set dressing, visual effects, and exaggerated corporate signage.
The Texas locations help create the film’s dusty, decayed, over-commercialized version of the future.

Behind-The-Scenes

The film was released by 20th Century Fox.
Its theatrical release was extremely limited compared with a typical studio comedy release.
Early working titles reportedly included 3001 and The United States of Uhh-merica.
The film grossed under $500,000 theatrically but later found a larger audience on home video and cable.
Its unusual release strategy became a major part of the movie’s behind-the-scenes reputation.

Nostalgia

Idiocracy became a cult favorite after its quiet theatrical release.
The phrase “Brawndo’s got what plants crave” became one of the film’s signature quotes.
President Camacho became one of Terry Crews’ most recognizable comedy roles.
The movie’s reputation grew as viewers increasingly compared its satire to real-world trends.
For cult-comedy fans, it is the rare movie that started as a joke and somehow kept getting invited to current-events discussions.

Easter Eggs

The future legal name “Not Sure” comes from Joe’s confusion during a bureaucratic identity scan.
Brawndo’s fake slogan parodies sports-drink marketing language.
The movie fills the background with exaggerated future versions of real-world brands and product placement.
The giant Costco joke pushes consumer sprawl to absurd dystopian scale.
The movie’s opening narration sets up the central joke: human civilization is not destroyed by monsters, but by compounding stupidity.

Misc.

Idiocracy is rated R.
The film runs 84 minutes.
IMDb lists the film’s main genres as Adventure, Comedy, and Sci-Fi.
The movie was released in the United States on September 1, 2006.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists the episode as Episode 154, with Don rating it 1.00, Ken rating it 2.00, Jon rating it 1.50, and an overall rating of 1.50.

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