Mike Judge, the funniest man in America

"Beavis and Butthead" was so smart, it was dumb. So dumb it was smart? Both? Had they been Mike Judge's only contributions to American culture, he would still deserve a nod as an important contributor to smart comedy in a country that insists on acting increasingly dumb. Ever since Beavis told Morrissey to "get up off the ground and stop whining" in one of his videos, I've been in love.

Judge hasn't stopped working since, and the miracle is that he didn't pander to his presumed audience in order to increase his popularity and ride the gravy train of crude to the end of the line. He's gotten better and sharper and more subversively satirical as he's gone along. He's also gotten kinder, an almost unheard-of evolution for a highly successful television writer. His comedy despairs for the willful stupidity of mankind, but it does not condescend. He has hope. He doesn't think he's superior to his audience because he has made a lot of money, and that is a rare quality in popular culture indeed. (And if he does feel superior, he hides it very well.)

"King of the Hill" is a marvel of character-based comedy that respects both its characters and its audience. Hank and Peggy and the rest have their laughable flaws and exaggerated self-regard, but they also have their admirable qualities, most notably a core of decency that Judge celebrates in his work as the only thing that can save us from our own stupidity. It's no coincidence that the younger generation (Bobby, Connie, even poor Joseph) are the calmest, nicest, most tolerant and most curious characters in the show. They point to a future that has a chance, just maybe, of being better than the past.

We all know that OFFICE SPACE is a cult classic for the cubicle crowd (which is really everyone, whether you've worked in an office or avoided it because you suspect it's just like this movie presents it), but it's time now to make IDIOCRACY the classic it deserves to be. Forget its bizarre release (or non-release) history -- studio machinations are none of the audience's business, since they never make for a better film and we can't do anything about them anyway. This movie is hilarious in many ways, but mostly in its willingness to be stupid to be smart (that again). Presenting a future overwhelmed with advertising, sexual innuendo, and violence is not exactly groundbreaking, but linking it to our own embrace of things we know are dumbing us down and calling out the capable people who prefer to do nothing rather than lift a finger to stop it (as represented by the Luke Wilson character) is. Groundbreaking, that is. Showing the sheer scrot-level to which we allow ourselves to sink is not only funny but very very...funny. Oh, and a bit sad, if you have any hope for humanity and/or America at all. (Hmmm, "or" I guess would be America without humanity. Are we there yet?)

I feel like a scrot myself for analyzing a comedy, especially one that relies on yelling, slogans, phallic monster trucks, and the transmutation of Fuddruckers into ButtFuckers to tell its story. But that shit's funny, and it's accurate as well. I guess people haven't seen the movie due to its theatrical disappearing act, mixed reviews, and the fact that it hits too close to home. We can watch JACKASS, but we can't stand some prissy smartypants making fun of JACKASS. It's no coincidence that the people of the future ridicule Luke Wilson's perfectly logical comments by repeating them in a high-pitched voice.

Other great things about Judge are: that he's a Texan, that he shot his movie in Austin, and that he works with a regular group of hilarious actors (e.g. Stephen Root, the marvelous David Herman). His casting is impeccable. He is one of the few people in the state of mind and money that is "Hollywood" who goes his own way. He has something to say and he says it with a minimum of fuss or self-promotion.

And he's very, very funny.