Luke Savage examines the film career of the man who gave the world Office Space and Beavis and Butt-Head…
He createdBeavis And Butt-Head.
He didKing Of The Hilltoo.
But for me, the greatest joy of Mike Judge is his work as a filmmaker.
These are his films.
There are a couple of f-bombs in here.
Not that Im potty-mouthed.
Its all about the quotes.
Plot, as you may have guessed, isnt the raison detre of Judges feature debut.
And yet, theyre also the template for many of Judges future leading men.
I would relax.I would sit on my ass all day.
Which is essentially the Beavis and Butt-Head school of living.
Office Space (1999)
What makes a cult film?
A growing, devoted fanbase?
On all those counts, Mike Judges 1999 masterpiece fits the bill.
Like many, I was a latecomer to the Holy Grail that isOffice Space.
But chancing uponOffice Spaceaway from the hype and endless PR machine is perhaps the best way to discover it.
But its one thing being accurate and true to life.Office Spaces trump card is that its funny.
Really, really funny.
is an inspired creation.
After displaying an easy charisma as radio detective extraordinaire inMidnight Caller(how good a show was that?
), Coles output since has seen him hone his skills as a comedic force of nature.
Hes the one who sucks.
Watching it with friends becomes an exercise in storing up your conversations for the next few years.
Yet, for all its marvels, the film failed to find its audience first time round.
Especially when its studio didnt know what they had.
How, you wonder, couldOffice Spacehave fared with wiser marketing heads at the helm?
But there was vindication over the horizon for Judge.
And there areOffice Spacefans the world over trying to get the message out.
He was still tied to a two-picture deal with Fox.
And his next project with them would be no easier.
That project would becomeIdiocracy.
In Judges mind, its a future not too far from where we are now.
But like a good Mike Judge film, it remains endlessly quotable.
Its probably worth noting here that Judge seems to have a less than rosy view of women.
But back toIdiocracy.Its a film that deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.
Its not surprising that Fox werent particularly taken with it considering how it turned out.
Yet what is surprising is how determined they seemed to stop it being seen.
They ran no marketing or trailers, and didnt even screen it for critics.
Suffice to say, the UK didnt get a look in.
Although DVD sales and rentals saw it earn $9m by early 2007. Who knows what its at now?
Its not the first, of course, and certainly wont be the last.
Sometimes, it just takes a few years.
