'Idiots' Review
- Trevor Leavell
- 23 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Release Date: 08/28/26 [Cinemas]
Genre: Comedy. Crime.
MPAA: Rated R.
Distributor: IFC Films.
Seen for the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival.
The Verdict: A Must-See
When we are down on our luck, what exactly defines us as a person? Is it the mistakes you have made that got you where you're at? Or is it the moments where you strive to always do the right thing? In Macon Blair's Idiots, two strangers who are in desperate need of money are tasked with transporting an affluent white kid, who may or may not be a psychopath, to rehab. Davis, played by O'Shea Jackson Jr., is a God-loving man who believes that his devotion to doing the right thing will soon reward him. Mark, played by Dave Franco, maybe doesn't believe anything good is coming for him. Sheridan, whom they are transporting to rehab, is planning on making their lives as much of a living hell as he can make it. The Black Phone and How to Train Your Dragon actor Mason Thames plays the troubled young adult who delivers a step in an entirely new direction for the young performer. Delivering a performance chock-full of devious shit-headery.
The journey to deliver Sheridan to rehab is a wild one, with almost everything being thrown their way to stop, or maybe even kill, Davis and Mark. So, as the title suggests, the two must use their limited wits to get further and further into the journey. You get great characters and performances that get roped in, which make the journey even more chaotic, stressful, and hilarious. Kiernan Shipka and Nicholas Braun specifically bring in two amazing comedic performances that really took me by surprise. You also get Peter Dinklage, Killer Mike, Macon Blair himself, and many other small, wonderful performances that each give the film just so much more uniqueness.
When it gets down to it, though, Idiots is about two people finding out what it means to actually try to be a better person, whether you actually want to try to be one or not. Franco as Mark is maybe a little too reminiscent of James Franco's performance in Pineapple Express, but O'Shea Jackson Jr brings in a performance that showcases strengths we have never seen from him as a performer. When Idiots opened at the Atlanta Film Festival this year, Jackson was in attendance and had a Q&A with the audience. He had talked about how films like Ingrid Goes West made him want to do more smaller films, and Idiots was a great reminder of what these smaller films allow him to do as an actor that maybe bigger films he's been a part of wouldn't exactly allow him to break out. It's one of his best performances as an actor yet.
When Idiots wraps up, one can appreciate the wild ride it provides, but there's also the feeling that the film maybe could have taken things a few steps further. It gets dark, hilarious, and sometimes even scary, but a lot of these moments are brief in a kind of narrative that you feel anything can happen, and by the end, you realize not that much really did happen. It's always great to see Macon behind the camera again after I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore, and while I think this could have been done a bit more conceptually, his voice remains unique and rambunctious.
