“Extract”
3 out of 5 stars: Jason Bateman Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig
Director: Mike Judge
Rated R for language, sexual references and some drug use.
Running time: 91 minutes
“Extract” isn’t exactly vanilla. But Mike Judge’s new comedy, about the hapless boss of a food-flavoring factory, doesn’t have quite as much zing or generate enough out-loud laughs to fully exploit its irresistibly quirky ensemble.
Despite the project’s obviously modest size and laid-back rhythms, its cult-favorite director-writer attracts a terrifically funny cast down even to the smallest parts. With deadpan facial reactions and unforced joke-line deliveries, led by Jason Bateman as the put-upon protagonist, they flesh out characters and bits that become more effective as the uneven script builds.
Judge is best known for his animation — the long-running “King of the Hill” series, concluding this fall, and “Beavis and Butthead.” But his corporate-cubicle farce “Office Space” (1999) also has a devoted following. Like today’s offering, both films explore workplace boredom and bourgeois white guy frustration over how weird, stupid and/or obnoxious everyone else around him seems.
That brings us to well-intended food extract entrepreneur Joel (Bateman as straightman). Life is like a ship of fools; and, he’s the captain. His crusty plant manager Brian (“Juno”‘s J.K. Simmons) can’t even be bothered to learn the names of their alternately inept, narcissistic, and otherwise preoccupied assembly line workers who lamely attempt to keep things moving.
Soon, an unfortunate floor accident occurs. A redneck employee (Clifton Collins Jr.) loses one of his essential male body parts and is convinced to sue Joel by the sexy temp/con artist Cindy (Mila Kunis) and a local TV personal injury shyster (Gene Simmons). The lawsuit could scuttle Joel’s dream: To sell his small operation to General Mills for big money.
Outside the office, things aren’t much better for Joel. Besides trying to avoid the pesky neighbor-from-hell (David Koechner), his sex life with his wife Suzie (SNL’s Kristen Wiig) has gone down the tubes. He begins to fantasize about having an affair with the super-hot Cindy. Unfortunately, Joel’s sleazy bartender pal (a bearded Ben Affleck, always best in smaller character parts) convinces him to implement a nutty scheme: Hire a clueless gigolo (hilariously played by Dustin Milligan) to cheat with Suzie first so that the previously faithful Joel can sleep with Cindy without feeling guilty about it.
Humor ensues, including the movie’s one uproarious sight gag, in which the reluctant Joel is goaded into taking the most massive bong hit of all time. Otherwise, “Extract” comes out of a more low-simmering style of wit.
