Mike Judge's new comedy "Extract" is amusing while it lasts but is quick to fade into the background with the rest of funny but unremarkable cinema. While nothing stands out as really wrong with the film, it isn't particularly good. The acting is believable, the gags creative and the laughing genuine. But there is neither anything remarkable about it nor is there anything to elicit more than an average amount of chuckles.
Jason Bateman stars as Joel, a bored owner of an extract factory that he built from the ground up. Denied sex at home, Joel finds himself pouring his heart out to his bartending buddy Dean, played by a long-haired and bearded Ben Affleck. Affleck seems totally at home as a pot-smoking, Xanax-popping semi-hippie full of wistful wisdom on how drugs can solve Joel's problems and various schemes in case they don't.
Matters at Joel's work and in his life take a turn for the worse as an accident at the plant attracts a con artist played by Mila Kunis. As alluring as she is conniving, the voice of "Family Guy's" Meg gives a strong turn as a totally unscrupulous woman willing to string men along to get what she wants. The accident also brings in an ambulance-chasing lawyer played surprisingly by Gene Simmons. The former lead singer for KISS plays the man offering Joel a settlement in exchange for his own version of an eye for an eye. The only problem with Simmons' performance is that there just isn't enough of it, as he is only on screen for two scenes.
In case you're expecting "Extract" to be like Judge's previous works, it's worth noting that any comparison to Judge's 1999 movie "Office Space" is passing at best. The protagonist is the boss, and by all accounts the factory is a decent place to work, one where the employees are more satisfied than not. Whereas "Office Space" very much focuses on the title location, "Extract" is about its title only in passing. Aside from the place of work for many of the characters, the plant has little character of its own except for several amusing inhabitants. Instead, half of the plot has little to do with the plant at all and focuses entirely on Joel's life well away from its vanilla, chocolate and root beer food flavorings, a running joke that may wear out its welcome.
Fortunately, the movie freely jokes about the fact that no one really cares about food flavoring.
While it may take a while to warm some members of the audience, "Extract" is a genuinely funny movie. It just isn't genuinely special -- and bland enough to make one question where the climax was. "Extract" is a middling comedy that chugs along with acting from actors and humor from jokes, but nothing uproarious or special.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
