Entertainment, Movies - Army Times

Film review: ‘Extract’

In 1999, writer-director Mike Judge, known far and wide (and not always fondly) as the auteur behind “Beavis & Butthead,” unveiled a modest little feature film called “Office Space” that took in a paltry $10.8 million at the box office and faded away.

But as sometimes happens, the flick has since gained a cult following on video and DVD, and it’s now a staple of late-night cable television.

It’s not hard to see why: The story features a quite normal protagonist surrounded by decidedly un-normal oddballs, all trapped in the inane and surreal culture of the corporate office.

The commonality of the setting has proven irresistible; are there any cubicle slaves among us who haven’t received their own employer’s version of the memo demanding cover sheets on all TPS reports?

In his new film, “Extract,” Judge has moved from the corporate office to the factory floor to do something similar. Although it won’t strike as familiar a chord as “Office Space” for some, it still sparks decent laughs.

The story is a trifle, merely a framework on which Judge can hang a motley assortment of colorful characters. At the eye of the storm is Joel (the underrated Jason Bateman), the upstanding — and uptight — owner of a small flavor-extract plant.

As the film opens, Joel’s chief concern is the fading of his marital flame; he’s been working so hard at the plant for the past few years that he can never seem to make it home by 8 p.m., when his cute wife, Susie (Kristen Wiig), dons her sweat pants and laces the drawstring up tight.

Taking the highly dubious advice of his bartender, Dean (Ben Affleck), Joel hires a brickheaded young gigolo (Dustin Milligan) to seduce Susie so he won’t feel guilty about pursuing his own affair with Cindy (Mila Kunis), the hot temp worker at his plant.

Unknown to Joel, Cindy is a sociopathic grifter on hand only to goad factory worker Step (Clifton Collins Jr.) into pursuing a lawsuit against his employer for the suffering he endured in a bizarre plant accident that has left him a bit light in the britches.

The lawsuit could not come at a worse time for Joel, as he and his floor supervisor Brian (J.K. Simmons), to whom every employee is “Dinkus,” are thinking about selling the plant.

Told you the story was a trifle. The pleasure here is in spending some time with Judge’s likeably quirky characters. He’s generous in spreading the spotlight around; every major player gets at least one turn on center stage.

The standouts are Affleck and Wiig. Freed from the burden of carrying a film — which generally has proved beyond him — Affleck is as loose as he’s ever been. And the talented Wiig, criminally underused in her last effort, “Adventureland,” is equal parts sweet and tart as the frustrated Susie.

The film doesn’t have the kind of dialogue or scenes that are recounted around the office water cooler, although one scene in which Joel and Dean inadvisably visit one of Dean’s pals, the scary owner of what may well be the world’s largest bong, is a riot.

Still, “Extract” likely will have you smiling as you depart the theater. This does not mean it will stick with you long; it won’t. But as a light, brief respite from the end-of-summer octoplex doldrums, it does the job.

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Rated R for language, sexuality, drug use and extensive mocking of an unfortunate but hilarious testicular mishap. Got a rant or rave about the movies? E-mail cvinch@atpco.com.