Sure, since those earlier days on the MTV cartoon, Mike Judge has gone on to a quieter toon King of the Hill, which deals more with domesticity than teenage anarchy and the oft-quoted, late '90s staple, Office Space. He's caught right between slacker culture (or lack thereof) and middle-class comfort, which is an interesting place to work.
But still, neither of those opposite ends of the suburban spectrum completely explains Judge's latest flick, Extract, an enjoyable if unspectacular comedy. Could be that the writer/director is maturing/mellowing with age, as are his main characters -- and that's only natural. The guy who is in his 40s isn't going to approach things like he did when he was in his 30s.
His follies -- specifically those of Extract's central figure, Joel (Jason Bateman, still as likable as ever) -- are going to carry a little more melancholy. For some reason Bateman seems to excel at capturing the comic tragedy of near middle-aged manhood, in this case, maybe even better than the script warranted.
Extract As A Fable, Of Sorts
Using a fairly generic structure (married man meets new girl, has problems at work, yadda, yadda yadda, learns lesson about life), Judge spins a mid-life crisis cautionary tale about the stupid sh-t a man will do for a woman/ women. Or, more accurately, for sex.
Joel -- the successful owner of Reynold's Extract plant -- isn't getting any from his wife, Susie (Kristen Wiig). They have all the amenities of upper-middle class luxury (the BMW, a pool, nice furniture, etc.) and all the typical, unspoken marital problems. He works too hard. She gets bored working at home. Not enough sex, and as they say, all work and no play makes Joel a dull, repressed man.
He talks about selling the plant so he can retire and live a little (read: make it home early enough in the day that his wife will sleep with him). Blame it on bad timing, but it's a little hard to feel bad for Joel as he wallows in self pity at a Marriott bar, pouring his heart out to self-proclaimed "spiritualist" Dean (Ben Affleck at his comedic best), a pill-popping, pot smoking bar tender who's about as groomed as the Unabomber.
At Dean's prompting (and with the help of a horse tranquilizer and a few drinks), Joel decides to send a young gigolo (Dustin Milligan) to woo his wife so Joel can have an affair with the new temp. at work, Cindy (Mila Kunis), guilt free.
A Fox in Sheep's Clothing
Our introduction to the vamp, Cindy, comes at the film's open as we watch her in full-con mode, duping a pair of drooling Sam Ash employees. She makes for an interesting entry point into a film about wanting (and taking) what certain people were not supposed to have.
Or losing things as well, as happens to poor Step Williams (Clifton Collins Jr.), the blue collar Reynold's worker who loses a testicle in a bizarre accident at the plant, on the eve of a potential sale of the company to General Mills, no less.
Cindy sees an opportunity for a big con and thus inserts herself into the Reynold's plant and Step's life. Her smiles, feigned interest in extract and well-exposed cleavage catches Joel's eye almost immediately.
Younger Than Yesterday
To Judge's credit, Joel and Susie never mention "aging" and no one utters the phrase "mid-life crisis", and Judge largely avoids the clichés associated with this sub-genre of light comedy. It's clear, though, as Joel goes through his pining over a younger woman, experimenting with mild drug use (on top of what appears to be an already steady drinking habit) and desire to escape from Reynold's, that growing older is something Joel isn't exactly taking in stride.
Susie -- who is dealing with many of the same issues, we discover -- isn't given quite the fair shake, though Wiig handles the mostly straight role with grace.
Too Likable Doesn't Quite Make Extract Loveable
As a matter of fact, pretty much every member of the cast (J.K. Simmons, Beth Grant, David Koechner and Gene Simmons all show up) is likable. Therein lies part of the problem with Extract. Even as the characters go through fairly despicable transgressions, it's all too easy to shrug off.
Which could be a little more forgivable for a funnier film. Extract has its share of laughs, especially anytime Affleck graces the screen (Who knew? The guy is comic gold), but Judge almost hedges the comedic qualities of his characters too close to reality.
Judge may not be at a point in his life where he wants to follow Dean around for a 90-something-minute feature film. But as well-suited as Bateman is for the lead, Joel, Affleck's drug-fueled sidekick, Dean, is the far more captivating.
Because when it comes to comedies, morality (generally) bites.
RATING: 3 out of 5 stars
VERDICT: A mild-mannered lead character begets a mildly-enjoyable comedy -- not terribly surprising. Extract may play it a little too safe, but as lite-fare goes, it does the trick.
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