Extract (2009)

Mike Judge is one of those creators whose sensibilities filter into all of his work in a very distinctive way. The mind behind Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill and the cult classic movie Office Space he has a penchant for the outsider and a very distinctive take on the world. Despite firmly parking his bus in the comedy genre Judge has a very low-key attitude to the material, something again on show on his latest film, Extract. Jason Bateman stars as Joel Reynolds, a reasonably successful businessman who owns a factory that produces extract. The film follows him as a variety of events disrupt his life, primarily kicked off by the introduction of Mila Kunis's Cindy, a con artist whose affections he seeks in the wake of his unsatisfactory marriage (to the always funny Kristin Wiig). I won't dig into the various machinations of the plot as half of the fun of the film comes from seeing it subvert expectations. Judge is never one to got for the big obvious laugh or set piece, he is much more interested in character and as such I found myself constantly unsure of where the film was heading.
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He is ably helped by the stellar cast, Bateman does a great line in the beaten down everyman and he imbues Joel with real sympathy even through the increasingly poor choices he makes in the film. Ben Affleck pops up as his druggie bar tending best friend and the catalyst for many of the aforementioned bad ideas. Affleck clearly relishes the chance to play a very different part to normal, and his hippie beard and laid back attitude are constantly very funny. What is nice about Judge's work is that he allows the wider cast of characters their time to shine, from Anchorman's David Koechner as the worlds most annoying neighbour, to JK Simmons always amusing manager at the factory. Most of these characters are well are well served by the story, the ending tying most loose ends up in unexpected but fitting ways.  I do feel that the Cindy character is rather short changed by this though, like Judge didn't really know how to end her story and it's a shame to see Kunis left somewhat adrift at the end of the film.
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On the whole Extract is a small film, by intention. It is gentle and amusing, but rarely laugh out loud funny. Judge is a less competent director than he is writer and while it looks fine, there is little about the film that is very cinematic or visually interesting. As such the film works a lot better at home where the small screen setting fits the story's nature. Extract won't be looked back on with the same reverence as Office Space (or more recently Idiocracy) it is something of a minor work, but amusing and interesting enough to be worth your time.