After Mike Judge made the quite astute but not infallible “Office Space,” he has had a hard time living up to his own work. His film “Idiocracy,” which I will admit was riddled with flaws, saw the most screwed up release in the history of cinema (outside of a Weinstein film, that is). Now, he’s trying to make good with his fans in the new film “Extract.”
The movie tells the story of Joel (Jason Bateman), a guy who has built an food flavoring business from the ground up. Joel is facing a series of problems in his life, including a frigid-yet-unfaithful wife (Kristen Wiig), a pending lawsuit to his company, a pretty temp (Mila Kunis) who scams anyone she comes in contact with and a slate of dimwitted employees.
I’m reluctant to compare “Extract” to “Office Space,” simply because they are very different movies. However, there is a common ground between them. Both films deal with the humdrum nature of a workplace environment, and they both deal with some extremely bizarre characters. However, the similarities end there. Instead of being a blue-collar version of “Office Space,” “Extract” is a study in how a man’s life can fall apart around him.
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