Extract

Mike Judge’s latest comedy features a sexually-frustrated entrepreneur named Joel Reynold. He owns a company that produces different types of food flavorings, but is considering selling out to General Mills. His wife hardly ever sleeps with him, and he spends most nights in a bar at the local Marriott sharing his woes with his bartender friend, Dean.

Cindy is an attractive young woman who uses her looks to get whatever she wants. The viewer is first introduced to Cindy in a music store, where she is cleverly distracting the clerks. They leave an expensive guitar on the counter, then argue over who gets to retrieve another from the back. When the both exit, Cindy grabs the guitar and leaves the shop only to pawn the instrument a few minutes later. She jumps into her car to scan the local paper when she notices that an employee of Reynold’s Flavorings was recently injured on the job, and could be awarded one million dollars. She immediately takes off to find him.

Cindy manages to get hired on as a temp at Reynold’s Flavorings, and makes nice with Joel to find out where the injured employee lives. Joel is tempted to cheat on his wife, and under the influence of horse tranquilizers provided by Dean, decides to hire a gigolo in an attempt to force his wife to cheat first. The plan works all too well, and when Joel sobers up, he spends the rest of his time trying to set everything to rights with his business.

This movie manages to have its moments, but based on the work Mike Judge has done in the past, the film falls short. Idiocracy, Beavis and Butt-Head and Office Space are miles ahead of Extract. It is disappointing, and even great performances by Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons and Beth Grant can’t save it. Judge may have grown up with this offering, but for fans who are used to (and appreciate) his normal brand of humor, it is a let down.