Extract

Writer Director Mike Judge's new comedy "Extract" won't make anyone forget about "Office Space." But it seems like a masterpiece compared to some of the other comedies that have gotten a far bigger push this summer.
Jason Bateman stars as Joel, a self-made man who's built his flavor extract business from the ground up.
He presides over a motley crew of clock watchers and screw ups on the assembly line, and suffers with serious sexual frustration at home with a disinterested wife whose sweat pants act as a nearly impenetrable chastity belt.
There's a throwaway plot about a con artist, a workplace accident, fraudulent lawsuits and sleazy lawyers. But Judge's strength has always been in his characters and the dialogue.
None of his assembly line drones have quite the same comic pizazz as his cubicle dwellers, but there are enough chuckles to make the film pleasant without being a laugh riot.
I actually Ben Afflec as Bateman's best friend, a bartender with a penchant for extraordinarily bad advice. Afflec is much better as a character actor where he doesn't have to do the heavy lifting.
This isn't his best by any means. But Judge's extraordinary feel for the workplace annoyances and spirit of milieu that infiltrates American workers on both sides of the front office remains intact.

"Extract:" B-