Extract

Extract (2009) 
Written by Mike Judge 
Directed by Mike Judge 
Starring Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, J.K. Simmons, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck, I said the cameo was Sam Rockwell but I meant Hal Sparks, Gene Simmons, that dude who did the sports in Anchorman


Synopsis
Dude owns a factory which makes extracts of various flavors (e.g. vanilla, root beer?).  At the advice of a stupid bartender, he hires a gigolo to fuck his wife (who is far too reluctant to fuck him) so he can feel good about fucking Mila Kunis, who is a decent con artist and trying to get as much as possible from everybody.

The Womanest Woman of the World
i don't know how i feel about this one. i don't think i would recommend? it wasn't funny enough, or serious enough, or enough of a character study. it's like there was no decision made on what this movie was ultimately gonna be. almost all of the characters were too caricature-y and over the top in a too subtle way. does that make sense? ha. i just read moster's take and we used the exact words. oh well. no, i don't think i would recommend for anyone to see this, and that's unfortunate because i like mike judge.

MOster
Yeah, this was a little weird.  It all made sense, and it all tied together in the (spoiler alert?) predictable ending.  But the plot elements were a little too over the top at a high level for individual characters who seemed to be less caricature then they were intended and this notion carries through to the direction.  I think the problem here stems from the wide gap of time since Judge was last in a cubicle.  Or, maybe it comes from my cynicism about people and they're not quite so ridiculous in the real world.  This would have been more successful if it had gone farther afield.

The acting was all pretty good, actually, with Mila Kunis doing a much better job than she did in Max Payne.  As the one with the most lines by far, Bateman did a fine job; but there were more standouts in the supporters.  The factory workers (who I'm too lazy to look up) were funny, and I'd like to see Affleck staying in roles such as this rather than starring in anything short of Kevin Smith.  David Koechner stole every cringe-inducing scene he graced.  His character and performance were reminiscent of the finest Gervais.  I suppose I should also talk about Gene Simmons, but I don't want to.

Other technical stuff was fine enough.  The one big Rube Goldberg scene came together nicely, and everything else showed craft but not much creativity.

I think I expected more of Mike Judge.  I held Idiocracy in much higher regard than most people and Office Space is a classic in my circle.  But this was nothing better than a solid C with a quizzical look.