Directed by Mike Judge. Starring Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis, JK Simmons,David Koechner. 16 cert, limited release, 92 min
THE STRANGE career of Mike Judge continues its faltering progress. After cult hits (read box-office catastrophes) such as the diverting Office Spaceand the rather wonderful Idiocracy, the creator of Beavis and Buttheadreturns with another comedy destined for a niche audience.
Extractfollows the travails of a food-flavouring manufacturer as he copes with five or six only vaguely connected cataclysms.
Joel Reynold (Jason Bateman) is not getting on so well with his wife (Kristen Wiig). He is getting on even less well with a hilariously boring and talkative neighbour (the superb David Koechner). Meanwhile, at work, the restive employees are beginning to suspect that a rumoured sell-out to a corporate monster may jeopardise their jobs. This all sounds very busy indeed, but, in fact, we haven’t even got to the core plot strand: the arrival of a crafty female con-artist (Mila Kunis) to Joel’s neighbourhood.
The most important thing you need to know is this: Extractis very funny indeed. The painful negotiations between Joel and a moronic gigolo, hired (don't ask) to seduce the hero's wife, feature some of the best idiot jokes you will hear this side of, well, Beavis and Butthead.
Kunis is rather wonderful as the amoral grifter and Bateman genuinely touching as a good man frustrated at every turn by liars, shysters and fruitcakes.
It's just a shame the various plotlines don't properly connect. Extractplays like five or six episodes of an excellent sitcom crammed into an insanely busy 90-minute package. The film is a riot, but, after emerging from the cinema you'd be hard-pressed to tell your friend what it's actually about. Expect to see the DVD lurking on students' shelves for years to come.
