Mike Judge returns to the everyday workplace as the setting for his new comedy “Extract,” but it’s hard not to wish for a more spirited take à la his 1999 cult hit “Office Space.”

Even the broad comedy in “Extract” seems oddly muted—especially that of Ben Affleck, playing a stoner bartender named Dean who gives the absolute worst advice on the planet to his buddy, factory owner Joel (a bewildered Jason Bateman).

But then this movie really isn’t about the wacky goings-on and frustrations of the workers at an extract-flavoring plant. Sure, there are moments of terrible incompetence on the part of his employees, but “Extract” is really about Joel’s midlife crisis.

The physical representation of this is when a worker (Clifton Collins, Jr.) loses a testicle in a factory-floor accident. It sounds sufficiently off-color, but for much of the movie, it seems that Judge is a little embarrassed by his script, which he shouldn’t be. His direction of the movie, however, doesn’t match the absurdity of the situations Joel finds himself in.

It’s too bad, because in Joel, the writer/director has created a character worth remembering. If there’s one person in the film to get excited about, it’s Bateman. The actor, usually relegated to supporting roles, brings out the innate goodness of Joel—a boss who treats everyone fairly and knows his employees by name.

His levelheadedness is put to the test as he deals with a worker uprising, a frigid wife (a criminally underused Kristen Wiig), a con artist (Mila Kunis), and an ambulance-chasing TV lawyer (Gene Simmons). A perfect example of the sloppiness of Judge’s direction comes in a scene with Simmons, better known as the blood-spitting fourth of KISS.

Casting the notoriously uber-capitalistic and over-the-top rocker as a TV-ad lawyer/pitchman is brilliant, but Simmons looks uncomfortable sitting at a table in a scene with solid character actor J.K. Simmons and Bateman. It’s less acting than it is awkward line reading, until the moment when Simmons repeats the high-energy gag that the scene has been building up to. Sure, there is a laugh there, but it partially comes out of desperation because the scene itself has already imploded.

Judge also gets no assist in fleshing out supporting characters from Beth Grant (the annoying P.E. teacher from “Donnie Darko”) and T.J. Miller (the annoying cameraman Hud from “Cloverfield”), who make their annoying factory workers embarrassingly one note. Even Wiig, who can usually mine comedy gold from the barest of outlines, gets nothing from her bland turn as the unhappy wife. Ditto for Affleck, who is coasting with his eyes closed in a bad wig and fake beard.

Although most of “Extract” is fairly subdued, David Koechner plays it big with an instantly recognizable Judge archetype—the suburban neighbor who keeps pestering Joel in the name of “just being friendly.” At first, the laughs come from the familiarity. As the films wears on, though, so does the joke. When Koechner finally gets his comeuppance, the pacing is off. Just like the movie, it’s a bit of an anti-climax.

Sidenote: Judge’s movies play better on TV somehow. They work better in short bursts when you are zoning out and are constantly interrupted by commercials. “Extract” isn’t as funny as the wickedly absurd but poorly paced “Idiocracy,” though, so it will be interesting to see if it plays better in a format doesn’t require as much coherency or focus.

Tags: 2009, extract, film, jason bateman, mike judge, movie, review

If you are thinking about buying “Let the Right One In” on DVD soon–DON’T DO IT! Jim Emerson has the scoop on one of the best movies of the year getting royally screwed with “stripped down, horribly translated subtitles.” Apparently, Magnolia/Magnet has reportedly said that, in response to viewer objections, it will correct the error on future pressings, but there will be no refunds.

Rob Zombie spilled the beans on his latest movie “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” which is in development, to MTV:

“It’s not a horror movie. It’s like an incredibly violent ’70s action movie. I can’t think of anything that’s like it. Just a gritty, gnarly, violent movie. But it’s not a horror movie in any way. It’s sort of like a cross between that Dustin Hoffman movie ‘Straight Time’ mixed with ‘Raging Bull’… sort of,” said Zombie. “I want to make a serious movie about this washed-up prizefighter who’s got this self-destructive tendency, and he comes out of prison and the only way he knows how to survive is by fighting. But his boxing career is over so he gets caught up in this sort of underground fight ring. But it’s all set in the ’70s, so it’s not like an ‘Ultimate Fighting’ type thing. It’s more like just nasty. It’s like if ‘Every Which Way But Loose’ was a serious movie. How about that? Minus the orangutan. [laughs]”

Wes Anderson’s new movie, an animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” started early test screenings this past weekend. George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Jason Schwartzman, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, and Anjelica Huston, and Michael Gambon supply the voices and Jarvis Cocker from Pulp has been writing some of the songs.

According to The Playlist, Edgar Wright’s “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” has started principal photography in Toronto, Canada. The “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” director will direct Michael Cera in a movie that takes place in the Canadian music scene of the late 90s/early oughts and music for the bands that appear in the movie will be handled by Sloan, Metric, Broken Social Scene, and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich.

A sequel to J.J. Abrams‘ upcoming “Star Trek” reboot–due out May 8–is reportedly being fast-tracked. Abrams collaborators Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof have been hired to write (as if they weren’t already busy enought with TV shows “Lost” and “Fringe”).

Jim Jarmusch’s new hitman drama “The Limits of Control,” starring Issach De Bankolé, Bill Murray, Gael Garcia Bernal, Tilda Swinton and Paz De La Huerta, is due out in limited release on May 1.

David Cronenberg is moving forward with a sequel to “Eastern Promises” starring Viggo Mortensen (who would reprise his Oscar-nominated role).

Mike Judge has the worst luck with theatrical releases. First, “Office Space” flops in theaters (before later becoming a cult classic on DVD), and then “Idiocracy” gets move and dumped into a couple theaters before ending up on DVD and becoming a…well..cult film. His new comedy, “Extract,” stars Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Kristen Wiig, and Mila Kunis, and has been given a release date of September 4. Good luck, Mike!

The man behind the “Evil Dead” and “Spider-Man” franchises is returning to the horror genre with “Drag Me to Hell.” The Sam Raimi-directed horror flick, which promises to be a return to form of sorts to the “Evil Dead” style, showed at SXSW in an unfinished cut. It stars Alison Lohman and Justin Long and comes out May 29. The poster has just arrived, courtesy Shocktilyoudrop.com. Check it.

Tags: 2009, extract, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Hollywood Clipjoint, Jim Jarmusch, mike judge, New Movie News, rob zombie, The Limits of Control, Tyrannosaurus Rex, wes anderson