Extract

Mike Judge, the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head, continues his little-publicised career as a maker of live-action comedies with this tale of Joel (Jason Bateman), a factory owner facing personal and professional hassles. Ostensibly, the title refers to Joel’s line of work — manufacturing food extracts. Whatever other significance it may have is hard to figure out, because the film is a curious hodgepodge. There are knockabout jokes at the expense of ignorant rednecks; there are stonerish jokes, courtesy of Joel’s laid-back buddy (Ben Affleck); and there’s an attempt at something a bit more sensitive in the account of our hero’s marital problems. In none of these areas does Judge come up with anything particularly funny. Compared with his best work, the film has a disappointing lack of firepower and originality.