‘Extract’ is lacking in flavor

Perhaps it is asking too much for director Mike Judge (“Idiocracy,” “Beavis and Butt-Head”) to duplicate the success of his now epic film “Office Space.”

Similarly set in the workplace, though this time at a flavor-bottling factory, “Extract” lacks the memorable characters of its predecessor.

Joel (Jason Bateman) is sexually frustrated and pondering the sale of his extract company. His bartender friend Dean (Ben Affleck) convinces him to hire a gigolo for his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig) so that his conscience is clear when he has an affair with con artist and new employee Cindy (Mila Kunis).

To make matters more difficult, an assembly line worker (Clifton Collins Jr.) loses a testicle, an annoying neighbor (David Koechner) won’t stop bothering him and everyone around him is insensitively stupid.

Judge has become an expert at exploiting stupidity for its humor, and much of the supporting cast is used to this end.

But while “Office Space” made a perfect mockery of the American dream, “Extract” depicts a bored world unscathed by drugs, an idiotic male hooker, a sexy crook and testicular amputation.