At the Movies: capsule reviews of ‘Extract’ and other films this week

Capsule reviews: ‘Extract’ and others

Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

“All About Steve” — It’s bad enough that Sandra Bullock has found a way to star in not one but two flat romantic comedies this summer, between “The Proposal” in June and now this. But what’s truly baffling — disheartening, really — is the fact that this latest one was written by a woman. Kim Barker came up with the script in which Bullock’s character, a crossword puzzle writer named Mary Horowitz, is singularly annoying from the word go. It’s almost misogynistic, the lack of humanity Barker’s script gives this woman. Mary is a goofy, clingy, hyperactive chatterbox who bores people everywhere she goes with her arcane bits of trivia and long-winded anecdotes. She lives at home with her parents (Beth Grant and Howard Hesseman, who don’t get much to do) and needs to be fixed up on a blind date to have even a remote chance at intimate contact with a man. When she finally meets handsome cable-news cameraman Steve (Bradley Cooper, all blue eyes and blinding teeth), she immediately throws herself at him. Then she misinterprets a comment he makes in the frenzy of scurrying away from her as an invitation to join him on the road covering breaking news, and ends up stalking him across the country. There is nothing about Mary that’s even vaguely appealing, but the feature debut from director Phil Traill makes it obvious we’re meant to find her weirdness endearing. Thomas Haden Church provides a couple of laughs as Steve’s self-serious reporter, while Kerri Kenney-Silver, Luenell from “Borat” and Charlyne Yi go to waste in throwaway supporting roles. PG-13 for sexual content including innuendoes. 87 min. One star out of four.

— Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

“Extract” — Ten years ago, Mike Judge satirized the absurdities of the workplace experience from the perspective of put-upon employees with “Office Space.” It didn’t do much when it came out but, as we all know by now, it became a cult favorite on cable and home video, to the point where it changed the way you looked at the common stapler. Now, Judge is back to the daily grind with “Extract,” but this time the writer-director tells his wacky working tales from the boss’ point of view: that of Jason Bateman’s Joel Reynold, owner of a flavor extract factory. It’s doubtful that this comedy will grab its audience in the same way, though. Judge’s characters are so one-note and their misadventures so ridiculous that it’s hard to get attached to them or care about how they turn out. Pretty much everyone in “Extract” is stupid, unlikable, self-destructive or all of the above — and so there are no real surprises. Joel is on the verge of selling his company to General Mills. At the same time, his nonexistent sex life with his frosty wife (a thoroughly underused Kristen Wiig) has him pondering an adulterous fling with a sexy new employee (Mila Kunis), who happens to be a scheming sociopath. So his suave bartender friend (an amusing Ben Affleck) encourages him to hire a gigolo to sleep with her and justify his own affair. R for language, sexual references and some drug use. 91 min. Two stars out of four.

— Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic