The reviews have been kinda cool,but having seen this movie not too long ago and having enjoyed it,I think I can give this a basic approval. Basic approval.
Joel(Jason Bateman,making good on practically every protagonist role he gets anymore)runs a food flavoring extract company in Texas(city non-specific)that he created and he's reached a placid stretch where he's bored with his work,stressed-out by his underlings and woefully un-fulfilled with his marriage to a stay-at-home free-lancer(Kristen Wiig,very good). He takes out his malaise and peeves on a hotel bar tended by his oily,"feeling' no pain" dude named Dean(Ben Affleck in arguably one of the more loose,incognito roles of his career;when I first saw the trailers,I thought he was Adam Sandler!)whose laid-back,answers-for-everything mien balances Joel's straight arrow personage.
When a diligent but trying floor worker(Clifton Collins jr.,also unrecognizable,though that's kinda his MO)is seriously(YOUCH!!)hurt on the job,his absence,coupled with the appearance of a hot but delightfully sociopathic drifter named Cindy(Mila Kuniz,out of rhythm with this film in a character that definitely could've been better written)as a new temp,sets events in motion that are going to seriously muck up not only Joel's sedate life but also that of his company,which seems to be on par with being bought out by General Mills.
Writer/Director Mike Judge places an interesting and funny film that doesn't seem to be interested in finishing,or filling out the characters and/or situations of the story,and thus falls short of previous efforts(Office Space and Idiocracy). Practically every character besides Joel is left open-ended:the button-down assistant manager played by J.K.Simmons,the wife,the injured worker in question,the unctuous neighbor played by David Koechner and the grifter hottie herself in particular. Granted,a quick comedy(roughly 90 minutes)that plays for absurd events that mull out of mundane occurrences(Judge's specialty,more out of shows like "Beavis and Butthead" and "King of the Hill")is probably going to have one-dimensional characters,but it still feels like this film was somewhat hurried. A little more exposition and maybe an awkwardly pinned ending might've improved the quality of this film.
Still,the lines and some of the performances--the guy who plays the stutlifyingly dumb young Lothario who is hired to seduce Joel's wife is particularly mint,complimenting Affleck's inspired turn--make this movie easily enjoyable. Practically all of the events and characters seem to mirror,to some degree or another,Office Space,with the outcomes and general tome much tamer and less overall cutting than the previous film. To me,there was enough of the spirit of the previous to make this one work,even if it wasn't as declarative or distinctive on its own.
Judging from the crowd--or lack thereof--at the showing that I saw and the dwindling numbers at the box,I'd say that this is definitely worth a look either on DVD or on cable. If you dial down your expectations from previous Judge creations,one who goes into seeing this shouldn't be too disappointed.
Joel(Jason Bateman,making good on practically every protagonist role he gets anymore)runs a food flavoring extract company in Texas(city non-specific)that he created and he's reached a placid stretch where he's bored with his work,stressed-out by his underlings and woefully un-fulfilled with his marriage to a stay-at-home free-lancer(Kristen Wiig,very good). He takes out his malaise and peeves on a hotel bar tended by his oily,"feeling' no pain" dude named Dean(Ben Affleck in arguably one of the more loose,incognito roles of his career;when I first saw the trailers,I thought he was Adam Sandler!)whose laid-back,answers-for-everything mien balances Joel's straight arrow personage.
When a diligent but trying floor worker(Clifton Collins jr.,also unrecognizable,though that's kinda his MO)is seriously(YOUCH!!)hurt on the job,his absence,coupled with the appearance of a hot but delightfully sociopathic drifter named Cindy(Mila Kuniz,out of rhythm with this film in a character that definitely could've been better written)as a new temp,sets events in motion that are going to seriously muck up not only Joel's sedate life but also that of his company,which seems to be on par with being bought out by General Mills.
Writer/Director Mike Judge places an interesting and funny film that doesn't seem to be interested in finishing,or filling out the characters and/or situations of the story,and thus falls short of previous efforts(Office Space and Idiocracy). Practically every character besides Joel is left open-ended:the button-down assistant manager played by J.K.Simmons,the wife,the injured worker in question,the unctuous neighbor played by David Koechner and the grifter hottie herself in particular. Granted,a quick comedy(roughly 90 minutes)that plays for absurd events that mull out of mundane occurrences(Judge's specialty,more out of shows like "Beavis and Butthead" and "King of the Hill")is probably going to have one-dimensional characters,but it still feels like this film was somewhat hurried. A little more exposition and maybe an awkwardly pinned ending might've improved the quality of this film.
Still,the lines and some of the performances--the guy who plays the stutlifyingly dumb young Lothario who is hired to seduce Joel's wife is particularly mint,complimenting Affleck's inspired turn--make this movie easily enjoyable. Practically all of the events and characters seem to mirror,to some degree or another,Office Space,with the outcomes and general tome much tamer and less overall cutting than the previous film. To me,there was enough of the spirit of the previous to make this one work,even if it wasn't as declarative or distinctive on its own.
Judging from the crowd--or lack thereof--at the showing that I saw and the dwindling numbers at the box,I'd say that this is definitely worth a look either on DVD or on cable. If you dial down your expectations from previous Judge creations,one who goes into seeing this shouldn't be too disappointed.