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WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Many critics would tell you they expect quite a lot from writer/director Mike Judge, who has entertained a generation with his comedy.

With shows like "Beavis and Butthead" and films such as "Office Space," Judge has taught us how to laugh again and again -- even when we thought we shouldn't. So, it should be no surprise that when Judge announced he would be making another film examining the working man, that he found overwhelming fan support. But fans had expected to laugh like before.

His new movie "Extract," though, didn't make us laugh just because it could, it asked us questions that "Office Space" didn't. But it seems his comedy was lost in some of these questions, creating mixed feelings by the end of the film.

"Extract" is the story of Joel (Jason Bateman), owner and founder of an extract factory, who finds his life to be trying and boring. As the story unfolds, his biggest issues seem to be his workers-- some less-than-savory characters, his choice in friends and his failing sex life -- If he doesn't get home before 8 p.m., which he fails to do often due to his talkative neighbor Nathan (David Koechner), his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig) "puts on the sweatpants" and he gets nothing.

His best friend Dean (Ben Affleck), a bartender with a habit of taking recreational drugs, tells him he needs a change. But the wrong change occurs for Joel. When Step (Clifton Collins Jr.) gets a groin injury while working at the factory, he decides to sue the factory at the advice of his "girlfriend" Cindy (Mila Kunis), a con artist who began working at the factory solely to figure out how to milk it dry. Step's possible settlement makes Cindy's mouth water and she pretends to date him to get at the money.

When Joel meets Cindy, her flirting makes him think about her in less-than-biblical ways. On the advice of his friend Dean, he hatches a plan to finally get "laid" with Cindy. He hires a gigolo named Brad (Dustin Milligan) to seduce his wife, so that he can sleep with Cindy guilt-free. Bad choices flourish in this ride through a series of mishaps.

The humor in this movie is solid. Many moments are funny. The problem is that this movie was marketed next to "Office Space," and it unfortunately does not live up to that standard. Although the dialogue is believable and the characters realistic, the jokes are a little more hit-and-miss than moviegoers have come to expect. There are moments that are supposed to be funny that are funny, and then, there are moments that are supposed to be funny and fall short.

The acting in this movie, however, is superb. Bateman and Kunis shine beyond expectations. Bateman is convincing as a man with little resolve to make correct decisions and Kunis is right in her element as a con artist. It's hard to believe that these are the same people who started on primetime television.

The whole cast deserves praise for their performances. Some key players include Koechner, whose portrayal as nosy neighbor Nathan provides one of the funniest moments in the movie, and Affleck, whose recent slump was destroyed by this role. It begs the question of why Affleck doesn't play more humorous roles like this one, because he is much better in this type of film than many of his high-profile action ones.

However, a big problem with this movie is its blandness. Although the basis for everything Judge wanted to accomplish is there, "Extract" unfortunately falls short. There are moments in this film that seem to drag on and jokes that seem to be carried too far.

A person doing drugs who normally doesn't can be a joke that is time-tested and funny, but here, the movie carries it so far that it is simply annoying. This is a film that may be very good the first time, but you may not find yourself coming back for a second run.

There is also no one to feel with. The characters in this movie all make terrible choices. No one can be given any amount of sympathy because they don't earn it with the audience. A moviegoer could be hating every character by the end of this movie.

The characters are all believable, but none of them really have any endearing qualities. While Judge normally gets around this problem with a story where you don't need to feel for anyone, as he did in "Beavis and Butthead," moviegoers of "Extract" may find themselves begging for a hero.

Overall, this film is above average. It makes us laugh, think, and most importantly, it makes us feel. While it has no one to sympathize with, "Extract" does take us back to a time when Mike Judge was on top. It helps to see his style in a time where comedies really have begun to drag on and not entertain the way they used to. It is a movie you only may want to see once, but that one time should be a good time. A solid 3.5 out of 5.