Jason Bateman and Mila Kunis in Mike Judge's new comedy 'Extract'

Credit: Miramax Films

I was sent some information about "Extract" this morning, including the following, which is the official synopsis:

"Extract" is the latest comedy from writer/director Mike Judge ("Office Space, "King of the Hill," "Beavis and Butt-Head").  Joel, played by Jason Bateman, is one step away from selling his flavor extract factory and retiring to easy street when a freak workplace accident sets in motion a series of disasters that put his business and personal life in jeopardy.  The film also stars Kristen Wiig, Mila Kunis, and Ben Affleck.

Sounds pretty good to me.  And now, thanks to the fine folks over at Miramax, we've got your first look at the first trailer for the film.  This should be airing on "Entertainment Tonight" this evening, but we've got a version for you that we guarantee is 100% annoying Mary Hart voiceover free.

[check out the trailer after the jump]

I love that Miramax is already putting out trailers and posters for this one, and I'll tell you why:  it suggests that maybe Mike Judge isn't going to get boned this time.  I think both of his live-action features are very good and deserved a wider audience.  "Office Space" found some success on home video, and that's good to see, but "Idiocracy" is still the bastard child of Judge's career, and that's a shame.  Fox had no idea what to do with the film, and even when they finally did release it, it was in a few theaters, and there was absolutely no marketing money spent on it.

I've seen a few people saying that releasing this one in the gap between the summer movies and the big fall releases suggests that Miramax is "dumping" the film.  I'd argue the opposite.  This isn't a giant movie with giant set pieces and giant stars.  This is a small character comedy from a cult-friendly filmmaker, a guy who has never had a huge success in live-action.  It's April, and we're already seeing a poster and a trailer and some effort to create some awareness.  That's not a dump by any definition.  In fact, it looks like finally someone is doing their part to actually sell a Mike Judge movie.  And that is a huge step in the right direction.

So what do you guys think of the trailer?  Interested yet?

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