Review of Extract (2009) by Gareth D — 08 Apr 2014

As I was thoroughly pleased with literally all of director Mike Judge's previous films, Extract sounded definitely like a film worth checking out.

Similar to his critically acclaimed comedy Office Space, Extract begins as a comedy dealing with the annoying little elements of being in the workplace as the more complicated story aspects begin to unfold around the characters. Extract doesn't end up matching the qualities of Mike Judge's many better works, but it still proves to be some strong comedic entertainment.

The story like in Extract is rather scattered because it never maintains singular focus on its story and keeps on shifting between different plot elements. It attempts to be a comedy about all the little things in life, but it reaches for being a bit more full of bigger dynamics and there are a little too many of them. The story is a little too packed with various subplots and such, and yet it tries to be a laid back and relaxed comedy at the same time. Unfortunately, Mike Judge fails to find the appropriate balance to make it work and instead shoves it all into a short quantity of running time. Extract is still enjoyable and it is a chill comedy, but it shouldn't have attempted to be more than that because it just comes off weird in the process.

Still, Mike Judge allows the story to unfold without ever becoming convoluted and constantly remains as a relaxed and easy to watch comedy which is appealing if audiences want to kick back and take it easy.

Really, Extract's comedic success rests on the two assets of its script and cast.

The script is a gentle one which has some decent comedic material in it. It isn't the funniest thing Mike Judge has written and the material is rather inconsistent, but it supplies some interesting comedic concept even if it doesn't go into a deep exploration of them. Extract has an easy atmosphere to it which makes it a consistently paced film which isn't hard to kick back and watch, and it has a good feel of comedic energy to it which seems genuine.

And luckily enough, the cast manage to supply a lot of charm to Extract.

Jason Bateman's lead performance seems a little routine for him, although that's pretty much expected as he plays the same neurotic man in essentially every film. But it doesn't mean that he isn't good. Jason Bateman's performance in Extract gives a good guidance for the story to follow as it charters through various dynamics and different themes, and he consistently gives a rather natural performance where he delivers his lines with natural human restraint without going over the top. Jason Bateman is right for the lead role in Extract and he shares a fine comedic chemistry with the many supporting cast members as well.

Mila Kunis' role doesn't challenge her all too much, but she delivers a performance really easily befitting to the character where she thinks and acts quick on her feet and does it so confidently that it's easy to see that she is like that in real life. Mila Kunis works the material in Extract almost too easily, and her supporting role is a strong asset in the development of the story within the film.

Kristen Wiig's supporting performance comes from earlier in her career before her massive international breakthrough in Bridesmaids, and in her role she supplies a natural restrained charisma similar to Jason Bateman's which makes then convincing as a married couple. And she has a desirable sexual appeal which she doesn't flaunt around but merely allows viewers to take notice of naturally. And her line delivery feels genuine, so her performance is a convincing one where she tunes her lines in with her emotional physicality and works without problem.

David Koechner's character Nathan had a lot of character elements reminiscent of Bill Lumbergh from Office Space due to him being simply a repetitive and neurotic character who doesn't realise how annoying he can be. And David Koechner he a the role with straight up ease. Usually he tends to play very forward and obnoxious characters, so seeing him in the role of a rather neurotic and annoying everyman is actually quite interesting. By the end of the film audiences are likely to feel sorry for him, so he succeeds in the role of his character.

J. K. Simmons, Dustin Mulligan and Beth Grant also manage to supply effective supporting efforts to the film.

Lastly, Ben Affleck's zany and spaced out performance was a nice touch because he was actually pretty funny and much different to many of his more usual roles. He was like the icing on the cake in Extract.

So Extract doesn't scale the heights of Mike Judge's finest efforts and isn't the most funny film, but it has his iconic touch to it and a dedicated cast which make it easy viewing.