Review of Extract (2009) by Colson V — 02 Jul 2010

I can't stand Mike Judge.

*GASPS* "How can you hate Mike Judge?!?!!?? King of the Hill is the best show on TV, and Office Space is the Jesus of modern comedy!!!!".

Sorry, I just can't stand the guy. I didn't get one laugh from Office Space, and King of the Hill is just abysmal in terms of how annoying and unfunny it is. Mike Judge hasn't impressed me once and I wasn't expecting much when it came time for his next work based comedy, Extract.

Jason Bateman plays Joel, a struggling and unmotivated owner of a flower-extract factory. After a horrible accident in the factory, Mila Kunis (Cindy) takes a job on the factory floor. Unbeknownst to Joel, Cindy is actually a con-artist who steals everything she gets her hands on. Adding to the problems is his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig), a bored, frusterated housewife who tends to give into temptation whenever Joel is away, and the new pool boy, Brad is at home. Joel's best friend Dean (Ben Affleck) is always there to lend a hand, even when it isn't the best advice out there. And his factory is going under because of the law-suits. Joel's life sucks and it's going to take a miracle to get everything straightened out.

The trailers looked halfway decent- incredibly funny compared to the AWFUL Office Space and ABYSMAL King of the Hill. Mike Judge surprised me right off the bat and the trailer made me excited enough to watch the entire 90 minutes that the film consists of.

"This film can't be THAT bad" I thought to myself.

"Mila Kunis and Kristen Wiig are ridiculously hot, and Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, David Koechner, and J.K. Simmons are all very funny. How could this movie suck?" For the most part, it didn't completely suck.

The film is pretty funny and pretty serious when it needs to be at the appropriate times. The acting is good for a film of this nature, and I didn't feel bored throughout the film. However, the story, mood and premise of the film keep changing throughout the 90 minutes. Whether it be Jason Bateman paying a gigalo to see if his wife will cheat on him, Jason Bateman trying to uncover the mystery of Mila Kunis, or Jason Bateman trying to keep the factory, it changes focus all too often. Believe me, I get it. It's a "Look-How-Much-This-Person's-Life-Sucks" comedy and as funny as they can be (Precious was one of the funniest movies of the year), it didn't seem focused. It seems as if everybody has something to do in the film, yet doesn't actually do anything throughout. Ben Affleck has almost nothing to do with this movie, yet he is the funniest part to this movie. Mila Kunis has barely any screen-time, yet she is one of the more central characters to the plot. It just seems as if Mike Judge had ideas for a ton of sequals or stories that would have never worked for a full-feature so he just crammed them, uncomfortably, into this one film. While some of it works, some stuff just crumbles apart right in front of you.

Extract was okay. Not bad, not great. It was a decent work-based comedy that I would GLADLY choose over his other crap. Extract is a conveluted dramedy that at least deserves a glance at. Since Office Space is the supreme being, I'm sure this film will be thrown away as a cheap rip-off and that's sad. If you can get past the flaws, Extract is an okay dramedy. Nothing more, nothing less.