Extract is written and directed by Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-head, Idiocracy, Office Space) and stars Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, J.K. Simmons, and Ben Affleck. That’s a pretty solid group of talent and/or box office draw so why did I walk away feeling less than impressed? Billed as “the funniest comedy of the year”, this movie offered only a few laughs both in situations and one-liners and as the credits rolled I wondered what the hell I had just watched.
The Plot: Joel is a chemistry guru who has mastered the art of food extracts and is on the verge of selling his plant to General Mills for a lot of money. He boasts about driving a 7-series BMW and lives in a phat house with a long driveway. Life at home is less than great, however. His wife won’t have sex with him and on the verge of the buy-out of his company an act of carelessness costs a factory worker a testicle and throws the thought of retirement into the furnace. Joel’s buddy Dean, (Affleck) thinks he can solve a few of his problems by offering him drugs and a Gigolo to seduce his wife so he doesn’t feel guilty about cheating on her with the newly hired (and unbearably sexy) Cindy (Kunis).
The Good: Mila Kunis is not too hard to look at. Jason Batemen is solid in his role, although the story doesn’t do much to support him. David Koechner as Nathan, the annoying neighbor is always fun to watch and Extract is no exception.
The Bad: I wasn’t turned on by the story or the way things unfolded. To bill this as a comedy is a stretch. "Black comedy" may have suited it better given the situations involved but undecided is where it seems to fall in my mind
The Ugly: Ben Affleck kinda sucks…. again. I really don’t want to hate on anyone but he makes it pretty easy. His character is pretty unoriginal (not his fault, although he chooses his roles so I guess it is) but his take on the character is beyond unoriginal. He goes for a younger, dumber, less interesting Labowski and just made my eyes roll into the back of my head when he was on screen.
I usually don’t like to comment on specific scenes but one comes to mind towards the end of the film that just stuck with me. Suzie, (Wigg) Joel’s cheating wife goes on a good 60 second rant telling Nathan, the annoying neighbor, how she really feels about him. The only problem is that the entire film it's Joel who has to fend off Nathan. The scene didn’t make much sense and like the rest of the movie it left me with a puzzled and unsatisfied feeling.
My Vote: Office Space,
