He tackled office working lives with ‘Office Space’ followed by social de-evolution with ‘Idiocracy.’ Now Mike Judge presents a comedic look into running a business in ‘Extract.’
‘Extract’ follows the life of business owner, Joel (Jason Bateman), as his assets begin to fall apart. His workers cause a freak accident that causes a worker named Step to lose half of his manhood. Somehow a con-artist, Cindy (Mila Kunis), works her way into the situation, convincing Step to sue the company. To make matters worse for Joel, he discovers his wife is cheating on him. All aspects come crashing together only to find a happy ending, because this is a comedy.
I need to stop putting faith in Mike Judge. ‘Office Space’ is utterly brilliant, with a great cast of characters and a hilarious plot to support. “Idiocracy” had funny components for me, but it lacked a likeable cast or story for me. Judge created the shows ‘Beevis and Butthead’ and ‘King of the Hill,’ which aren’t my cup of tea. I was hopeful going into ‘Extract’ because it seemed like the reversed roles from “Office Space,” however the film falls flat with uneven characters and overused jokes. Bateman and Ben Affleck do a great job in the film, as well as Kristen Wiig. She actually surprised me as a serious actress and gained my respect. Kunis on the other hand was boring to me and completely uneven as her character. The actors in all did well to support what movie there was.
The comedy for me never rose above sophomoric. There was no elegance to the humor, and most jokes involved making fun of one testicle. Some scenes were well done, such as a giant bong and an adult film spoof. A single joke about calling Domino’s to deliver a Pepsi did make me break out laughing, rather than the chuckle or disgust that every other earned.
J.K. Simmons as Brian and Jason Bateman as Joel in EXTRACT
The style of the film was not bad at all, but it was standard as a comedy usually is. The two aforementioned innovative scenes did spark my interest due to the great camera styling and lighting, but otherwise it was dry and standard.
I do have several problems with the film, the first being Kunis’s character Cindy. She was utterly uninteresting to me. I have no problem with a character having no backstory, but I felt that she has absolutely no reason to be in this film. Why is she in this town? Why is she a con-artist? If you want a con movie, check out “The Brothers Bloom” or “The Sting.” Her plotline was completely unnecessary because in the end, she folds up and goes against character to resolve the film.
Another problem I have is the lack of a clear theme. I believe the theme is supposed to be confronting your conflicts head on. Tension arises when characters don’t address each other in person. Joel doesn’t confront his wife about never having sex nor do he and his wife confront their annoying neighbor (who is utterly brilliant and hilarious). When they finally do confront the problems, like the film preaches, they are SOL. So what is the theme then? I don’t know. Be nice to your employees? Learn people’s names? Don’t do drugs? All are feasible guesses.
Jason Bateman as Joel and Mila Kunis as Cindy in EXTRACT
Finally, to me the title really is a throw away. “Extract” refers to the flavored extracts that Joel’s factory produces, but that’s it. I thought a title like this might refer to other aspects, like extracting information and such, but no, it is a shallow title and movie. Maybe it references extracting information through other people counts; or extracting money, in the case of the con artist Cindy.
“Extract” was nothing more or less than a flat comedy that slapped on an R-rating. It didn’t need the R, but it had it. The acting is actually good for most of the cast, but the story is flawed, boring, and predictably cliché. If you want to see something in theaters this weekend, don’t spend full price on this one.
Grade: C (2 out of 4 stars)
More from ‘Extract’
Mike Judge goes from ‘Office Space’ to ‘Extract’
‘Extract’ videos
- Extract – Stupid, Stupid Brad Brad (Dustin Milligan) tries to convince Joel (Jason Bateman) that he’s in love with his wife.
- Extract – Thanks for the drugs Joel (Jason Bateman) tries to get the number of the guy he paid to sleep with his wife off of Dean (Ben Affleck.)
- Extract – I’m not going to charge you Joel (Jason Bateman) chews Brad (Dustin Milligan) out for sleeping with his wife.
- Extract – Tell me everything Brad (Dustin Milligan) tells Joel (Jason Bateman) how he got in his wife’s pants.
- Extract – Are you into fusion? Cindy (Mila Kunis) steals an expensive guitar from a couple of smitten sales clerks.
- Extract – Guess who asked for a raise today? Brian (J.K. Simmons) shows Joel (Jason Bateman) his inability to remember their employee’s names.
- Extract – You’re home early Joel (Jason Bateman) tries to force his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig) to confess she slept with the pool boy.
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