The problem with Extract is that these everyday people are kind of scum (and not of the movie variety). Judge is certainly a genius to be able to wring a compelling, and funny, story out of the events going on with Joel as the owner of an manufacturing company in the business of extract who hates his job, dislikes his employees, is sexually frustrated in his marriage, and could be facing a lawsuit from one of his employees who was injured on the job. Sounds good so far, right?
We’ll go down the character sheet now: Joel hates his employees and possibly his life in general. His wife Suzie is itching to have an affair. Cindy is a kleptomaniac. Dean is a drug-pushing (both pharmaceutical and the other kind) bartender. Brad is a male whore. Nathan is an obnoxious, big-mouthed neighbor. These are our main characters and short of Step, the employee who tragically lost a testicle, there is not a likable one in the bunch.
Compare this to Judge’s previous masterpiece Office Space where not only were the characters realistic but also a group of people you could root for (possibly even the obtuse Bill Lumbergh). Just like that movie, Extract brings the funny but in a subtle, off-the-cuff, deadpan humor kind of way. Obviously Jason Bateman is the perfect thespian to carry those reigns as he delivers a performance similar and almost as good as his legacy Arrested Development even if the writing here does not compete on the same level. Many may not like Extract simply for the fact that there are not many laugh out loud moments or juvenile humor like other movies from guys named Apatow or Philips. There are no fart jokes here, no naked Asian guys trapped in the back of a Mercedes, just real people with real problems. Now, do not get me wrong as I love movies like The Hangover or The 40 Year Old Virgin as much as the next 28-year-old guy but this movie rides on a different train so to say.
Other than Bateman, the actors here could not have been cast more perfectly. Mila Kunis as the scheming yet still endearing Cindy is eerily similar to Emma Stone’s character in Zombieland but it works well as she is the main catalyst in the film for a large number of events. Kristen Wiig turns in another solid, yet very understated, role as Joel’s cheating wife. Ben Affleck steals the show whenever he is on screen as the sort-of-hippy-but-not-really Dean who also sets a large number of events in motion as the proverbial devil on Joel’s shoulder. Even the smaller roles with J.K. Simmons and Beth Grant strike chords with anyone who has every worked before. I fathom that having a boss who cannot remember your name or an old lady who is just as quick to point her finger at others for slacking as she is herself transcends any occupational boundaries.
Just like in Office Space, a large portion of the humor is derived from everyday situations but my main problem with this movie is that its mean-spirited attitude betrays the quirkiness it otherwise conveys. It is hard to feel for a guy like Joel who lives in a large house, drives a nice car, and wants bang some temp just because he cannot get any at home. Even the ending is constructed around the death of a character that Joel and his wife could not stand and may have indirectly caused the death of where they reconcile at his funeral.
I had high hopes for Extract after hearing somewhat negative reviews of Judge’s last film Idiocracy. Unlike Office Space though, all of the components are here for a great comedic tale but the characters stop you from giving a damn as well-written as they are.
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