Extract Review

It’s tough to really say Extract is a comedy. Sure, it’s being marketed as one and masquerades as one, but the film never hits the notes it wants to. Certainly there are laughs, few and far between though they may be, but none ever really rise much higher than a chuckle. Writer, director, and animation guru Mike Judge is more concerned with telling a story than he is with satisfying the audience’s comedy fix. Taken from that viewpoint, Extract leaves a little more to be desired and only becomes a fairly mediocre film.

There’s no point in discussing Judge’s visual style, as he’s never been one to do interesting things with a camera, so the main focus will continue to be the story. The central plot revolves around Jason Bateman’s Joel trying to validate his amorous feelings toward Cindy (Mila Kunis) by convincing his wife (Kristen Wiig) sleep with a gigolo hired by him. While slightly intriguing, it’s not enough to keep the film chugging along for even its brief allotted runtime. It works, mostly, because Judge knows when to let it flow out of proportion, except for when dealing with Cindy. She’s just there, never really serving any purpose other than free looks at Mrs. Kunis. Her arc is never really wrapped up either – except for a quick throwaway line that’s underplayed and easily missed.

Also wrapped up rather haphazardly is David Koechner’s annoying neighbor Nathan. He’s a distraction (and that may be his purpose), but this gag gets old quick. Koechner’s perfect at being a pest so the blame doesn’t rest on him. Judge wraps him up rather randomly, and in a way that’s more off-putting than anything. In Koechner’s defense, though, he’s annoying in a lovable oaf sort of way. Beth Grant has us wishing Anton Chigurh would pay her another visit. Every frame wasted on her is one the film could be using to improve its story. Sadly for us, she’s the whole catalyst for the film’s subplot involving Step (Clifton Collins, Jr.), who is suing the company with persuasion from Cindy.

Thankfully, Collins Jr. handles Step very well and never rocks the boat with a character that could easily fall into the same type of trap. Perhaps he’s a visual metaphor for the film: looks goofy and overblown but is actually subdued and somewhat likable. Making the film likable in the least is Ben Affleck, who, like  Collins Jr., looks incredibly goofy. Softening that goofiness soewhat is a certain charm Affleck applies to Dean to turn him into the bartender we all know and love, even if he’s a little odd-looking. Affleck keeps the outrageous aspects in check to keep Dean likable. He ends up being the best of the bunch, and truthfully it’s nice to see him making a mini-comeback.

Which leaves Jason Bateman and Kristen Wiig as the leading couple. Bateman of course is always a welcome addition to anything he does, even the strongly overrated Juno. He’s no different here, and has a presence that’s underrated to a degree. He guides the film when Affleck isn’t around to help him wade through the bad parts and doesn’t make Joel a wuss. Wiig certainly feels at home as Suzie and actually fits very well with Bateman. She’s sexy enough to be a housewife and smart enough to not overplay the character. She and Bateman feel natural, as if they really were married and going through these problems.

Shamefully they’re not enough to help the film overcome its own problems. Story aside, the film doesn’t appear to be trying for gut-busting laughs. The Hangover suffered story problems as well, but they made up for a good portion of those by delivering the funny. Extract has opposite goals, but really should have stuck to that plan. There’s nothing here that will evoke a great amount of laughter from a group of friends looking for the next big comedy, who will likely chalk up the film as disappointment in that respect.

For me, though, Extract comes off as a mediocre film that does enough right to balance its wrongs. Some performances sparkle while others tarnish hopes the movie had of being great. There’s a laugh or two here and there, but nothing that will have audiences in tears like the studio would want. In a sense, this is Office Space from the boss’ point of view and we come to discover that being the boss isn’t as glamorous as it appears. Essentially, that’s Extract in a nutshell.