Extract

Jason Bateman is BRILLIANT!
OK, EXTRACT does not have a slap stick type of humor. I get that. Also, EXTRACT is not as memorable as OFFICE SPACE. Understood. But one thing is sure, EXTRACT is still one of the best all-around movies I've seen this year. JASON BATEMAN is one of the funniest actors around these days. His subtle nuances are what makes him so funny. From TEEN WOLF TOO & HOGAN FAMILY to ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT & JUNO, he is a brilliant actor that gets laughs without ever changing his restrained sense of humor.

The movie itself is about a young, moderately successful factory owner. The factory produces, of course,food extract. The story unfolds and plans backfire, thanks mostly impart to his best friend played by BEN AFFLECK. The role for AFFLECK is a nice return for him back to his roots of doing less than award-winning blockbuster films. With KRISTEN WIIG in a somewhat toned down role and MILA KUNIS as a bit of a vixen, the supporting cast is really well-rounded.

EXTRACT is an...

A difficult month in the life of a nice guy...
"Extract, directed by Mike Judge (King of the Hill), is about Joel (Jason Bateman) who runs an extract factory. He has his regular ups and downs just like anyone, but when one of his workers loses his testicle in a freak accident things start to go from bad to worse. (Spoiler alert for those who have yet to see the film) The next thing that happens to him is a con-woman named Cindy (Mila Kunis) begins work for him. Cindy convinces the testicleless employee to file a lawsuit against the company. Also, his wife hasn't wanted to have sex with him for months, and he takes some bad advice from his friend, Dean (Ben Affleck), and hires a pool guy to seduce his wife so that he can guiltlessly have an affair with Cindy, and before he knows it the pool guy is coming over everyday and has fallen in love with his wife. Then the employees decide that they should get a piece of the pie of his company, since he is thinking of selling it to a prospective buyer, and decide to go on strike...

Moments of fun, but I wanted to love it.... and didn't
I've been waiting or this movie. Loved Office Space, even really enjoyed Idiocracy. I heard some mixed reviews which tempered my expectations, but even so, this was a disappointing and very uneven movie.

Jason Bateman plays his straight-laced, deadpan comedy to the hilt, much as he did in Arrested Development. He is Joel, the owner of a factory employing a real assortment of underachieving, funny characters. With an offer from General Mills to buy the plant and make him rich, Joel looks forward to early retirement. On the home front, he is a sexually frustrated husband with an unreceptive wife and an unrelentingly dull neighbor.

With moments of genius, the movie was also dragged down by some poor realization of comedic potential. Kristin Wiig, a funny and versatile comedienne, is wasted as the housewife, and although she certainly has enough scenes, the writing doesn't allow her to perform.

The various subplots didn't mesh as well as I expected...

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