Extract Directed by: Mike Judge Cast: Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, J.K. Simmons, Clifton Collins Jr., Ben Affleck Running Time: 1 hr 30 mins Rating: R Release Date: September 4, 2009
Plot: Joel (Bateman) runs a small factory, and when a hot stranger named Cindy (Kunis) swoops in to town, everyone seems to be making bad decisions, both in the professional and personal realm.
Who’s It For? It's a little too easy to say fans of "Arrested Development" but there is a certain amount of similar disfunction between the Bluths and the people in this town. If you like your comedy painful, then this is for you.
Expectations: Mike Judge made Office Space, but he also made Idiocracy. Both were good ideas, but only one was executed well. So while I was hopeful, I wasn't expecting greatness.
SCORECARD (0-10)
Actors: Jason Bateman as Joel: I would think that a man who creates flavoring extract wouldn't also run the whole company, but that's not the case with Joel. He's a nice guy on the path to bad decisions, all because he wants to have sex with his wife without begging. It's a basic role, but Bateman makes it all work. Score:
Mila Kunis as Cindy: Alluring? Absolutely, but she isn't given much to do here. We know she's hot (just look at her), and every guy would do anything for Cindy. She uses this to her advantage to try and to get to Step (Collins Jr.) and his potential lawsuit. Cindy just comes and goes without any real focus, so it's tough to feel like she's a big part of the main story. Score: 5
Kristen Wiig as Suzie: She's a character, and I don't mean, "She's quite the character, always making me laugh!" As Joel's wife she doesn't seem like a real person until the end of the film. Her entire plot revolves around sweat pants, no sex, and the pool boy. If it wasn't for knowing how incredibly funny Wiig is, we probably wouldn't give her the benefit of the doubt here ... but she's definitely entering in to the stage where anything she does is considered funny. Score: 5
Ben Affleck as Dean: Nice beard, but it's nothing compared to that greasy hair. Affleck falls into the role of Dean and is able to shed all signs of "movie star" status. He's an actor and it's good to see. Plus, he's the comic relief and eventually you find yourself missing Dean toward the 2/3rds mark of the film. Score: 9
J.K. Simmons as Brian: Everybody is dingus. That's good enough for me. Simmons doesn't have much to do with this role, but he makes the most of it. As the assistant manager he's stuck with the difficult task of trying to keep Joel focused as his life is unraveling. Score: 6
Rest of Cast: We gets good moments from many of the side characters in this flick. Step (Collins Jr.) is simple, but the way he loses one testicle is not. Brad (Dustin Milligan) is also simple as the gigolo pool boy. He's not the brightest bulb, and he gets a chuckle every time he makes someone repeat themselves. The best comes from Nathan (David Koechner) who is the neighbor we all fear. And Gene Simmons as a lawyer ... yeah, I'm not a fan. Score: 7
Talking: "It's not a drug, it's a flower." That's just one of the pearls of wisdom coming from Dean. His answer to everything seems to come down to drugs. Bateman's reactions (like usual) seem to be better than the lines he's actually saying. Score: 7
Sights: The slow-motion accident that costs Step one of his little friends in the factory is nice. One thing I can't get over is how clean that extract factory is, especially considering how inept all the workers are. Also, Joel's beating really heals quickly, doesn't it? Score: 6
Sounds: It's a pretty big variety of songs here. We've got George Straight (I think) singing "Don't take her she's all I got." The score on the other hand is oddly affective. It's completely overdone, like when the pool boy is talking with the over-the-top romantic swooning music going, but somehow it works. Score: 6
PLOT SPOILERS
Best Scene: Dean and Joel must be involved ... but I didn't love the scene when they get high. I guess I'll have to go with those two just hanging at Dean's bar when they hatch the plan to have Suzie sleep with the gigolo, so that way it's not Joel's fault. So pretty ingenious logic going on there.
Ending: It's a little flat. The story was all about Joel and Suzie and there potential future? Or is it about Cindy and leaving her mark on this little town?
Questions: I guess you could look at my "ending" section for a couple of questions. Also, doesn't it seem like they were originally going to have Cindy play a bigger role, and then put all the focus on Joel in the editing bay? Also, when Cindy left Joel in the hotel room, weren't you convinced she would have the cops waiting to accuse him on stealing those items? The movie didn't trick me, it accidentally led me down the wrong path.
Rewatchability: If it's on, I watch, but otherwise I don't seek it out. This is kind of an odd vibe considering I like the movie.
OVERALL
Funny and painful. And no, I don't mean painfully funny. Watching a man make poor decision after poor decision is always a tough sell for a comedy. Do we really want to see failure out of our lead character? We do if it's done right, plus Bateman is really the key ingredient. Because of "Arrested Development" and his years in sitcomland, his eye-rolls and sighs are perfect. We believe in Bateman. We root for Bateman. Bateman 2010!! (no, I don't know what he is running for). So while the destruction of a man is painful, the destruction of Bateman ain't too bad. Plus, throwing in a great sidekick like Affleck, in one of the most amusing leading actor roles of the year makes us desperate for more every time he's not on the screen.
For a movie that fails to make much of a point ... except maybe that if you're a good guy, you should keep making good decisions ... it's shocking how much I liked it.
Final Score: 7/10