Extract

Starring: Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, Clifton Collins, Jr., David Koechner, Dustin Milligan, Gene Simmons
Directed by: Mike Judge
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A factory owner (Jason Bateman) considers having an affair with a new temp (Mila Kunis) because of his crumbling marriage to his wife (Kristen Wiig). He is pushed to act by his best friend (Ben Affleck) even as his company is threatened by a lawsuit by a former employee (Clifton Collins, Jr.).

Review:

Tim: Extract is like most of Mike Judge's movies- Office Space and Idiocracy for example- sort of funny, but mostly disappointments. Judge has some comedic talents and is able to create memorable characters, but there is just something about his movies- he can't direct a very good one. Even the cult classic Office Space is a bit overrated in my opinion. This movie is decent, but not good by any means.

Judge's main strength is creating these believable, realistic world with believable, realistic characters that remind us of the real lives we lead. That is true in this movie, as well as in other Judge movies. However, despite this believable world, the movie itself is not very good. Judge's films do just enough to hit the "decent" level, but are still a long way away from being good movies.

The cast is the main focus on this movie, so I want to spend some time on them. The lead role belongs to Jason Bateman, who is one of the most overrated, unfunny actors in Hollywood. I've never been a fan of him, and his performance here did nothing to change my mind. He isn't that likeable, and something about him just rubs me the wrong way. I know this is probably just a personal thing, so I'll admit that he is at least decent here.

The rest of the cast offer varying levels of strengths. Mila Kunis is about as you would expect. Besides Forgetting Sarah Marshall, every performance she gives feels like it should be really good, but actually isn't. She's not bad here, but it just leaves you wishing she would have given more. I liked Kristen Wiig, who actually gave one of the better performances of the film. I also loved Ben Affleck in this movie. Affleck isn't one of my favorite actors, but I have to admit that he was terrific here. I love the beard and wig, and every line and second of his screen time made me laugh. He was quite good in this film. I also liked the smaller roles of J.K. Simmons, Clifton Collins, Jr., and David Koechner, all who add to the film.

Extract, like most of Judge's movies, has loads of potential, but doesn't live up to any of it. I didn't hate this movie, but I wasn't overly fond of it, either. It is a decent film, but not exactly a strong one. Despite all his effort, I'm not a Judge fan at all, and I can chalk this movie up to another disappointing failure.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Office Space, Idiocracy, Juno