Mike Judge has a way of holding up a carnival mirror to the circumstances that we face everyday and making them funny, endearing and heartfelt all at once. A testament to his overall ability and perspective, it holds true whether he is working on something that is animated or live action. If “Office Space,†“King of the Hill†and “Beavis and Butthead†weren’t enough, that witty perspective has allowed him to strike comedic gold again with “Extract.”
Turning the mundane into the hilarious, this film is a great way to escape the end of summer blues.
Joel, (Jason Bateman) has what some might think to be the perfect life by making a comfortable living for himself by marketing and bottling extract. He even has a nice home and a pretty wife. Under the surface however, nothing is what it appears to be. The extract business is boring and is sex life is a disaster. Simply put, he is in desperate need of a change. That is the catalyst which allows the outrageously funny series of events in this picture to take place.
This series of events include a gorgeous con-woman named Cindy (Mila Kunis), a self-medicated best friend named Dean (Ben Affleck), an extremely stupid male gigolo an obnoxious neighbor (David Koechner) and an employee from the extract bottling company that lost a testicle in an on-the-job accident. All of these characters mix together to create a great comic souffle that is also a commentary on modern day society. The main observation and statement being made is that sometimes we don’t listen to each other or say what is exactly on our minds.
Because in reality, if any of these characters did that, the movie would only be thirty minutes long.
Bateman has been working in Hollywood for ages and proved his talent with “Arrested Development” and is finally getting the attention and leading man status that he deserves. Here he is perfect as the every man that you can easily identify with. That is one of the many reasons the picture is successful.
Kunis, plays a loathsome character that gets everything she wants by preying on the stupidity of all the men that cross her path. What makes her character so unique is that even when watching the film, all the guys know that in the same circumstances, they’d fall right into her trap too.
Not to be over-looked is the funny supporting work of Affleck, whose character Dean believes that Xanax works for everything, even the common head cold. He is self-medicated and dispenses bad advice to Joel, which allow his circumstances to slowly get worse. Affleck has turned to three supporting roles in 2009, (“State of Play” “He’s Just Not That Into You” and of course, “Extract”) to gain back some of the Hollywood status he has lost over the years. After watching this film, you’ll believe too that it was a very smart move on his part.
The great cast is supported by great character actors such as J.K. Simmons (“Juno”), David Koechner (who is amazing as the annoying neighbor), Clifton Collins Jr. as the half man and Gene Simmons as one of the worst lawyers in film history (Wait until you hear his possible solution for the case).
Nevertheless, in spite of the enjoyable cast of characters, don’t expect to be laughing every second of the way in this movie. It takes some time for solid character development, giving you a chance to become invested in the journey taken with Joel. It’s well worth it however, as everything is done so flawlessly that you forget these characters are fiction and your mind drifts into the picture.
This kind of escapism is what makes”Extract” is the perfect movie for anyone looking to get their minds off of the problems in their lives.
You’ll constantly be thinking that you have things better than Joel, in spite of everything that he seemingly has. Being able to laugh because something is funny is one thing, but laughing because you end up valuing what you have in your life more than you did before you entered the theater is a testament to Judge’s ability as a film maker.
Because of that, “Extract†is an unavoidable comedy that is trumped only by its amount of heart.
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