Mike Judge has brought us some funny in his time. The adolescent boy in us loved Beavis and Butthead, the Texan in us enjoyed King of the Hill, and the everyman in us simply adored Office Space. And though it may not be hip to say, I found Idiocracy pretty hilarious. So when it came to the release of his latest comedy starring the likes of Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, and Kristin Wiig I was pretty excited. Well it didn't take long for this film to dash any and all hopes of me laughing as I found the film all encompassing of the word 'meh'.
The story follows average ordinary Joel (Bateman), the owner of an extract plant. He loves and is fascinated by various flavors of extracts. Joel has his own company, a frigid wife, and his employees are always trying to find ways to take advantage of him. On top of this, Joel's wife might be less than faithful, and the only advice he gets is from a drug-popping bartender at a local hotel (Affleck).
Sounds like the ingredients are there, right? Wrong.
More after the jump...
The story follows average ordinary Joel (Bateman), the owner of an extract plant. He loves and is fascinated by various flavors of extracts. Joel has his own company, a frigid wife, and his employees are always trying to find ways to take advantage of him. On top of this, Joel's wife might be less than faithful, and the only advice he gets is from a drug-popping bartender at a local hotel (Affleck).
Sounds like the ingredients are there, right? Wrong.
More after the jump...
While there is humor to be found in the film, there is never really anything that will make you audibly giggle. There's nothing that rings so true that you go, "oh man, I know where he's coming from." That's what makes Mike Judge movies so good. In Office Space, you saw yourself in a lot of those workers because you knew those situations. With Idiocracy, you've dealt with those idiots of the future and you've groaned through horrendous reality television shows like Ouch My Balls! Judge's presentation and characters were so well-crafted you couldn't help but get wrapped up in his world and giggle.
With Extract, he lacks the focus of his former works. His observations are still astute: racist factory worker, annoying neighbor, etc, but they don't work in cohesion to serve the story, and that's where Extract stumbles. There isn't really a single character that seems believable except Bateman's Joel, and because of that, you can't accept this world. The rest of the cast, while sometimes funny, is just too one-dimensional.
While the script does come up short, the performances remain solid. Bateman is as charming and incredulous as ever; Ben Affleck is pretty funny as the ale-selling drug expert; and David Koechner delivers a truly inspired annoying neighbor. He encompasses everything you hate in a neighbor--he is that dude that never leaves you alone and talks incessantly but never really says anything. Kristen Wiig is relatively wasted in her role, but, though he is far too retarded for words, Brad the gigolo will make you laugh.
While I wouldn't say Extract is a total waste of your time, it certainly isn't on the level we have come to expect from Mike Judge. Despite some solid performances, the script just doesn't work, and everything feels far to contrived.
--Greg MacLennan
With Extract, he lacks the focus of his former works. His observations are still astute: racist factory worker, annoying neighbor, etc, but they don't work in cohesion to serve the story, and that's where Extract stumbles. There isn't really a single character that seems believable except Bateman's Joel, and because of that, you can't accept this world. The rest of the cast, while sometimes funny, is just too one-dimensional.
While the script does come up short, the performances remain solid. Bateman is as charming and incredulous as ever; Ben Affleck is pretty funny as the ale-selling drug expert; and David Koechner delivers a truly inspired annoying neighbor. He encompasses everything you hate in a neighbor--he is that dude that never leaves you alone and talks incessantly but never really says anything. Kristen Wiig is relatively wasted in her role, but, though he is far too retarded for words, Brad the gigolo will make you laugh.
While I wouldn't say Extract is a total waste of your time, it certainly isn't on the level we have come to expect from Mike Judge. Despite some solid performances, the script just doesn't work, and everything feels far to contrived.
--Greg MacLennan
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