‘Extract’ has one of the Worst Plots of All Time
-----‘Office Space,’ a film also by Writer-Director Mike Judge, is a comedy cult classic. And for good reason, few Hollywood productions so amply capture the humor and despair of the common workplace. Ten years later, Mike Judge sent ‘Extract’ out into the world. I don’t know what happened to Judge in those ten years, but ‘Extract’ has a story as worthless as they come.
-----‘Extract’ is the tale of Joel, the manager of his own extract factory. Basically, he gets bored with his wife not giving it up, and that’s when a new girl comes to work at the factory. Being a conman, the new girl pretends to show interest in extract flavoring and Joel himself. Joel then gets drugged up by his druggy friend, and realizes that he wouldn’t feel bad about cheating on his wife, if his wife cheated first. So naturally, he sends a hooker to her house, the logic being that if she cheats then he can, and if she doesn’t, then her love for him is reassured. I guess I missed the funny part.
-----Jason Bateman plays Joel. He’s basically the Bateman character we’ve seen many times before, but minus the laughs and plus some boredom. Any amount of likability he generates early on in the film is slowly but surely evaporated due to his character’s ongoing frustration with life, which in turn frustrates the audience. It’s hard to blame him though; the script is first and foremost terrible, providing little to work with. Playing the film’s one consistently funny character is Ben Affleck, as Joel’s druggy friend, Dean. It’s a small role, but Affleck gets some of the film’s few laughs. And he somehow manages to remain entertaining despite being a major contributor towards landing Joel in a huge pickle, a brainchild of their joint stupidity. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s a funny stupid either, it’s more of an alienating stupidity that makes you dislike the characters more than anything else.
-----Mila Kunis plays conman Cindy, in perhaps the most underdeveloped role of the year. With major plot implications, little screen time, and a vague motive, the movie’s conclusion only further surrounds her in ambiguity. Initially introduced as main character, her actions quickly become so random and trivial that you may wonder why she was in the movie, or better yet, why you are in the theater. The usually funny J.K. Simmons plays Joel’s business partner Brian, and even he struggles to get any laughs from the estranged audience. Kristen Wiig plays Joel’s annoying wife, Dustin Milligan plays brainless hooker Brad, and David Koechner plays Joel’s annoying neighbor. They aren’t funny either. Throw in an infuriatingly annoying cameo from Gene Simmons as a fired up Law Attorney, and you’ve got an ocean of random, underdeveloped, and obnoxious characters floating around in a worthless plot.
-----‘Extract’ is one of those movies that tries to be funny through its characters frustrations, but winds up being aggravating for the audience instead. That’s not to say watching comedic protagonists flip out can’t be hilarious, ‘The Hangover’ as my witness, but it is anything but fun in ‘Extract.’ About thirty minutes in, when the plot really decides to start moving, you’ll wish it hadn’t. There are a few key funny moments no doubt, but the more you see of the cast, the more you hate them. ‘Extract’ also makes a point of introducing a number of new characters only to leave them hanging at the end of a loose plot string. Mila Kunis especially, is introduced as a major component of the film, and then never legitimately followed up on. It’s as if Mike Judge made it all up as he went along. By the time everything supposedly comes full circle, things are even worse than the monotony suffered at the beginning of the film. There is absolutely no satisfaction, and some last second black humor just comes off as tasteless to the now tired and disillusioned moviegoer.
-----‘Extract’ behind the camera is also quite bad. The cinematography is adequate at best, boasting a single long take to open the film, but never again trying anything bold or above average. That’s not to mention weak lighting, a nonexistent musical score, and bland sets that all come together to seal ‘Extract’s status as a B-List, possibly even C-List, movie. Indeed, the production values are low, though admittedly not as poor as a movie like, ‘The Goods.’ In fact, David Koechner (you’d know the face if not the name) seems consistently drawn to such B-List and C-List films as these, having appeared in both ‘Extract’ and ‘The Goods.’ It’s not to say he can’t be funny, but audiences are sure to grow tired of the insufferable variances of the same character that he’s been doing for years now.
-----It’s too bad to see Judge return to workplace-comedy with the exasperating and dull, ‘Extract.’ It has a very rare dose of quality humor, and a plot that goes nowhere and stays there. Underdeveloped characters and far too many annoying ones randomly thrown in here and there all assist in making sure that no one leaves satisfied. As for the plot, why anyone would want to waste their life watching a movie about uncannily stupid things happening to loser characters is beyond me. If Judge really thought he was instilling mature themes about life in ‘Extract,’ then he is in need of a serious reality check. All in all, there’s a fine line between protagonists experiencing “funny for the audience” frustration, and “frustrating for everyone” frustration, and ‘Extract’ falls hard on the latter. Even diehard fans of ‘Office Space’ will find it hard to tolerate Judge’s latest outing. Life’s too short to spend watching crap like this, so kindly accept the gift of two hours and stay away from ‘Extract.’
|
