Extract

Mike Judge’s Extract is a story about an average guy whose life is about to be splintered and become chaotic, in the midst of a dry marriage, an employee losing a testicle, him having ideas like cheating on his wife, and paying a gigolo to have an affair with his wife. If this is not the classic setting of a raunchy comedy, partly romantic, then I don’t know what is.Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, Hancock) plays a factory owner which extracts flavors, named Joel. His wife is Suzie, played by Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live), with whom he is in a state of sexual frustration. So, on advice of a bartender friend, Dean, played by Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting, Daredevil), he arranges for a young boy to have an affair with his wife so he can pursue his own temptations with the sexy con artist, Cindy, played by Mila Kunis. But Cindy is manipulating one of his employees, who lost one of his testicles in a freak accident at the factory to sue Joel for damages concurred. Above all, Joel is utterly irritated by his talkative neighbor, who provides some of the funniest scenes in the movie.The premise of the movie is quite funny and there are some scenes that are genuinely comic. But, in the end it feels as if the movie is nothing but a juxtaposition of random events jointed together. This doesn’t mean that the movie utterly abandons the narrative structure and depends on its actors for comedy, rather the movie very much tries that people laugh at the situations that the people are in, rather than the actions of the people. One such example is the scene where Joel finds out that the gigolo, Brad, has slept with his wife for the second time without him, Joel, giving him the go ahead, and when Brad says that he doesn’t want payment for the second time, Joel replies: “No, I will pay you because you’re not having sex with my wife for free!!!” Jitters followed.One of the highlights of this movie is its thoroughly likable characters. Joel is an average Joe, with problems faced by majority of the people. The audience connects with him. They feel what kind of trepidation he is in and they nod when he does what he has to do in trying to get out of those situations. But he is not your regular ‘good’ guy. He does pay a young boy to sleep with his wife. Then there’s his friend, Dean, the bartender. Now, this role easily could have been a cliché, a ‘seen-that’ kind of thing for the audience. I mean, how many times we have seen bartenders giving the advice to the protagonists. But, played aptly by Ben Affleck, this character shines like a rising sun and is the show stealer in all the scenes he’s in. Mila Kunis, as the con artist, Mindy, is also very good, and believable.All in all, what can be said about this movie is that despite a weak script, the movie is a fun ride due to good performances by the cast and some very funny and quotable lines.