Extract

Created by Mike Judge, Extract was fine, forgettable, and certainly failed to deliver on the "Office Space 2.0" hype. What is a bad movie? No. Would I recommend rushing to catch it in theaters? Definitely not.

The film is centered around Joel, the owner of an Extract plant (Jason Bateman) and his contention with myriad personal and professional problems, such as his potentially unfaithful wife (Kristen Wiig) and employees who want to take advantage of him. When a factory employee suffers an agonizing injury to his (ahem) manhood, a looming lawsuit and pending buyout weigh heavy on Joel's mind.

With a seen-it-before plot and an average cast, Extract was never expected to win awards. However, it's especially disappointing when you know a movie is promoted to under-deliver. Because of its everyman relatability and working-class storyline (and not to mention a shared creator/writer/director) , it's natural to compare Extract to Mike Judge's 1999 darling Office Space. The problem is that Office Space became a cult-classic, a perfect mixture of relevant comedy and respectable buzz. Cut to 2009's smarter humor, compliments of Judd Apatow & crew, and it seems as though comedy of the 90s has fallen by the wayside. And even if the comedic landscape isn't to blame, we all know that the second coming is never as satisfying as the original.

As for the cast, the big names delivered as you would hope and expect. Bateman was his usual, hilarious self, Ben Affleck was great as Joel's free-spirited and underachieving companion/pseudo life advisor, and J.K. Simmons and David Koechner offered their standard slapstick humor. Despite portraying a dishonest and disloyal con-artist (far from the adorable girl-next-door Rachel we fell in love with in Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Mila Kunis still did her best to win us over. And Kristen Wiig was a pleasant surprise for me, as she deviated from her standard SNL approach and actually showed glimpses of moderate acting ability. But the supporting cast was a huge disappointment! (and the primary reason why Extract underachieved). While you obviously need actors that are believable as factory workers, I thought the casting need much improvement. The sole supporting standout was unfamiliar face Dustin Milligan, who provided numerous laughs as Brad, a part-time pool boy, part-time gigolo, and full-time idiot. I wouldn't bank on Milligan becoming the next king of comedy, but his bonehead persona certainly was a highlight.

Here's the bottom line: take Office Space, with it's relatable plot and irreverent humor, and sacrifice Milton, Michael Bolton, Samir, and Smykowski to the God's of humor. That's exactly what you get out of Extract. The foundation is there with Bateman, Affleck, and even Wiig, but the all-important supporting cast did nothing memorable to make you want more. Packed with hit-or-miss humor, I checked the 'Miss' box far more often than 'Hit.' But give it a few months, pop it in the DVD player, and check it out for yourself...

Written by: David Christeson (dear friend and movie goer)