Judge’s latest foray onto the silver screen is Extract, another comedy set around the inter-workings of an office, only this time we’ve swapped out the cubicle farm for a factory that makes flavor extracts. The plot is comparable to most of Judge’s other movies. There is one particular element that drives the main plot, but most of the movie is comprised of the smaller things that happen to the characters along the way. It’s the perfect setup for this type of movie, as the plot remains coherent, but it leaves you much more leeway to keep the focus where it belongs, on the characters.
And the characters in this movie are fantastic. I think this comes from a combination of Judge’s comedic writing, and the pitch-perfect cast he has gathered for this film. This is far and away the movie’s biggest strength. Jason Bateman makes a solid anchor for a cast that largely tips toward the eccentric. He plays a quality foil for the other actors, and remains relate-able as the everyman we are supposed to connect with. His three years of training on Arrested Development serve him well here.
The supporting cast is all pretty well developed for a 90-minute comedy. They each have a particular character quirk that they rely on, but it’s done in a way where they don’t just come off as one-note characters. Ben Affleck makes a nice return to work his comedic chops as Bateman’s best friend, JK Simmons continues his bid to become the most underrated comedic actor of the last five years, and Beth Grant cracked me up almost the entire time she was on screen. Also, if you don’t get at least a chuckle out of Grant’s outfits in this movie, you are dead inside. One final supporting player worth mentioning is David Koechner, who plays Bateman’s neighbor. This is the only character that does just sort of repeat the same joke over and over, but for me, it worked. Koechner was really funny in those scenes, was great at drawing out the awkward humor in the moment, and played a fantastic dorky neighbor, which was a nice change of pace from the overly confident characters he typically portrays.
The only fault I found with this movie is that it was a bit uneven. There are moments in here that are classic Judge, but the humor wasn’t as consistent as with some of his other movies. I’m afraid that people are going to write this movie off because it’s not Office Space, and I don’t really think that that’s a fair comparison. Honestly, those people didn’t give Office Space a chance either, and that movie floundered on the shelf at Blockbuster for like 2 years after it had been released. I have a feeling that time will be kind to Extract, and it will be one of those movies that people do start to pick up on a few years down the road once they stop watching it through the goggles of “From the guy who brought you Office Space.”
I would buy Extract four beers and plan for a quality night out with the boys. I'm looking forward to re-watching this movie in the future, and I might even add an extra drink onto the total, but I’m drawing the line if it asks me to start doing hits of Special K.
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