Extract has been compared to director Mike Judge’s earlier work Office Space as they are both set in the work environment. I would say that is an unfair comparison as Office Space is not very good and Extract is much better. In no way is Extract a perfect film, but it was a simple story told well and there were some very funny scenes.
The reason the film is a success is mostly due to the actors involved. Jason Bateman is the owner of an extract factory and he is well suited for the role. I wouldn’t say that the film is a stretch for his acting abilities as there are many similarities to his character Michael Bluth from Arrested Development. Thankfully I am a fan of that show and I like his character a lot. His character in Extract is more restrained and realistic, but aside from that this is the same character. Kristen Wiig plays Bateman’s wife and she has the funniest scene in the movie. She is good in all the small roles she has appeared in and hopefully we will see her helming a film soon. Ben Affleck plays a small part in the film and he steals each scene that he is in. JK Simmons is also quite funny as the office manager. Other notable performances were Gene Simmons (KISS), David Koechner (Anchorman) and TJ Miller (Cloverfield). One performance that was rather sub-par was Mila Kunis. Her scenes are kept to a minimum and that is probably for the best.
I could see if one didn’t like these actors or wasn’t sold on the storyline they wouldn’t find it very funny. The story is very plain and it either works or it doesn’t. It is nice to see a film that sticks with a simple story and relies on the actors to get laughs. I think this is a film that will be worth a second watch.
A Good Banana
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