Extract (2009)

Extract is the story of factory owner, Joel, (Jason Bateman) trying desperately to be bad, but failing miserably at every corner.

His plan to get a gigolo to sleep with his wife, so he can sleep with a co-worker goes wrong at every turn. Except for the gigolo sleeping with his wife part. That bit goes really well. So, with a cheating wife and potential lawsuit on its way being led by Gene Simmon’s rabid lawyer, Joel ends up getting caught up trying to relive his youth through Ben Affleck’s loser best friend and the seductive nature of Mila Kunis.

Like ‘Office Space’ and TV’s ‘King of the Hill’, it’s the dialogue that sparkles. I like Mike Judge. I think he’s one those underrated comedic screen writers that I hold dearly to my heart. Yes, it’s a grandiose claim, but I stand by it. The characters are believable whilst being equally absurd. A special mention to David Koechner, who tones down his usual loud man schtick seen in films such as ‘Anchorman’; his annoying neighbour bringing new meaning to the word tenacious. Unfortunately, his story arc ends in a dark manner that somewhat clashes with the general ‘zaniness’ of the other 90 minutes.

Extract is neither life changing or life affirming, but it does bring a lot of laughs. Even if those are unintentionally because of Affleck’s wig; the likes of which haven’t been seen since Paul McGann in Doctor Who: The Movie. Yeesh.