This Mike Judge directed spiritual sequel to Office Space centers on Joel Reynolds (Jason Bateman), a financial successful but sexually frustrated man who just can’t seem to get home in time to sleep with his wife (Kristen Wiig). Soon, his work life and home life become intertwined as a worker loses a testicle in a freak accident and becomes the mark for a conwoman, Cindy (Mila Kunis), that Joel has become attracted to. Joel nearly unwillingly enlists the help of his unstable bartender buddy, Dean (Ben Affleck), to help him sleep with Cindy guilt-free. Dean convinces Joel to hire a gigolo to sleep with his wife but everything seems to spiral out of control.
I’ll start by saying that this is no Office Space, but that would be nearly impossible to replicate. While not as funny as Office Space, Extract still manages to strike the same cord and bring about the same kinds of laughs as its predecessor. In all likelihood, this movie will always be compared to its big brother, which just isn’t fair. Extract is a truly hilarious film.
With any comedy, acting is a huge concern. Without people to deliver perfect comedic timing, a comedy cannot be successful. Jason Bateman, as usual, is hilarious. He brings that typical sort of nonchalant funniness that we’ve been accustomed to since Arrested Development. Kristen Wiig, while only briefly in the film, is far funnier than she is on SNL (admittedly, I’m not a fan). Ben Affleck delivers one of his best roles as Bateman’s best friend, the unstable drug addict Dean. Nearly everything Affleck says is laugh-out-loud funny. While funny at times, Mila Kunis becomes almost an after-thought when grouped with the other actors and actresses. Perhaps the funniest performance is that of Dustin Milligan as Brad, the young gigolo hired by Bateman to sleep with his wife. Milligan’s character made me laugh hysterically at almost every line.
While funny, the plot was a bit haphazardly thrown together. Things sort of flowed together unnaturally and it almost took me out of the film. Some parts felt out of place and other occurrences went completely unexplained and felt like nothing more than confusing devices to further the plot.
While its plot isn’t as tightly put together as Office Space, Extract manages to capture the same kind of magic as its predecessor. Extract gets an 8.5/10.
