Extract (Blu-ray)
Directed by Mike Judge
Studio: Miramax
Year: 2009
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 92 minutes
Rating: R
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English ; Dolby Digital 5.1 French
Subtitles: SDH, French, Spanish
Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.99
MSRP: $ 39.99
Release Date: December 22, 2009
Review Date: December 14, 2009
The Film
2/5
A movie comedy is in serious trouble when every single character in its cast ranges from the irritating to the obnoxious. Mike Judge’s Extract is one such comedy. It’s a test to one’s intestinal fortitude to sit through this entire film without doing serious damage to one’s home theater equipment, so annoying and exasperating every single personality in the show is. On paper it might have seemed an innocent lark of a film with precocious morons living their lives like maddening children in need of a good paddling. As seen on the screen, however, one just doesn’t have patience to deal with a frame full of imbeciles who either have no sense at all or are so feeble-minded that they can be hoodwinked into life-altering actions by more forceful dolts than themselves.
Flavor extract manufacturer Joel Reynold (Jason Bateman) is frustrated at work by a factory full of malcontents and goof-offs and at home by his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig) who’s bored with their sex life and by the never-ending-talk of thick-skulled next door neighbor Nathan (David Koechner). Into the factory comes con woman Cindy (Mila Kunis) who’s really there to latch on to injured worker Step (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and convince him to sue the company for millions she can bilk him out of, but sexually discouraged Joel begins to think Cindy might be the cure for what ails him if he can work through the guilt an affair with her might bring on. He turns to friendly bartender/drug pusher Dean (Ben Affleck) for advice.
Mike Judge’s script has introduced no characters we can take any serious interest in since all of them are so dim-witted and morose that fraternity with them seems unthinkable. Cindy’s cons are so mean spirited without a second of conscience as to the consequences of those she fleeces that the film begins on a sour note that continues to the very last image we see: Cindy in yet another successful scam (true, it’s against a truly disgusting person, but by then it’s not important she’s cheating those that cheat for a living. She’s an alluring monster whose scams simply aren’t funny). To his credit, Judge does capture the sullen atmosphere of an assembly line: the drudgery of the unending string of products that have to be dealt with, but in having no one in the company with an ounce of integrity, dedication, or expertise (well, except for the character who loses a testicle in a factory accident due to negligence), it’s not a fun place to be, and the number of thick-headed people in one cast becomes overwhelming well before the movie is over and thus aids in making the audience cease to care about anyone or anything. The one cheer-inducing moment comes when wife Suzie finally blows her top and tells off the lunk-headed Nathan. By then, however, it’s too late to instill any sense of fun in the proceedings, that event happening very close to the end of the movie.
Jason Bateman, whose poker-faced way of dealing with insanity on TV’s Arrested Development made him appealing on that show, doesn’t hold the screen in a feature film, failing time and again to establish a foothold of sanity against a world of morons who surround him. Kristen Wiig as his unfaithful wife is vapid and colorless while J. K. Simmons who’s usually a firecracker of character smarts also plays a rather blank dullard. David Koechner makes the irritating next door neighbor at least a character whose very predictability might bring forth a grudging smile, but Ben Affleck is slumming as a drug-pushing bartender whose quickly-offered advice always backfires as he points the finger of blame elsewhere. Gene Simmons has an overacted cameo as shyster lawyer Joe Adler.
Video Quality
3.5/5
The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is delivered in a 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. The image is never as sharp as one expects, and while color saturation levels and flesh tone accuracy are well above average, the overall effect that the image generates is rather perfunctory and unimpressive. The film has been divided into 18 chapters.
Audio Quality
3.5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix is very much a front-centered experience. With several scenes taking place in a busy factory, one would think it would offer good opportunities for surround envelopment, but the sound design doesn’t really take advantage of those opportunities. Dialogue is well recorded and is placed properly in the center channel.
Special Features
2/5
“Mike Judge’s Secret Recipe” is a 10 ¾-minute tribute to the film’s writer-director by his cast who have nothing but praise for their intelligent, hard-working director. Judge himself discusses his work ethic and gives a tour of the actual bottled water factory used as the setting for much of the action in a featurette which is presented in 1080p.
There are five extended scenes which run a total of 4 ½ minutes. The theatrical scene is presented and when the extra footage occurs, a subtitle identifies it. It’s in 480i.
There is one deleted scene which runs 40 seconds. It’s also in 480i.
There are 1080p trailers for When in Rome, Surrogates, and The Boys Are Back.
In Conclusion
2/5 (not an average)
Not an inspired or generally amusing experience, Mike Judge’s Extract forces too many objectionable characters down the viewer’s throat without providing a real sense of fun or any true belly laughs. The rudimentary Blu-ray release features only slightly above average audio and video quality with a few forgettable extras.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
