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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready....
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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready....
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Extract Stars: Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Kristen Wiig, Mila Kunis and J. K. Simmons Director/Scriptwriter: Mike Judge Miramax Rating: R for language, sexual references and drug use Running Length: 105 minutes In the film, State of Play, Ben Affleck was a polished congressman with an agenda against a mercenary company. In the same film, Jason Bateman was a low-life who used drugs and had unusual connections to persons of ill repute. Extract is an exchange of roles for the two men. Ben Affleck now is a lowlife who believes Xanax is the answer to everything even the common cold, while Jason Bateman is a businessman with family problems, who just happens to have Ben as a friend. Some friend. Extract refers to extracting chemicals from plants to make flavorings for baking. In the story, Jason is the owner of such a company and Ben is around to give him advice on relationships. Affleck, almost unrecognizable under long hair and a beard, can’t quite get anything right. As the storyline goes, Bateman is married to Kristen Wiig and lives in an upper-class neighborhood, complete with swimming pool. He has obnoxious neighbors, though, and you know the kind who try to entwine themselves into your lives and never stop talking. Bateman is hoping to eventually sell the company and retire while in his forties. Suddenly, one of his employees has an improbable accident that involves private body parts. While trying to settle the insurance claim, an offer comes along to buy the firm. In the meantime, Jason is depressed and goes to friend Affleck for advice which includes getting Jason’s wife a one-night fling with a pool boy so Jason can have a fling with new-employee Mila Kunis. Mila doesn’t have the best intentions, though, and before you can say, “Don’t take that tranquilizer,” everything hits the fan, including the pool boy’s now obsession with Jason’s wife. Most everyone has a secret. Extract is at its best when Bateman and Affleck just sit and talk drugs. Something like Cheech and Chong. Affleck is so out-of-it that he can’t tell Xanax from a horse tranquilizer. The supporting cast, who are the workers at the plant, provide most of the humor. They spy on each other, talk behind each other’s backs, sass each other, and yet, don’t quit. There is one section in the movie that gives the word “comeuppance” new meaning. Extract is a film that hasn‘t gotten much hype, but I was laughing at the camaraderie between Bateman and Affleck. The pool boy turns out to be a younger version of Affleck, and one of the workers at the plant has so many piercing, he resembles a pin cushion. Actors deliver their lines with good timing and that is part of the appeal here. It seems natural. Copyright 2009 Marie Asner
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