The formula for food movies is as set as sports movies. We are introduced to our hero/heroine who suffers from a flaw that is compensated for by his/her talent in the kitchen. A potential rival or love interest appears -- all the better if they're the same character -- and hilarity or drama ensues typically with food flying and customers interjecting one-liners.
The good news for Extract -- a Mike Judge comedy that had a cup of coffee on the big screen before coming to DVD at the end of 2009 -- is that it breaks from the food movie formula. The sad news is that it shows why studios are hesitant to ditch the tale of a starstruck chef.
"Nobody cares about extracts, certainly not my wife," says Joel -- the protagonist ably played by Jason Bateman. His character is struggling with a potentially unfaithful wife and a disfunctional extract business that is hoping to sell. Neither seem destined to end well for the only person in the movie who seems to care about extracts.
The subplot concerns a conwoman -- Mila Kunis -- who is intent on a big payday after sidling up to a factory worker injured in an accident at the factory. Although she introduces chaos into Joel's life, her character feels more like a plot device than somebody that matters. In an effort to find conflict in a movie that shines when it is about observing life in mundane blue collar situations rather than conflict, Kunis just ends up taking up time that would have been better given to J.K. Simmons as Bateman's plant manager and Kristin Wiig, as Bateman's wife -- who are both underused in supporting roles.
There are elements of working life that Mike Judge nails, recalling the cult hit Office Space. Ben Affleck plays Joel's best friend -- displaying a sense of comic timing that he's been missing since Mall Rats -- a drug-dealing bartender who works at Sidelines Sports Bar in a Marriot. It's a bar that should be the home of airport travelers, not somebody's regular bar. And yet, we've all gone to terrible bars for years because that is where our friends work or it's simply the place to go when nobody can think of anywhere else.
Gene Simmons also has a bizarre cameo as a bus-stop bench advertising lawyer and Mike Judge gets in a few cracks about factory life as one of the guys on the line. So, while some small touches work -- the movie never comes together enough for you to care about the plot resolution. Nobody cares about extracts and it's hard to see why the audience should care about Extract.
[Image via Flickr: bill HR]
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Extract was funnier than Office Space. Rented it last weekend with my girlfriends. I love Jason Bateman.
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