''Extract'' is a 2009 American
comedy film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
written and directed by
Mike Judge
Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...
. It satirizes the working conditions of a company from the perspective of the owner, rather than the employees. It stars an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to the po ...
featuring
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Michael Bluth in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox / Netflix sitcom ''Arrested Development'' (2003–2019) and Marty Byrde in the Netflix crime drama s ...
,
Mila Kunis
Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and raised in Los Angeles, she was Jackie Burkhart on ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) and has voiced Meg Griffin on ''Family Guy'' since ...
,
Kristen Wiig, and
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...
, with
J. K. Simmons,
Clifton Collins Jr.
Clifton Craig Collins Jr. (born June 16, 1970) is an American film and television actor. He is a Primetime Emmy Award, Independent Spirit Award, Satellite Award, and four-time ALMA Award nominee, and a Screen Actors Guild Award winner. Prior t ...
, and
Dustin Milligan
Dustin Wallace Milligan (born July 28, 1985) is a Canadian actor best known as Jack Snowman in ''Hot Frosty'', Ted Mullens on ''Schitt's Creek'', Ethan Ward on ''90210 (TV series), 90210'', Tom Cummings in ''X Company'', and Josh Carter on ''Ruth ...
.
The film is said to be Judge's companion piece to ''
Office Space
''Office Space'' is a 1999 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge. It satirizes the office work life of a typical 1990s software company, focusing on a handful of individuals weary of their jobs. It stars Ron ...
''. It was filmed in Los Angeles and set in the world of an extract factory where it was shot in an actual water bottling plant south of Los Angeles, in the City of
Commerce
Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...
. Judge relied on his own knowledge of the industrial world having actually worked in a factory.
It received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $10.8 million worldwide against a budget of $8 million.
''Extract'' was theatrically released in the United States on September 4, 2009.
Plot
Joel Reynolds is the owner and founder of Reynolds Extract, a flavoring extracts company. Although his business is successful, his marriage lacks passion. He is also often accosted by his annoying neighbor, Nathan. One day, a series of mishaps occur at the extract factory, resulting in an employee, Step, losing a testicle. Cindy, a
con artist
A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...
, reads a news story about the accident. Hatching a
get-rich-quick scheme
A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. Most schemes create an impression that participants can obtain this high rate of return with little risk, skill, effort, or time.
The term "get rich qui ...
, she gets a temporary job at the factory, manipulating Joel into giving her more information about Step. She also begins a series of petty thefts from her co-workers, who openly accuse each other of the thefts. Although Step initially decides not to sue the company, he changes his mind after a meeting with Cindy, which she sets up in order to meet and flirt with him. Under Cindy's influence, Step hires attorney Joe Adler.
Joel, mistaking Cindy's manipulations for genuine attraction to him, entertains the idea of an affair with her; however, he still loves his wife and wants to avoid actions that would leave him with regrets later. While visiting his friend Dean and complaining about his situation, Dean suggests that Joel hire a gigolo to seduce his wife, so that Joel can then have a guilt-free "revenge" affair. Joel initially balks at the idea; but, after his judgment is impaired after ingesting a
ketamine
Ketamine is a cyclohexanone-derived general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties, used medically for anesthesia, depression, and pain management. Ketamine exists as its S- (esketamine) a ...
tablet that Dean mistakenly told him was
Xanax
Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of moderate duration within the triazolobenzodiazepine group of chemicals called benzodiazepines. Alprazolam is most commonly prescribed in the ...
, Joel agrees. The friends hire Brad to seduce his wife, Suzie, into an affair, while posing as the pool cleaner. The next morning, Joel sobers up, realizes what he has done, and tries to stop Brad from going to his house; by then, Brad and Suzie have already begun an affair. Brad falls in love with Suzie and wants to run away with her. After smoking marijuana with Dean and his friend Willie, Joel attempts to call Cindy but soon realizes that he is calling Willie's number. Just then, Cindy walks into the apartment. Willie discovers Joel's intentions and punches Joel in the face.
Joel meets with Adler and his associates to discuss the terms of the settlement for Step. The workers, believing that the meeting is about a buy-out of the factory by
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...
, organize a strike. Frustrated by Adler's uncompromising negotiating style and the growing disrespect from his employees, Joel storms out and goes home—where Suzie admits her affair with Brad. Joel admits to Suzie that he hired Brad to do it, then leaves after arguing with his wife.
Joel moves into a motel, where he spots Cindy, staying in another room. When he goes to her room, he notices a purse stolen from one of his employees, along with other stolen items, and realizes that Cindy is not only a thief, but is also behind many of the company's problems. Joel threatens to call the police but softens when Cindy breaks down in tears. Cindy promises to talk to Step and get him to drop the lawsuit. Ultimately, the two spend the night together. The next morning, Cindy disappears but leaves the stolen items behind.
Step meets with Joel at the factory and offers to drop the lawsuit if Joel promotes him to floor manager. Meanwhile, Nathan stops by Joel's house again, making Suzie lose her temper and finally tell him what she really thinks of him. Just as she finishes her tirade, he collapses and dies; feeling guilty, Suzie attends the funeral, where she runs into Joel. After an awkward moment, the two agree to share a ride. It is revealed that Cindy has stolen Adler's luxury car, leaving Step's truck in its place.
Cast
*
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Michael Bluth in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox / Netflix sitcom ''Arrested Development'' (2003–2019) and Marty Byrde in the Netflix crime drama s ...
as Joel Reynolds
*
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...
as Dean Slade
*
Kristen Wiig as Suzie Reynolds
*
Mila Kunis
Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and raised in Los Angeles, she was Jackie Burkhart on ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) and has voiced Meg Griffin on ''Family Guy'' since ...
as Cindy
*
J. K. Simmons as Brian Huggins
*
Clifton Collins Jr.
Clifton Craig Collins Jr. (born June 16, 1970) is an American film and television actor. He is a Primetime Emmy Award, Independent Spirit Award, Satellite Award, and four-time ALMA Award nominee, and a Screen Actors Guild Award winner. Prior t ...
as Don "Step" Wilkinson
*
Dustin Milligan
Dustin Wallace Milligan (born July 28, 1985) is a Canadian actor best known as Jack Snowman in ''Hot Frosty'', Ted Mullens on ''Schitt's Creek'', Ethan Ward on ''90210 (TV series), 90210'', Tom Cummings in ''X Company'', and Josh Carter on ''Ruth ...
as Brad Chávez
*
David Koechner as Nathan
*
Beth Grant
Beth Grant (born September 18, 1949) is an American character actor, character actress. Between 2012 and 2017, she was a series regular on the television comedy ''The Mindy Project'' in the role of Beverly Janoszewski. She is also known for her ...
as Mary
*
T. J. Miller as Rory
*
Matt Schulze as Willie
*
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...
as Joe Adler
*
Brent Briscoe as Phil
*
Hal Sparks
Hal Harry Magee Sparks III (born September 25, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, political commentator, television and radio host and television personality. He made contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s ''Talk Soup'', and pl ...
as Guitar salesman #1
*
Nick Thune as Guitar salesman #2
*
Tom Virtue
Tom Virtue (born November 19, 1957) is an Americans, American actor. He is known for his roles in the television series ''Even Stevens'' (2000–2003) and ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' (2008–2013).
Filmography Film
Television
...
as Guitar customer
*
Jenny O'Hara
Jenny O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''Big Love'' (2006– ...
as Joel's secretary
*
Mike Judge
Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...
as Jim the factory employee
* Lidia Porto as Gabriella
* Javier Gutierrez as Hector
* Lamberto Gutierrez as Victor
Production
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began on August 25, 2008, in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
[
] Shortly after completing ''
Office Space
''Office Space'' is a 1999 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge. It satirizes the office work life of a typical 1990s software company, focusing on a handful of individuals weary of their jobs. It stars Ron ...
'' (1999), director
Mike Judge
Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...
was already about 40 pages into his follow-up script, set in the world of an extract factory when he was convinced by his representative team that he needed to shelve that and concentrate on something more commercial. "The only idea that I had that anyone was interested in was what eventually became ''
Idiocracy''," says Judge. Over the next several years he focused his energy on developing ''Idiocracy''. But years later, by the time of the film's release, audiences had decided that ''Office Space'' had struck a chord, and they were ready to see Judge return to on-the-job humor and thus the ''Extract'' script was given new life.
Seeking to keep ''Extract'' below the radar of the studio system, Judge and his producers set up a production company, Ternion Productions, and arranged private financing—while partnering with Miramax for domestic distribution of the film. Judge relied heavily on his own personal knowledge of the industrial world to bring the story to life. "I actually worked in a factory a little bit myself," the director stated. "I hopefully write stuff that is recognizable as the archetypes of this world." Keeping true to this baseline of reality, ''Extract'' was shot in a working factory, in this case, a water bottling plant south of Los Angeles, in the City of
Commerce
Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...
.
Judge took the authenticity one step further by using the plant's employees as extras in the scenes' backgrounds. "Those people were actually running, doing some bottling while we were shooting. There were people working on machines that were so loud in there that they couldn't hear anyone call 'action' or 'cut.' They were just doing their job." Shooting on the factory set led Judge to some epiphanies about what made the story resonate for him: "''Office Space'' was told from the point of view of the employees looking up at management as the 'bad guys'. This is told from the point of view of the owner of the place and the workers are a big pain in the butt to him. I think partly it was inspired by that point in my life where I suddenly had a large number of people working for me and realizing you can't be a 'cool guy boss'. It just doesn't work. So this is my more sympathetic take on the boss."
Release
The film was released on September 4, 2009, in the United States.
Marketing
Leading up to the film's release, Affleck went on a promotional tour of various cities, starting in
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...
, on August 20, 2009, and ending in Los Angeles on September 14, 2009.
In an effort to promote the film, Judge released a promotional short which featured his characters
Beavis and Butt-head
''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...
who summarize, and critique, the events depicted in the film.
Home media
''Extract'' was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...
on December 22, 2009.
Reception
Box office
''Extract'' made $4.3 million during its opening weekend and $7.1 million in its first week of release, with a total worldwide gross of $10.8 million, against a production budget of $8 million.
Critical response
On review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of 62% based on 189 reviews, with an average rating of 5.90/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Extract'' has some very funny moments and several fine performances, but the film feels slighter and more uneven than Mike Judge's previous work." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Dan Zak of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', called it "the most disappointing American comedy of the decade". On the other end of the spectrum,
Michael Phillips of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' called it "the funniest American comedy of the summer".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Extract
2000s buddy comedy films
2009 independent films
2009 films
American buddy comedy films
American independent films
2000s English-language films
Films about adultery in the United States
Films set in factories
Films directed by Mike Judge
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles County, California
Films with screenplays by Mike Judge
Films scored by George S. Clinton
2009 comedy films
Miramax films
2000s American films
English-language independent films
English-language buddy comedy films