BuzzSugar

Extract: A Few Drops of Humor

BuzzSugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:30:46 PDT

Director Mike Judge's Office Space didn't do well at the box office, but it enjoyed a popularity and appreciation long after its release that continues to this day, particularly by cube dwellers who find solace in identifying and ridiculing the archetypal office workers. It can be a dark, uncomfortable movie in parts, but there's something almost uplifting about the end of Office Space.

Judge's latest movie Extract has only a few of the elements that make Office Space so great, though, and those elements are dramatically watered down. With the exception of Clifton Collins' character Step, who suffers a distressing injury on the job and whose bumbling good intentions make him hard to resist, there's not much heart to Extract. There are some funny moments for sure - mostly from the supporting cast - but overall it just feels soulless. For more of my thoughts on this,

The story is set in another workplace, but this time we're in a factory and our main character Joel (Jason Bateman) actually likes what he does - owning and running the extract factory. He likes extract, and he has a sort of even mix of fondness and frustration for his employees on the floor. He dreams of selling the place and leaving behind the annoyances of running a business, but mostly his dissatisfaction stems from his home life where he never has sex with his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig). He never talks to her about it, though, he just whines to his friend Dean (Ben Affleck) who dispenses alcohol, pills and bad advice in equal amounts.

One such piece of advice is to hire a gigolo to seduce Suzie so Joel will have no guilt about sleeping with his new hot temp, Cindy (Mila Kunis). Sure, Joel is heavily drugged when he agrees to the plan, but even when he comes to his senses he doesn't seem all that perturbed about it. Though he goes through a variety of experiences and emotions throughout the movie, Bateman's expression never wavers from basic tired exasperation. It's hard to ever tell what Joel is really going through here, which makes it hard to care.

Up until recently, I was a huge fan and supporter of Jason Bateman. I love it when a movie has just a dash of his specific type of funny (like Smoking Aces and State of Play), but when the side character played by Ben Affleck is funnier than Bateman's leading man (granted, Affleck's character is sillier all around), there's something wrong. Actually nearly every other character in the movie is more appealing and satisfying to watch than Bateman's Joel.

The supporting characters really are fantastic. Judge has a way of creating spot-on replications of the types of coworkers that we've all worked with. Office Space was full of them, from the passive-agressive boss to the overly chipper phone operator to poor old Milton who has focused his whole life on basically one thing (a stapler). Here in Extract, we've got the chatty Cathys who just gossip, complain and shift blame, and the punk kid who can't seem to retain any work-related information in his brain but manages to play in four different bands outside of work. And Joel's clueless, talkative neighbor Nathan (a pitch-perfect David Koechner) is one of the funniest and most painfully realistic portrayals in the film.

This is where I think Judge shines: in crafting characters that people can recognize, at least to some extent. There is a tremendous amount of comedy to be mined from these characters, and they add great flavor to the larger storyline following the average straight man. Problem is, it's pretty tough to like or sympathize with Joel so all we do is keep looking toward the other characters for some fun and relief. They deliver, but it's disappointing that the main storyline is so empty.

Photos courtesy of Miramax

Jason and Mila Screen Extract With Funny People, but No Ben

PopSugar — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:30:48 PDT

Jason Bateman and Mila Kunis hit the red carpet last night at the LA premiere of Extract. Their costar Ben Affleck wasn't around due to his work commitments in Boston, but Mila and Jason were joined by Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, and Simon Pegg. 90210's Jessica Stroup skipped out on the Nylon party her castmates were at to attend the screening. The film hits theaters Sept. 4, and after Buzz posted the preview a few months ago we're curious to see more.

To see more from the bash, including Johnathon Schaech and Aziz Anzari, just

View 40 Photos ›

Images include: Simon Pegg, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Mike Judge, Mila Kunis, Daniel Battsek, Clifton Collins Jr., Johnny Knoxville, Cheech Marin, Dustin Milligan, Jessica Stroup, David Koechner, Johnathon Schaech, Aziz Anzari, Gene Simmons

Movie Preview: Affleck, Bateman in Extract

BuzzSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:30:50 PDT

Jason Bateman. Ben Affleck. Director Mike Judge (Office Space). If you like any one of these things, you may want to take a look at the new teaser trailer for Extract, another comedy from Mike Judge that follows an average guy in an average job who's dissatisfied with both his work and his home life. Bateman plays the central character, Joel, the owner of a flower-extract factory whose marital problems with his wife (Kristen Wiig) bum him out - but he perks right up when a pretty new temp (Mila Kunis) joins the company. Affleck (sporting a beard and some long, scraggly hair) plays Joel's lawyer friend.

Extract opens Sept. 4. Check out the trailer after the jump and tell me: Does this look funny to you? Or a bit of the same old, same old? To watch,

Ben Affleck Tries Comedy Again

BuzzSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:37:21 PDT

At least he's in good company for this one: Ben Affleck is in talks to join the cast of Extract, a comedy by Mike Judge (director of Office Space, creator of Beavis and Butthead). He'll be working alongside Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Mila Kunis and Clifton Collins, Jr.
Variety has more details:

Actor is in negotiations to play an ambulance-chasing lawyer in the pic, which centers on a flower extract factory owner (Jason Bateman) who's dealing with workplace problems and a streak of bad luck, including his wife's affair with a gigolo.

Clifton Collins Jr. is also joining the cast as a factory worker who loses a body part in a freak accident and is now due for a huge settlement.

Granted, I'm more excited to see more Jason Bateman up on the big screen, but I'm also curious to find out how Affleck does with this kind of comedic material. And after seeing Bateman paired with Will Smith this summer in Hancock, I think I'm liking it when he's paired up with "bigger" names and the two can play off one another.

Source

Jason Bateman Goes to Work with Office Space Writer

BuzzSugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:30:04 PDT

Jason Bateman is so good at playing the everyman, he could even make the Bluth family's over-the-top problems seem relatable. And with Office Space, Mike Judge proved that he could tap into the psyche of downtrodden workers everywhere. So it seems the two could be a match made in heaven for a new feature called Extract.

The film, which Judge will write and direct, focuses on the owner of a flower extract factory (huh?) who can't seem to get a break - either at the office, where he has a string of bad luck, or at home, where his wife has had an affair with a gigolo. Variety describes it as a movie "about what it's like to be the boss when everything seems to be shifting around you."

Apparently Arrested Development alums are in high demand right now: Mae Whitman landed a TV job last week, as did Alia Shawkat. And I'd say that this casting news fully cements Bateman as a big-screen leading man, at least for a certain kind of comedy. What do you think? Are you excited to see Bateman getting a higher profile?

Source

Jake Gyllenhaal Wraps Up the Berlin Film Festival With His Fellow Judges

Allie Merriam — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:59:03 PST

Jake Gyllenhaal joined his fellow 2012 Berlin Film Festival judges like directors Anton Corbijn, Mike Leigh, and Francois Ozon, as well as actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, for their closing ceremony last night. They wrapped up the cinematic fun following a week of screenings, photo ops, and press conferences. Angelina Jolie, with her In the Land of Blood and Honey, and Robert Pattinson, who debuted Bel Ami, were among the stars who trekked to Germany for events - check out all the Berlin Film Festival pictures. Last night, statues were handed out to honor the best work seen at the festival. Jake personally handed off the best actress Silver Bear to Congolese actress Rachel Mwanza for her performance in War Witch. Other honors went to the Danish movie A Royal Affair and Germany's Babara. The best picture distinction went to Italy's Caesar Must Die.

What to TiVo: Monday

BuzzSugar — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:59:00 PST

8:00 I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
9:00 You Deserve It (new)
10:00 Castle (repeat)
12:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live (new, with guests The X Factor judges and Anna Faris)
8:00 2 Broke Girls (new)
9:00 Two and a Half Men (new)
9:30 Mike & Molly (new)
10:00 Hawaii Five-0 (new)
11:35 Late Show With David Letterman (new, with guests Scarlett Johansson and Julie Chen)
12:37 The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (new, with guest Chef Cat Cora)

8:00 Terra Nova (new)
9:00 House (repeat)

8:00 Fear Factor (new)
9:00 Fear Factor (new)
10:00 Rock Center With Brian Williams (new)
11:35 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (new, with guests Charlize Theron, Kevin Hart, and Foster the People)
12:35 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

8:00 Hart of Dixie (repeat)
9:00 Hart of Dixie (repeat)

How to Choose the Perfect Live Crab

Susannah Chen — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 06:50:13 PST

We're officially in the throes of West Coast Dungeness crab season, and there's no better way to celebrate than by purchasing a live or fresh-cooked crab, while the crustaceans are local and affordably-priced. But how do you know which live member to pick out from the crowd?

Mike La Rocca, who helms A. La Rocca Sea Food, a wholesaler that supplies fresh Dungeness to seafood restaurants like Bistro Boudin and supermarkets like Mollie Stone's, offers one critical piece of advice: look for a critter that's heavy. "The best way to judge if you're getting a nice, fresh crab is if it's got some weight when it's sitting in your hand. You should feel that pound and a half in your hands - then you know you're getting a crab that's full of meat and juice. If it's been sitting in a counter for a few days, it's going to lose its juice."

Also, the obvious: live crabs should be, well, alive. "If the crabs are alive, they need to be moving," La Rocca insists. For those of you comfortable cooking live seafood, how do you choose and prepare crab?

Fabio Viviani on the Top Chef All-Stars Season Finale

Guest Writer — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:03:18 PDT

Who better to cover the last episode of Top Chef All-Stars than former cheftestant (and contender from this season!) Fabio Viviani? Chef, take it away!

It's over!! I mean almost. The finale is here in the sunny Bahamas, I'd rather today to go water-skiing than get picked and help my two brothers (hey, at the end they ARE from a different mother), but I'll do my fair share and talk them into NOT picking me, but I promise that if I will I'll give heart and soul. Richard is worry.

Mike want to beat Richie and start some serious physiological warfare, Mike is hilarious and Richard is so worry that he can't even talk back to him.

I laughed my butt off when Mike said, "I hope you lose" in his face and Richard instead of go for the throat and answer "you know Mike? F*ck you, you foul mouth piece of sh*t you can kiss my ass I will win this and then I'll rub it in your face" type of thing, he all calm and worry said, "I hope you lose too." AAWWW Richie! That is the sweetest mean things I ever heard! You such a good guy!!!

The rest of Fabio's humorous recap is after the jump.

Fabio Viviani on Top Chef All-Stars Episode 15

Guest Writer — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:18:25 PDT

Who better to cover the finale of Top Chef All-Stars than former cheftestant (and contender from this season!) Fabio Viviani? Fabio, take it away!Here we go. We're getting close to knowing who the Top Chef will be. I mean, these people are all Top Chefs in my book already, and honestly I believe that everyone but me was truly at a certain point thinking that they were actually going to win.

Now, let's get to the juice: three last standing! Richard is worried already, Mike is on a roll, and the Black Hammer is doing some voodoo in order to bring the kiss of death on the neck of the other two chefs! You guys know how much I love Antonia. We are friends, so please stop giving me crap about the fact that I always side with the boys, 'cause no one make the ladies happy like I already try to do. I'm just having fun with her.

The rest of Fabio's humorous recap is after the jump.