"A director can have the best intentions, great talent involved, and still end up with a flat, directionless film. "

The people involved with Extract are all very likable. Mike Judge gave us Idiocracy and Office Space. Jason Bateman was in seminal Arrested Development. Mila Kunis is younger, but she's already added Forgetting Sarah Marshall and That '70s Show to her resume. And Ben Affleck? C'mon, Ben Affleck is likable. You pull for the guy when you see him, even if he's wearing a Daredevil costume. So none of these folks is the problem with the film; no, oddly enough the issue is the story. The script. What they filmed doesn't really work. Not enough funny, too much disjointedness, no momentum during the piece. It's a weird phenomenon, a bit like getting together with friends who are all asleep. You can draw on them for awhile, but things get boring pretty quickly.

Extract is the story of factory owner Jason Bateman, the wacky employees he's employing, plus his friend, neighbors, and spouse. Bateman's business is extract: vanilla, almond, cherry, and whatever other flavorings you can think of. Business is decent, and Bateman has a shot to sell the plant. Unfortunately, things aren't great at home, where wife Kristen Wiigis immune to Bateman's spousal advances. Ben Affleck is the wacky drug-using, hard-charging buddy -- he's all about doling out advice that's clearly insane and getting Bateman into troublesome situations. Lastly, Mila Kunis is a criminal drifter; her attempts to swindle almost everyone involved in the narrative form the crux of the movie.

What it all adds up to is a series of short events. Yes, there are a few laughs, but no huge ones, and certainly nothing resembling a functioning plot. Things happen to folks, there's a site gag or two, and everyone tries their best. Again, and this can't be overstated, you really want all of the moments to slay you, if only for all the goodwill the creators have engendered in the past decade. But it just doesn't happen.

In a way, I suppose this is a cautionary tale. A director can have the best intentions, great talent involved, and still end up with a flat, directionless film. Perhaps Mike Judge is actually offering up a scathing commentary here? "You want a movie you can market? Here's Affleck and Bateman and some hijinks. Will you please release my film now?" It's got to be odd to consistently do great work ... only to have people ignore and discount it (Idiocracy) or appreciate it long afterward (Hi, Office Space!). I guess eventually you'd crank out a product that shot for the middle, cash the check, and hope nobody noticed. It happens. Still, even if they missed, a great group of people did attempt to make a good film. Perhaps we should all buy tickets to pay them back? It's a tough call. What do you do when your best friends simply won't wake up?

Grade: C+