Extract (film)
Encyclopedia
Extract is a 2009 American comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 written and directed by Mike Judge
Mike Judge
Michael Craig Judge is an American animator, film director, writer and voice actor, best known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head , King of the Hill , and The Goode Family .He also wrote, directed and in some instances produced the films Beavis and...

. Extract stars Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...

, Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Milena "Mila" Kunis is an American actress. Her work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy...

, Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American film and television actress who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of...

, Dustin Milligan
Dustin Milligan
Dustin Wallace Milligan is a Canadian film and television actor known for his role as Ethan Ward on 90210.-Life and career:...

, J. K. Simmons
J. K. Simmons
Jonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television as Dr. Emil Skoda in NBC's Law & Order , Assistant Police Chief Will Pope in TNT's The Closer, neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger in the HBO prison drama Oz, on film as J...

, and Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...

. Judge also makes an uncredited appearance as 'Jim', a union organizer.

Plot

Joel Reynolds is the owner and founder of Reynold's Extract, a flavor-extract
Extract
An extract is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures or in powder form....

 company. Although his business is successful, his marriage is now largely sexless. His best friend Dean, a bartender and pothead, tries to ease his mind with Xanax and various other drugs, but the straight-laced Joel refuses.

One day, a series of mishaps occurs at the extract factory, resulting in an employee, Step, losing a testicle
Testicle
The testicle is the male gonad in animals. Like the ovaries to which they are homologous, testes are components of both the reproductive system and the endocrine system...

. Cindy, a con artist and drifter, reads a news story about the accident and gets a job at the factory, flirting with Joel in order to find out more information about Step. Although Step initially decides not to sue the company, he changes his mind after a "chance meeting" with Cindy, and hires ambulance-chasing lawyer Joe Adler.

Joel entertains the idea of an affair with Cindy, but still loves Suzie and would not want to have any regrets. At the bar, Dean suggests hiring a male gigolo
Gigolo
Gigolo may refer to:* A male prostitute, escort, or dancer, who offers services to women* Gigolo , a 2006 single by Helena Paparizou* Gigolo , a 2003 single by Nick Cannon...

 to seduce his wife, so that Joel can then have a guilt-free affair of his own. Joel initially balks at the idea, but—after his judgment is impaired by an accidentally administered dose of ketamine
Ketamine
Ketamine is a drug used in human and veterinary medicine. Its hydrochloride salt is sold as Ketanest, Ketaset, and Ketalar. Pharmacologically, ketamine is classified as an NMDA receptor antagonist...

—eventually accepts and the two hire Brad to pose as a pool cleaner and have an affair with Suzie. The next morning, Joel realizes what he has done and tries to stop Brad from going to his house, but he is too late; Brad and Suzie have begun an affair. 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, and Willie punches Joel in the face.

Joel meets with Adler and his associates in the factory office to discuss the terms of the settlement. The workers, believing that the meeting is about a buy-out of the factory by General Mills
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...

, organize a strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

. Frustrated by Adler's unflinching negotiations and the disrespect from his employees, Joel storms out and goes home, where Suzie admits that she had an affair with Brad. Joel admits he hired Brad to sleep with her, and leaves the house to escape her wrath.

Joel moves into a motel
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...

, 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 she is attempting to scam the company. He begins to call the police, but softens when Cindy breaks down in tears, and the two spend the night together. The next morning, Cindy disappears, but leaves the stolen items behind.

Step meets with Joel at the factory to tell him he is dropping the lawsuit on the condition that Joel promotes him to floor manager. Meanwhile, while cleaning the pool herself, Suzie loses her temper with her annoying, overly talkative neighbor Nathan and tells him what she really thinks of him; just as she is finishing her tirade, he collapses and dies. Feeling that she may have caused his death, Suzie attends the funeral, where she runs into Joel. After a few awkward moments, the two share a ride home, hinting at a possible reconciliation. It is revealed that Cindy has scammed Adler and ends up stealing his luxury car, replacing it with Step's truck.

Cast

  • Jason Bateman
    Jason Bateman
    Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...

     as Joel
  • Mila Kunis
    Mila Kunis
    Milena "Mila" Kunis is an American actress. Her work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy...

     as Cindy
  • Kristen Wiig
    Kristen Wiig
    Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American film and television actress who currently appears as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wiig was a member of improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, and has appeared in several films and television series, including Bridesmaids, MacGruber, Flight of...

     as Suzie
  • Ben Affleck
    Ben Affleck
    Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...

     as Dean
  • J. K. Simmons
    J. K. Simmons
    Jonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television as Dr. Emil Skoda in NBC's Law & Order , Assistant Police Chief Will Pope in TNT's The Closer, neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger in the HBO prison drama Oz, on film as J...

     as Brian
  • Clifton Collins, Jr.
    Clifton Collins, Jr.
    Clifton Craig Collins, Jr. is an American actor.-Life and career:Clifton Craig Collins, Jr. was born in Los Angeles, of half Mexican descent and the grandson of actor Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez. He has sometimes been credited as Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez to honor his grandfather...

     as Step
  • Dustin Milligan
    Dustin Milligan
    Dustin Wallace Milligan is a Canadian film and television actor known for his role as Ethan Ward on 90210.-Life and career:...

     as Brad
  • David Koechner
    David Koechner
    David Michael Koechner is an American comedian, musician, and character actor. Koechner began studying improvisational comedy in Chicago at the ImprovOlympic, under the teachings of Del Close, before joining the Second City Northwest...

     as Nathan
  • Beth Grant
    Beth Grant
    Beth Grant is an American actress. She is known for often playing characters who are conservatives, religious zealots or sticklers for rules....

     as Mary
  • T. J. Miller
    T. J. Miller
    Todd Joseph Miller , better known as T. J. Miller, is an American actor and stand-up comedian.-Life and career:Miller was born in Denver, Colorado. He attended East High School. Miller then attended the George Washington University in Washington, D.C...

     as Rory
  • Javier Gutiérrez as Hector
  • Lidia Porto as Gabriella
  • Gene Simmons
    Gene Simmons
    Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...

     as Joe Adler
  • Matt Schulze
    Matt Schulze
    Matthew Steven "Matt" Schulze is an American actor and musician.-Early life:Schulze was born and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. At age 16, he moved to Atlanta, where he studied guitar at the Atlanta Institute of Music. He moved to Los Angeles in 1992 to be a studio musician, but ended up doing...

     as Willie
  • Lamberto Gutierrez as Victor
  • Brent Briscoe
    Brent Briscoe
    Brent Briscoe is an American actor and screenwriter.Briscoe was born in Moberly, Missouri. After finishing his education at the University of Missouri, Briscoe launched his career as a theater actor. He then segued into screenwriting and acting in feature films...

     as Phil
  • Hal Sparks
    Hal Sparks
    Hal Harry Magee Sparks III is an American actor, comedian, musician and television personality. He is known for his contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s Talk Soup, and the role of Michael Novotny on the American television series Queer as Folk.-Early life:Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but...

     as Guitar Salesman #1
  • Nick Thune
    Nick Thune
    Nick Thune is an American actor, comedian and musician.Thune was born in Seattle, Washington to parents Erik and Cindy Thune. He has one sister and twin brothers. While in Seattle, Thune attended Bellevue Community College for two and a half years and did not earn a degree...

     as Guitar Salesman #2
  • Tom Virtue
    Tom Virtue
    Thomas E. "Tom" Virtue is an American actor. He is best known for his co-starring role as Steve Stevens in the Disney Channel sitcom Even Stevens.-Life and career:...

     as Guitar Customer
  • Christopher Rocha as Pawn Shop Guy
  • Jenny O'Hara as Joel's Secretary
  • Matthew Williams as Band Member
  • Gary Cole
    Gary Cole
    Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...

     (uncredited) as Bar Patron
  • Mike Judge
    Mike Judge
    Michael Craig Judge is an American animator, film director, writer and voice actor, best known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head , King of the Hill , and The Goode Family .He also wrote, directed and in some instances produced the films Beavis and...

     (uncredited) as Jim
  • Briston Meeney (uncredited) as Bar Patron
  • Shawna Reina (uncredited) as Lawyer

Soundtrack

  • "She's All I Got" - Johnny Paycheck
    Johnny Paycheck
    Johnny Paycheck was the legal name of Donald Eugene Lytle , a country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member most famous for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It"...

  • "Apurate"
  • "Hoogie Boogie" - John Lee Hooker
    John Lee Hooker
    John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...

  • "I Thank You" - ZZ Top
    ZZ Top
    ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...

  • "Wundercrotchen" - Matthew Strachan
    Matthew Strachan
    Matthew Strachan is an English composer and songwriter.His best known work is the music for the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with his father Keith...

     (aka Klaus Harmony
    Klaus Harmony
    Klaus Harmony is a comic fictional composer of porn music for 1970s and 1980s European adult movies. Created by UK soundtrack composer, Matthew Strachan , the character's life story is told though music, images and an extensive series of spoof biographical entries on a multimedia website...

    )
  • "The Lunatic Fringe" - Yggdrasil (The song Rory's band God's Cock performed)
  • "(I Got the) Same Old Blues" - Lynyrd Skynyrd
    Lynyrd Skynyrd
    Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...

  • "Wrapped" - Bruce Robison
    Bruce Robison
    Bruce Robison is an Austin-based Texas country music singer-songwriter. Bruce and his brother, fellow singer-songwriter Charlie Robison, grew up in Bandera, Texas near San Antonio, and he currently resides in Austin, Texas...

  • "Who Were You Thinkin' of" - Texas Tornados
    Texas Tornados
    Texas Tornados is a Tejano band. Its music is a fusion of rock, country and various Mexican styles.-History:The initial combination of musicians of the Texas Tornados happened almost by chance at a concert performance of a mutual acquaintance...

  • "Rainy Day Woman" - Waylon Jennings
    Waylon Jennings
    Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...


Production

Filming began on August 25, 2008 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. Shortly after completing the film Office Space
Office Space
Office Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...

director Mike Judge
Mike Judge
Michael Craig Judge is an American animator, film director, writer and voice actor, best known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head , King of the Hill , and The Goode Family .He also wrote, directed and in some instances produced the films Beavis and...

 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
Idiocracy
Idiocracy is a 2006 American film, a satirical science fiction comedy, directed by Mike Judge and starring Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, and Terry Crews....

", 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 get back 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. 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 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 the 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.”

Marketing

Leading up to the film's release, Affleck went on a promotional tour of various cities, starting in Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...

, on August 20, 2009, and ending in Los Angeles on September 14, 2009.

In effort to promote the film, Judge released a promotional short which featured his characters Beavis and Butt-head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...

 who summarize, and critique, the events depicted in the film.

Critical response

Extract earned a 63% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

, based on 179 reviews. The consensus was "Extract has some very funny moments and several fine performances, but the film feels slighter and more uneven than Mike Judge's previous work."

Dan Zak of the Washington Post, called it "the most disappointing American comedy of the decade".
On the other end of the spectrum, Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

called it "the funniest American comedy of the summer".

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 $10,848,783.

Home media

Extract was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 and Blu-ray on December 22, 2009.
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