Why So Blu?

Extract (Blu-ray Review)

I know I’m in the minority, but this movie is very funny to me. Everything about Mike Judge’s Extract is delightful. From the story, to the script, to the acting; everything about this movie is a clear example of the way that Judge can put his audiences in a world of pure escapism containing outrageous humor. You can furthermore experience the greatness of Extract in Blu-ray, presenting theater quality video, but not so much for the sound department. It may lack in the special features department, but the feature film is delightful enough to Extract that flaw out of the question.  

Film 

Jason Bateman is Joel, a hardworking factory worker who distributes flavor extract to convenience stores. Joel has a rough life, he’s facing a lawsuit from one of his employees, being bothered to death by his neighbor, and can’t seem to get home before his wife (Kristen Wiig) puts her sweatpants on. When Cindy (Mila Kunis), a hot con artist strolls into town, she gets a job as a temp and plans to take advantage of this lawsuit, as well as the other employees belongings.

Joel’s marriage isn’t going too well. In fact, he has HIRED a guy to sleep with her. So obviously when Cindy comes along he’s going to want a little something. Now begins a series of unfortunate events that befall Joel including a freak drug “accident”, heavy drinking, ball trouble, and worst of all: having to look after his wacky employees.

It’s pretty ironic how Mike Judge, creator of Office Space released another quintessential workplace film… with Jason Bateman. To me, that’s a win win. Judge is one of the most ambitious filmmakers to date. It’s quite impressive how he takes an awfully simplistic idea, and makes it simply abstract.

If you know me well, you’ll know I’m a hardcore Bateman buff, from his earlier years on Arrested Development (which is coincidentally coming back on the air), to his more ambitious roles such as Juno and Horrible Bosses. Kunis is as sexy and talented as ever, and this is Kristen Wiig in pre-Bridesmaids mode. The two scene-stealers in this are David Koechner and Ben Affleck, playing ridiculously funny characters.

The comedy here is pretty low-key, especially considering the wave of vulgarity featured in many recent R-rated comedies (The Hangover, Bad Teacher, etc). The humor in this movie isn’t completely reliant on gross out gags and dirty jokes, it is reliant on the brilliant script written by Judge, which is sincere, relatable, and funny all the way through.

Extract is an all-around fun time.

 

Video

Extract is presented in 1080p, 1.85:1, widescreen, and it looks stunning! This is truly a surprise for a film so little. Pretty much everything looks great, but lets start with the best aspect: the factory. Every scene in the factory is not only shot well, but looks incredible on Blu-ray, especially with all the wide shots showcasing the workers. Additionally, the toning is well used when applying to the scenery of Santa Clarita looks astounding. The thing keeping me from awarding this a five-star rating is all of the scenes shot at Bateman’s character’s home, which looked somewhat disoriented and creates a bit of a distraction from the look of the rest of the film. Regardless, Extract is a win in the video department.

Audio 

I was somewhat disappointed with the audio quality here. It’s presented in DTS-HD MA 5.1 and has travels to the good-bad radius throughout the film. There are parts where dialogue is clear and easy to hear, and other parts where the ambience noise gets in the way of the fun. The film has a nice soundtrack that suits the film and sounds great with the movie. I wouldn’t call the overall outcome of Extract’s audio department a complete failure, but it is very mediocre.

Special Features 

Final Thoughts 

Chances are that if you like Office Space, Beavis and Butt-Head, or any other classic comedy, you will have a kick with Extract, a low key, funny, well-acted, and all around good movie. The Blu-ray lacks in many ways, especially in the special features and audio department, but the stunning video quality and the great film make Extract worth your buy on Blu-ray.

Order Extract on Blu-ray!