Extract

For a comedy, EXTRACT isn’t very funny. It’s kinda sad, and it kinda rocks along pleasantly for an hour and a half on Jason Bateman’s likeability, but I only laughed twice (and that was in the first fifteen minutes).

Bateman plays the owner of a flavoring company. A chemist, he created a better vanilla extract. He rolled that creation into a modest operation that employs about fifty people and pays the mortgage on one of those ghastly mcmansions out in the exurbs. So he’s doing ok. But he’s tired of the business. He thinks his wife has lost interest in sex. He’s ready for a change.

Change comes in the form of Mila Kunis, a small-time grifter looking for a big-time score. There’s your movie.

EXTRACT has some solid things going for it. Bateman has perfect comic timing, and a supporting cast that includes Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, and Kristen Wiig hits all the right notes. But it felt more bittersweet than funny, and I came to it looking for funny.

So there you have it. Extract’s fine. I actually feel a little bad about not flat-out recommending it. If you like bittersweet, however, this one might be for you.