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Mr. Beaks On Why You Should Pick Up Mike Judge's EXTRACT This Holiday Season!
Mike Judge's fourth film, EXTRACT, arrives on Blu-ray/DVD today, and while you're already mulling a purchase because you love Mike Judge and everything he stands for (Truth, Justice and TP for Your Bunghole), I thought I'd help nudge you in the buyin' direction with a list of specific reasons why the comedic genius behind Beavis and Butt-Head, OFFICE SPACE, KING OF THE HILL and IDIOCRACY deserves your patronage this holiday season.
The following insights were gleaned from a Dec. 8 dinner at Joe's in Venice, CA, where a group of entertainment journalists, emboldened by a not-insignificant amount of wine, lobbed questions at Mr. Judge - who, similarly emboldened, spoke candidly about his greatest hits (commercial and critical) and his future endeavors. Here goes...
1) He Wrote EXTRACT for Jason Bateman
And the first draft was, according to Judge, completed "a long time ago". Pretty brave move for a filmmaker whose three live-action figures have (shamefully) combined to gross $22 million domestically. Bateman is, of course, perfect as an increasingly miserable factory owner whose life's mission is, at present, to rush home before his wife changes into her sweatpants (after which there will be no sex for the evening). It probably helped that Judge didn't get a studio involved, but, even when he worked with Fox (which, amazingly, he said he'd do again despite their shoddy treatment of OFFICE SPACE and IDIOCRACY), he's never had a Big Comedy Star forced on him. Move, say, Will Ferrell into that role, and you end up with a zanier, less recognizably human version of the film - and that's just not what interests Judge. For the most part, he's into the banal trials and tribulations of the average white male - even when they're cryogenically frozen and thrust 500 years into the (very stupid) future.
2) He Understands Ben Affleck's Tremendous Value as a Character Actor
This is not a knock on Affleck's many movie star turns (at least, not as far as Judge is concerned), but ever since his portrayal of the sadistic, repeat-senior O'Bannion in Richard Linklater's DAZED AND CONFUSED, the actor's best performances have generally come when he's played scruffy and stupid rather than dashing and sophisticated. According to Judge, he all but cast Affleck as Bateman's bartender/stoner confidante in EXTRACT because of O'Bannion - and his work in this film reminds us of the star's unexploited comedic potential. As Judge explained, sometimes it's just easier for smart actors to play stupid (this is apparently also true of ex-90210 star Dustin Milligan, who plays a pool-cleaning lothario in EXTRACT) . Here's hoping Affleck makes a little more time for morons as he moves forward in his acting career.
3) He Would Like to Follow Up the Box Office Underperformance of EXTRACT With a Chris Elliott Vehicle
If chasing Bateman for EXTRACT was brave, this is downright ballsy. Judge, in his own words, on why this must be:
Hollywood tends to think young, but when I was seventeen Rodney Dangerfield was all the rage, and [after CADDYSHACK], we couldn’t get enough. I think he was sixty when BACK TO SCHOOL came out. You can’t predict a lot of things. It’s hard to be an executive, but I think the problem is that Rodney Dangerfield wasn’t trying to make romantic comedies. He wasn’t with a twenty-five year-old girlfriend; he was just being himself - and he was carrying these movies that were huge. There’s great young actors, but there’s also these older guys who are just funny. Chris Elliot could read the phone book, and it’d be funny. Dangerfield was just playing his age in an appropriate way, and as a teenager we just loved it.
Judge's idea for an Elliott vehicle would find the actor traveling to India to become a Bollywood star - which kinda sounds like a great, unwritten GET A LIFE episode. He also discussed a TV project they tried to develop for Elliott, in which he would've played a man with no medical training who gets elected coroner (still possible in some states - or, at least, it was). I actually prefer that idea, but anything that gets Elliott back on the big screen in a starring role (for the first time since 1994's celebrated CABIN BOY!) will certainly work for me.
Unsurprisingly, Judge also disclosed that he's a huge fan of Bob and Ray (the legendary radio/TV comedy duo that featured Chris's dad Bob Elliott). One of Judge's KING OF THE HILL highlights was sitting in on a table read for an episode that brought together the three generations of Elliotts - Bob, Chris and Abby (currently a featured performer on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE).
4) Bernardo Bertolucci Loves Beavis and Butt-Head
I don't quite know how to process this, but it makes me ever so happy to know that the director of THE CONFORMIST and LAST TANGO IN PARIS could, at some point over the past eighteen years, be found giggling himself silly as the juvenile delinquent comedy duo kicked Coach Buzzcut in "the jimmy". Repeatedly. At his urging. Perhaps Judge could work in a butter-lubing reference in a future B&B short to honor his famous admirer (and, yes, Judge is open to the idea of more B&B.)
Speaking of butter-lubing, Marlon Brando was also a fan of Beavis and Butt-Head. Evidently, during the shooting of DON JUAN DEMARCO, Brando and co-star Johnny Depp would perform their own B&B routine (with Depp as Beavis and the method-acting icon who originated the role of Stanley Kowalski on Broadway as Butt-Head; there must be video somewhere).
Also somewhat related to butter-lubing...
5) Mike Judge Still Owns a Copy of the Beavis and Butt-Head Porn Spinoff
It's called BEAVER & BUTT-FACE, and, to keep it from falling into the wrong hands, he's hidden it on a videotape labeled "HAPPY, TEXAS". For the record, while he appreciates the effort on a notoriety level, Judge wasn't a huge fan of this particular tribute. He seemed especially put off by the heavily made-up actor who portrayed Butt-Head (replete with taped-back nose). His cautious description of the action was not appetizing, but, if you must, it appears there are versions available via the torrents. Ahem.
6) The More Successful Judges Movies Are, The More Likely It Is That Someone Will Shell Out for a Complete BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD Collection on DVD
Actually, this is just wishful thinking, but listening to Judge talk about the countless Beavis and Butt-Head riffs that are consigned to bootleg purgatory because no one is willing to cough up for the music video licenses, I couldn't help but wonder what it would take to get these lost classics on DVD. And since it seems like nothing short of Spielberg-level mogul-hood will do, I believe it is necessary and right that all good people rush out today and plunk down for EXTRACT on DVD and Blu-ray. Seriously. Then Judge will have the creative freedom to go forth and make his own, idiosyncratic comedies without worrying that some negligent studio will deem them unworthy of competent marketing and distribution.
I realize this is a pipe dream, but as a great man once said... It's Christmas. It's the time of miracles. So be of good cheer.
Faithfully submitted,
Mr. Beaks
Hollywood tends to think young, but when I was seventeen Rodney Dangerfield was all the rage, and [after CADDYSHACK], we couldn’t get enough. I think he was sixty when BACK TO SCHOOL came out. You can’t predict a lot of things. It’s hard to be an executive, but I think the problem is that Rodney Dangerfield wasn’t trying to make romantic comedies. He wasn’t with a twenty-five year-old girlfriend; he was just being himself - and he was carrying these movies that were huge. There’s great young actors, but there’s also these older guys who are just funny. Chris Elliot could read the phone book, and it’d be funny. Dangerfield was just playing his age in an appropriate way, and as a teenager we just loved it.
Judge's idea for an Elliott vehicle would find the actor traveling to India to become a Bollywood star - which kinda sounds like a great, unwritten GET A LIFE episode. He also discussed a TV project they tried to develop for Elliott, in which he would've played a man with no medical training who gets elected coroner (still possible in some states - or, at least, it was). I actually prefer that idea, but anything that gets Elliott back on the big screen in a starring role (for the first time since 1994's celebrated CABIN BOY!) will certainly work for me.
Unsurprisingly, Judge also disclosed that he's a huge fan of Bob and Ray (the legendary radio/TV comedy duo that featured Chris's dad Bob Elliott). One of Judge's KING OF THE HILL highlights was sitting in on a table read for an episode that brought together the three generations of Elliotts - Bob, Chris and Abby (currently a featured performer on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE).
Speaking of butter-lubing, Marlon Brando was also a fan of Beavis and Butt-Head. Evidently, during the shooting of DON JUAN DEMARCO, Brando and co-star Johnny Depp would perform their own B&B routine (with Depp as Beavis and the method-acting icon who originated the role of Stanley Kowalski on Broadway as Butt-Head; there must be video somewhere).
Also somewhat related to butter-lubing...
I realize this is a pipe dream, but as a great man once said... It's Christmas. It's the time of miracles. So be of good cheer.
Mr. Beaks
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...its keep already.I support Mike Judge.
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MAKE IT, Mike, I beg you.
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I've seen a moment or two of Beaver & Butt-face... and it's about as bad as you would imagine.
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Pick up World's Greatest Dad instead. Much better movie with a performence that should win awards from Robin Williams.
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...look it up...
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It was basically your standard shitty porn movie with two guys wearing ridiculous Beavis and Butthead masks, and doing ridiculous Beavis and Butthead impersonations.
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It wasn't funny.
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No one will ever try to watch it.
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Ya heard it here first.
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...oh. Never mind.
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The Letterman cameo alone makes that movie priceless. Why Chris E. doesn't work more is beyond me...
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A $1,000+ Bust of a mech warrior and some unknown actor that I have to put a $200 non refundable down payment on before the movie even comes out?
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AHHHH your one of those Fancy Lads aren't ya?
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And Brian Doyle Murray!? Fucking love that movie...
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You know thats his daughter on SNL right now? When are him and Daniel Stern going to make a buddy cop movie is the bigger question.
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for some SNL promo. She's hot and it's hard to believe he has a daughter old enough for me to say that and not feel weird about it... And yes, an Elliott-Stern pairing would be comedy gold. Mike, you reading this?
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A copy of this it would insure an Elliot-Stern paring I'd be more supportive.
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Didn't Chris Kattan just do that for Bravo? An actor failing at home, hoping to become a sensation in India?
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STIR IT WITH YOUR GOOD HAND
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MTV2 recently - just the animated segments in between the music videos, repackaged as half-hour episodes, and boy, did I laugh...
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in a time when gross out comedy is the norm, it was a delightful change of pace and bateman deserves more starring vehicles
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I had to register just to say how unbelieveably bad Extract was. I mean off the charts shitty and I love a lot of Judge's other work.
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it should not even be labeled a "comedy" because it really doesn't even attempt to be funny 99% of the time and when it does try, it fails.
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And I am a fan of both "Office Space" and "Idiocracy." I don't know if Beaks is an Austinite, but that's the only way I could imagine someone trying to champion this film. I was really hoping Judge could knock it out of the park with this one after the crap he took on "Idiocracy," but alas, that was not meant to be.
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Check it out for the gorgeous Mila Kunis, but as comedy it just fell flat.
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Mila Kunis. Forget Chris Elliot and the damned phone book, I'd crawl across five miles of broken glass just to get mila to fart into my tape recorder.
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What's with these blatent "why you should buy the DVD" articles lately? I honestly wonder if that law about bloggers admitting it when they get paid will impact on AICN. Hopefully not, but several recent articles scream payola.
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thelordofhell told me to say it.
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Was funnier than Hangover or any other movie this year. IT will be the next Abe Vigoda. And the next Office Space. Guaranteed.
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Even though he was the the main protaginist in Arrested, he supported the large cast. I liked him as the smart ass in The Kingdom, the kinda skeezy husband in Juno, the slimy guy in that Russell Crowe reporter movie (can't even recall the title),etc.
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I think it tried for Anchorman-style lunacy, but fell far short. Although Piven was born to play a used car salesman. Nice rug Jeremy.
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Clearly, clearly horrible. I am a *HUGE* Judge fan from Beavis and Butthead through King of the Hill, Office Space, and Idiocracy, but this? This movie was jaw-droppingly bad. I wish Judge all the best in the world (I really do), but watching this movie was as disappointing as waking up hungover, thinking you fucked that hot chick from the bar last night then realizing that it wasn't a chick at all and the tweaker just rolled your way with morning wood.
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how much I like smoking the pot I can never find. Stoners never seem to want to hook anyone up more than a couple of times and I can't find any dealers. You know, people that actually profit from it vs. lame stoners doing someone a favor. Pennsylvania sucks for tokers.
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...if you're in bullet range of Philly you shouldn't be having any trouble...
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i've only seen it once, and i liked it ok when the credits started rolling, but the more i thought about it the more i liked it. i have a feeling that it will be like office space/ idiocracy /king of the hill in that regard. give it a chance if you have not seen it.
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....I came here and saw Beaks endorsing it. Then I see some of you saying that not only wasnt it funny but horrible. Now I wont even rent it but will wait until its on Cinemax at 3am and record it. After Beaks posted his top 100 list it makes it easy to know which films NOT to see. Extract must have some great ass-raping in it for Beaks to give it so much love.
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Was there really an article on reasons to see Extract that did NOT include Mila Kunis? I know this site is a bit known for hyperbole, but I'[m being completely literal when I tell everyone here, she may be the hottest chick on the planet in this movie. Its really off the charts. The rest of the movie is meh, certainly not horrible, but nothing spectacular.
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other than Affleck's pothead but he's only in a few scenes. It's the opposite of Office Space, great funny cast and terribly written.
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Have to agree with the naysayers. It was just boring. It has no peaks and valleys, just a long flat-line from start to finish. I'm not sure I even laughed, which means if I did, that's still not a good sign. I liked everything Judge has done until this point. I was in early middle school when B and B started and have seriously liked everything Judge has put forth (except sometimes King of the Hill did bore me)
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I really don't understand all the visceral hatred. I guess people didn't like it because it wasn't the movie they expected. It has a unique tone that really drew me in because it was so unlike most other comedies (including Judge's previous work.) It's quiet and slow but it is filled with so many great supporting characters. I love the people that Judge has created to populate this world. They have a certain cartoony realism that makes them both relatable and ridiculous. I recommend this movie to anyone who isn't afraid of something a little different.
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I don't want to go into the city and buy on the streets, and I don't really know anyone anymore. I do live in the 'burbs north of Philly but there's no "dealers" around here. It sucks.
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She is always the anti funny.
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I saw this the day it came out. Sometimes, it's fun watching characters dumber than the ground they walk on (IDIOCRACY, anyone?), but this was a disappointment. Ben Affleck and the Simmonses (Gene and J.K.) were good, but everything else was bland and/or stupid (I wanted to punch Beth Grant's character until she bled from her eyes).
Still, I laughed more at this than YEAR ONE, so I suppose that counts for something. -
Got into an advanced screening and loved it, checked it out again a few weeks later when it was officially released. I'll pick it up on Blu when it comes down to $15 or so.
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Just awful.
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...howdy, neighbor. Remind me to never insult you too forcefully in talkback...wouldn't want to give you reason to set my house on fire...
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..just finishing the great man's quote, Beaks. Happy holidays...
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I had it in my hands today, but the extras seemed not existent !!! Maybe when a special edition comes out he can get my $$$$
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Too bad the majority of the world doesn't share that statement.
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You should've seen his late-night talk show appearances about 15 years ago -- guy was a major B&B freak.
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It's amazing....in a bad way.
http://geeksofdoom.com/2009/12/22/watch-jackie-chan-train-jaden-smith-in-the-karate-kid-trailer-or-dont/ -
Is They Took Out The Fucking Videos.That Was The Best Part Of The Show
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It was stupid, unfunny, waste of everyone's time.
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was just a bad fucking movie. They can blame the marketing all they want, but being a lover of Office Space, I was extremely disappointed in Idiocracy. I'm will begrudgingly give Extract a shot.
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It's a 16-disc fan effort, lovingly assembled from the best sources, to create exact replicas of BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD as the shows originally aired. It's called King Turd Collection. Look for the torrents.
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Once again, Mike Judge proves he's the most intelligent, yet underappreciated writer in Hollywood. And this is not a knock, but for being an "R" rated movie, the most underused "R" in the history of film. I think I counted two F-Bombs and some funny drug use. But that's what they say, unless your name is Speilberg or Cameron, more than one F-Bomb = "R".
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20 years.
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I can't believe either of those movies were pushed as comedies cuz they were pointless and had little to no laughs but were advertised as being so with the best parts shown in the commercials. Sorry but if I wanna see Mila Kunis and her tits as well, I'll watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Now that was a funny flick.
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I want to see this, but not 'Christmas Miracle' see it - I'm intrigued, but if it's as good as all that, they coulda/shoulda cut a better trailer. And I swear by Office SPace.
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is out there!!!
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Requires a Letterman cameo in which he attempts to sell someone a monkey.
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reason enough to sit through fucking max payne on cable.
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But I'm not buying this blu ray with such anemic extras. I know a double dip is a year or two away.
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there are more extreme comedies out there but I knew right away that this is a movie that I'll watch a thousand times. Totally going to buy this.
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i dunno...can't believe i'm typing this but with the exception of beavis and butthead all his movies are kinda empty...i can see why a (vocal) minority of people like his movies...but meh i say...
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Sorry, but EXTRACT was a total let down to me. At the very best, you might be able to say it had an amusing MOMENT or two, where you might have made a slight smile, but nothing where I actually laughed out loud and enjoyed it as a comedy. The whole thing just felt strained from beginning to end, with everything set up to make you feel sympathy for Bateman's life and the shit pile-up he was momentarily experiencing -- the problem being that Bateman's character was essentially a spineless dick who never really took charge of his life so OF COURSE his life being an ever growing shit storm. It's one of those bad writing scenarios where you expect the character to do SOMETHING, but they continually avoid all semblence of natural logic and do the stupid thing for the sake of advancing the plot.To put it into perspective, even as much as I thought IDIOCRACY was wildly uneven, at least it had some solid laugh out loud moments of lunacy. So all in all, Judge is 2 and 1 with me in terms of live action moviemaking. OFFICE PARK hit it out of the park and was pure gold... IDIOCRACY was at least funny at times, but overall it suffered from being so uneven... and finally EXTRACT was just flat out boring and non-funny.In terms of movie comedies, you can't get any more cookie cutterish than something like Vince Vaughn in COUPLES RETREAT, but at least for what it was (or was trying to be as a romantic comedy) at least it had SOME internal energy and you laughed a bit while watching it, unlike EXTRACT which dragged and felt like the cure for insomnia. Ironically since Bateman was in both, I'd have to agree with someone else's observation here. Bateman makes a good comedic second banana, he's great for fleshing out a cast and doing things in smaller doses, but he's really not leading actor material that I give a shit about seeing just because he's starring in it.
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FLOCKA!!!
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Script was all over the place and had no idea what it wanted to be. Bateman wants to TRY to have an affair, so he hires a gigolo to sleep with his wife? Who then has an affair with the gigolo? ...doesn't seem like anything a human being would actually do, but okay... Meanwhile, Bateman never had a chance with the Mila Kunis character, who is actually in the movie for about a total of five minutes. Bateman's character is a complete douchebag, and the story WASTES the entire cast (with the exception of Affleck, who disappears in the movie's second half). We watched this last night, and I hate to say it because I really like everybody involved, but it was damn insipid, and if Judge makes movies this mediocre, nobody's going to let him make another.
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never was, never will
merry christmas everyone! -
YouTube this show (from the creators of MARRIED WITH CHILDREN) and tell me that Jason Bateman can't carry a project.
Don't blame him, blame Judge's writing. -
I'd been trying to think of the name of that show. Watched it when I was a kid, but I remembered it being really, really funny (especially for the times).
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and he's been milking it ever since. Same with the doucherag who played his kid. The characters they played ni that show ahve been the same people in every movie they've done since.
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We're good, you're one of the better Talkbackers on here, and now you're supercool cause you live near me.
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I'm with you; after reading Beaks's Top 100 I've decided to ignore any of his recommendations. In fact I'd go so far as to buy anything he says NOT to watch.
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I really expected to love Extract. But, unfortunately, as time went on I discovered I could care less for any of the characters, and was finding nothing amusing happening on screen. The movie felt forced and labored. Sorry, I love Mike Judge but he struck out this year with The Goods and Extract. Maybe next year...
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Can I just send Mike Judge 20 bucks and be made co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-producer on his next effort?
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and the guy behind the counter at Blockbuster made a face, saying it wasn't that good. The Blockbuster guy!
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love Bateman, and the other actors and love Judge, but this movie was flat. It was so far from being as good as Office Space (or even the worst episode of King of the Hill...)
Won't be buying it on Blu Ray... -
You're my hero. IYM is one of my favourite shows of all time. I'm lucky enough to have them all on tape, but I'm trying to convince the Shout Factory folks it deserves a DVD release!
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Extract is one of the best comedies of all time. YES I SAID IT!!!
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OK, watched it last night. It certainly has the same feel as Office Space, with many of the same types of characters, situations, and environment. But it never reaches half the fun or humor of Office Space. It's all domestic back-story with no major threat to the characters. I'm glad I saw it, but it wasn't a stand-out.
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