Extract

A pleasant comedy, featuring a laid-back, mild-mannered cast of goofballs and idiots. A lot of the comedy is “extracted” from people NOT listening to one another. Jason Bateman’s neighbor, his friends, his employees, and even his dumb pool cleaner never listen and they all seem to be having their own conversations. The terrific Kristen Wiig has a hilarious exchange with the pool boy –- but it’s so acute, it’s almost frustrating. So there are a lot of chuckles during the movie, but not the kind of all-out laughter I can get when there are not one but TWO idiots in a scene, and they’re listening to each other intently. (See It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Burn After Reading.) Likeable and worth seeing, but not an imperative.