Butter (2011) Reviews

• Perfect For Some Laughs

  NyxEos2012-10-09

  I'll admit, when I watched this I didn't have particularly high hopes. I never put much hope into a comedy, because so often they either aren't funny at all or put every joke in the preview. However, I figured it deserved a chance considering my love of Olivia Wilde especially, but also the other big names like Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Garner, Ashley Greene, and so on. Now, be warned, this is not the movie to watch if you expect to take anything seriously. That isn't to say it's a comedy about people doing stupid things and being immature, quite the opposite, but everything is taken in exaggeration. After all, it is a movie about sculpting butter, so don't expect some pulse pounding drama. That being said, if you have a good sense of humour, and want to laugh, then this is the movie to watch. The acting was amazing from everybody, Garner gave me chills when angry, Wilde had me in tears from laughing, and Yara Shahidi was unexpectedly amazing in her role as the young foster child. I absolutely recommend it.

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• Not Perfect, Not Terrible. I Enjoyed It.

  gavin69422012-11-26

  In small-town Iowa, an adopted girl discovers her talent for butter carving and finds herself pitted against an ambitious local woman in their town's annual contest. Let me say right off the bat what I did not like about this film: the political angle. I did not mind the Newt Gingrich carving, but was it really necessary for the Picklers to be presented as Republicans? Their political views were not important -- their competitive spirit was. That aside, it was pretty great. The ensemble cast is incredible -- Hugh Jackson, Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde (who steals the show on her bicycle)? Awesome. Ashley Greene outside of Twilight? Incredible. And Alicia Silverstone, who I had completely forgotten existed, comes back in a big way. Some of the humor here is weak, and some of it is a bit cheap (two sex scandals are a key part of the plot)... but for a film about carving butter, it all ends up being pretty decent.

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• Great Dark Comedy!

  scissorhands__emily2012-10-05

  I thought this movie was hilarious! It is a black comedy all the way though, so if you don't care for that style of humor you probably won't get this movie. Many of the characters are exaggerated and the plot line itself is a bit over the top, but that is the purpose of a dark comedy. All of the actors are great in this! Jennifer Garner really shines as the more villainous Laura Pickler, and it's nice to see her in a more against type role. Olivia Wilde also stood out as Brooke the local stipper. However, the biggest stand out was Yara Shahidi as 10 year old Destiny. She did an excellent job in the role and really brought heart to the movie. Overall I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, but if you enjoy black comedies this is one worth checking out.

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• A delightfully funny satire

  WothaDei2012-10-01

  Butter is a delightful little comedy that has most of its best jokes in the trailer but still manages to make you smile throughout. It is set around a 'Mastery in Butter Sculpting' competition which is very popular in Iowa. I just found out the competition has been a staple event at the Iowa State Fair for close to a century. Veteran sculptor Bob Pickler wants out but his much feared wife Laura is in no mood to give up just yet. There's a new kid in town with a knack for sculpting and more trouble arrives in the Pickler household in the form of a stripper. What follows is a surprisingly entertaining hour of satirical humor leading to a mushy climax. Destiny is a foster child who lives out of a suitcase in all her homes in the hope that her real mother would turn up. She is unbelievably good at things and doesn't give herself any credit for it. Her latest foster parents are quite surprised when she decides to take up a traditionally redneck vocation. Rob Corddry and Alicia Silverstone play her immensely likable foster parents who suddenly add a warmth to the film, making it even more palatable. As a political satire, the film pits a typically God-loving, semi- racist, conspicuously Republican Laura against a young African-American kid who has a way with words. Geddit? There's a dinner table scene, which later gets sculpted into butter, that reminded me of American Beauty. I suspect that was an intended nod. The language is wonderfully profane, with most of the quick-fire curses flying out from the pretty mouths of Garner and Wilde. Comedies usually stage a huge setup around sex scenes, but Butter takes you by surprise on more than one occasion with the unlikeliest of people getting intimate with each other. One doesn't have to look closer to see that the film has many problems. Bob hooking up with Brooke (Wilde) makes sense and the narrative flow leads up to it, but Laura doing it with her one time flame Boyd Bolton was completely out of place. I am not justifying Bob's actions and condemning Laura's; it's just that whatever she did was not to get back at Bob but to use Boyd's services and get back at Destiny. Kaitlen Pickler, played Ashley Greene, has a half-baked character and goes nowhere. She's a typical teenager who hates her family but that's not the issue. Her little experimental fling with the stripper Brooke is, shall we say, pointless. Wait, what? I cannot believe I am complaining about the hot, girl on girl action. Never mind. Wilde is a firecracker as the stripper Brooke; she is the funniest even though her character hangs very loosely to the story. The Jackman cameo, which is what it is, felt a tad in-apposite as well. Actually, most of the actors felt underutilized as they didn't get enough screen-time. It always gets problematic when kids act like grown-ups. Destiny is a cool kid and all that but the final scene, with her advising Laura, was way too cheesy, or should I say, buttery. The film's strength is its short run-time. At a little over 80 minutes, the film opens up quick, makes you chuckle and sometimes laugh, and wraps up before you worry about its problems. It is necessary for me to address these problems but I honestly didn't care much for them. I had a lot of fun watching it.

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• Uneven but, entertaining satirical comedy

  jaguiar3132012-12-20

  Uneven but, at times, amusing offbeat comedy about the participants in a butter sculpture contest. When butter sculpture king, Bob Pickler (Ty Burrell) is asked to step aside after 15 years in the spotlight, his vengeful, social climber wife, Laura (Jennifer Garner) decides to enter to win to keep the Pickler name at the top. When she comes up against a truly talented 10 year old orphan, Destiny (Yara Shahidi) the gloves come off as Laura Pickler fights to keep herself socially relevant. While the film isn't perfect, the script by Jason A. Micallef provides some fun satirical wit and director Jim Field Smith guides a good cast through the hit and miss material well enough to entertain. And while for the most part, Butter is a fun satire of middle America, it does have a tendency to divert attention to subplots that don't serve the story. No more evident then Bob's involvement with a hooker (Olivia Wilde) who then becomes involved with the contest and Bob's daughter (Ashley Greene). It provides some sex and spice to the film but, nothing to the plot as does Hugh Jackman's brief appearance as an old flame of Laura's. While the film's focus does wander, there is enough there to make this an amusing enough watch and the cast helps carry things well enough when it flounders. More like 6.5

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