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Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Ashley Greene, Hugh Jackman, Alicia Silverstone ... see more see more... , Ty Burrell , Yara Shahidi , Rob Corddry , Kristen Schaal , Phyllis Smith , Garrett Schenk , Andrew Daly , Judy Leavell , Joe Chrest , Deanna Ricks , Kelly Tippens , Dodie Brown , Jeanne Evans , Cindy Creekmore , Christine Scheller , Brett Hill , Corena Chase , Mark Oliver , Pruitt Taylor Vince

Butter follows an ambitious woman (Jennifer Garner) who is married to Iowa's reigning butter sculpting champ (Ty Burrell) but decides to enter the race on her own when he retires. She's the shoo-in un... read more read more...til an adopted young black girl (Yara Shahidi) discovers she has an uncanny talent for butter-carving and becomes a late-breaking favorite. -- (C) Weinstein

Flixster Users

45% liked it

7,492 ratings

Critics

35% liked it

60 critics

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Jim Field Smith

Release Date: October 5, 2012

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DVD Release Date: December 4, 2012

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Stats: 439 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (439)

  • itsjustme2004
    March 29, 2013
    itsjustme2004
    Cute, and witty. Really well done. Excellent cast. Perfect Sunday afternoon movie....
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    March 7, 2013
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    There's going to be a meltdown.

    Good decent movie! Butter is a delightful little comedy that has most of its best jokes in the trailer but still manages to make you smile throughout. I'll admit, when I watched this I didn't have particularly high hopes. The film's strength is it... read mores 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.

    In Iowa, laid-back Bob has won the state fair's butter-carving contest 15 years running; his tightly-wound and hard-charging wife Laura sees Bob becoming governor, so when the contest organizers ask him to step aside so others can win, she's incensed; when Bob won't protest, she decides to enter herself. In the county contest, she's up against Destiny, an African-American foster child, and Brooke, a prostitute Bob hasn't paid. When things don't go Laura's way, she enlists the help of Boyd, an old boyfriend. Laura's step-daughter and Destiny's foster parents are in the mix as things heat up at the state fair. What are Destiny and Laura's destiny?
  • LWOODS04
    January 6, 2013
    LWOODS04
    "What a fun quirky film. You never know what your going to get with an indie flick. In this one you get a butter sculptor, crazy stepford wife, a stripper, lesbian daughter (getting some lesbian action for you gals and guys who enjoy that stuff), an orphan, and a hillbilly car de... read morealer. Yes, all in one movie. If that doesn't draw you to this movie like a fly to an electric bug zapper (I'm not going to pretend I know what those are formally called), I don't know what would. I liked it. It was funny. I laughed even more when they showed the blooper reel at the ending. My favorite being of Olivia eating shit on the bike. Good times."
  • aSpaceCowboy
    November 29, 2012
    aSpaceCowboy
    Annoying characters with forced personalities.
  • fb100001050230219
    September 21, 2012
    fb100001050230219
    ''Butter'' has an extremely likeable cast, but it's too predictable, repetitive and bland to warrant a strong recommendation.
  • fb100000440772572
    April 1, 2013
    fb100000440772572
    Exploring the seedy underbelly of competitive butter carving, Butter is a dark comedy the tries too hard. In a small Iowa town a local butter carving competition turns ugly when the competitors set out to settle their personal scores with each other. The cast is actually pretty... read more good, and includes Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Hugh Jackman, and Alicia Silverstone. While the film has some fun parts, the story goes to bizarre places and is overloaded with convoluted subplots. Yet despite its problems, Butter delivers a fair amount of laughs and it full of interesting characters.
  • fb25827189
    September 11, 2012
    fb25827189
    A quirky little comedy with a really great cast! I have to say, that if anything, Butter showcases the talents of Yara Shahidi. She outshone just about every actor that appeared in the movie. Which is surprising considering, she is only ten years old. This is currently available ... read moreon VOD. So, if you have the money and the time to spare. Check it out!
  • kansai2kansas
    May 19, 2013
    kansai2kansas
    With a glittering of stars including Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Hugh Jackman, and Ashley Greene, I am surprised that the movie "Butter" is not more in the spotlight as it deserves. The tale of black female child prodigy may be reminiscent of "Akeelah and the Bee". However, th... read moree story as a whole is still original and deserves an applause.
  • kaitlynj99
    May 18, 2013
    kaitlynj99
    Very odd story. Never heard of butter sculpting. Jennifer Garner and Hugh Jackman have played better roles.
  • antwanjjones
    March 24, 2013
    antwanjjones
    Butter Carving is cool and this film is pretty cool the works of art are jus limitless

View All Butter Reviews

Critic Reviews

Peter Debruge
October 5, 2012
Peter Debruge, Variety

A wicked Midwest satire with razor blades stashed beneath its bright candy-apple surface. Full Review

Todd McCarthy
October 5, 2012
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter

Hardly the high-priced spread, this condescending comedy about Middle America will score with some audiences and put off others. Full Review

Nick Schager
October 5, 2012
Nick Schager, Village Voice

Plays like one long, slow descent into cloying moralizing and uplift that's well past its expiration date. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
October 5, 2012
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

The movie's entire superior attitude is kind of annoying. Full Review

Sean O'Connell
October 5, 2012
Sean O'Connell, Washington Post

We're still just scratching the surface of witty, provocative humor as long as envelope-pushing directors such as Jim Field Smith continue to find work. Full Review

Kyle Smith
October 5, 2012
Kyle Smith, New York Post

At times, the Midwestern satire "Butter" is almost funny, and in its honor I almost laughed. Full Review

Tom Long
October 5, 2012
Tom Long, Detroit News

Director Jim Field Smith keeps the quirky characters coming with smooth efficiency and throws in some nice touches along the way. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
October 4, 2012
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

At 90 minutes it feels inflated, and though clearly intended as funny, it's difficult to locate, except in the most general terms, the focus of the movie's satire, and there's not a laugh to be had. Full Review

Sheri Linden
October 4, 2012
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times

Given the talent assembled for this diversion, you can't believe it's not better. Full Review

John Anderson
October 4, 2012
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal

The film grows increasingly mirthful as the characters come into focus, and the casting is the key: Ms. Garner, who also helped produce the film, has a gift for catty roles ... Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • Ethan: You could die of a tragic butter overdose. There could be a rabid grizzly bear hiding inside this very moose lodge waiting to tear your face off.
    • Destiny: There could be a python inside.
    • Ethan: What if this place is full of monkeys with a deadly virus?
    • Destiny: It could be the ghost of Hitler.
    • Ethan: What if there's no gravity in there and you float up and bang your head on the ceiling? And then all the sudden gravity kicks in and you bang your head on the floor.
    • Destiny: My new foster parents and everyone at my new school were so nice, that I couldn't help but think, are these crackers for real?
    • Brooke: Hey, I know you're only like 10 and shit, but listen up. You beat that skanky ass bitch. You beat her hard. I've done all I can do. It's up to you know.
    • Ethan Emmet: It's butter. You put it on toast!
    • Brooke: I get pregnant like once a month!
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