Review of Butter (2012) by Andrei D — 26 Sep 2012

Portions of this satire work and are effective; but the majority of Butter is a mean-spirited, dated and stereotypical mockery of conservative, middle-town America. Jennifer Garner (13 Going on 30, Daredevil) plays an overly-ambitious, Sarah Palin-esque housewife who's glorious future hinges on the success of her husband's (Ty Burrell - "Modern Family", Morning Glory) butter carving success.

Yes, you read that correctly. Butter is about the highly competitive -- in Iowa anyway -- sport of butter carving. As her husband has been asked to "step aside" in order to allow a new winner to emerge, Garner's Laura Pickler will have NONE of it and enters the competition herself.

Although she is quite talented with the carving knife, her plans/hopes/dreams/aspirations are thwarted when a very talented African-American foster child (Yara Shahidi) sculptor enters the competition out of nowhere.

Most of the jokes are low-blows and obvious but there are a few warm moments between the child and her highly supportive foster parents (Rob Corddry and Alicia Silverstone). A local stripper (Olivia Wilde - TRON: Legacy) is thrown into the mix to add awkward humor and she probably has the film's best (although unbelievable) story arc -- from a comedy standpoint.

The film is highly predictable and is squandered because of its overbearing use of satire. While one cannot really have enough butter in real life, there is a little too much Butter here.