Butter

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.

This light satirical comedy about a butter carving competition has a strong cast and an OK story. The plot is quite funny with some lol moments. There are some cute digs about race and ambition.

I have never been a huge Jennifer Garner fan (the over perky grin) but luckily it makes use of the talents of other fine actors especially Olivia Wilde as a stripper, Alicia Silverstone, and Ashley Greene as a teenage daughter. Hugh Jackman makes a small appearance.

I can see why it wasn't a box office success - it's more TV movie material with a A list movie cast. But I found it worth a watch just don't expect too much.

12 May 2013. Surprisingly better than would be expected, this rather remarkable fusion of the delicate blending of comedy and drama that Jennifer Garner is able to pull off successfully is a work of either wickedly lucky directing and acting or a wonderfully brilliant but risky work of seriously hard-hitting meanness soften somehow by humor and lightness. This oil and water mixture somehow comes out like butter on the hotplate unburned. With echoes of similar comedy-drama competition genres such as Bottle Shock (2008) and Blow Dry (2001), the fascinating focus is a dueling plot line between a girl and a woman with a Little Miss Sunshine (2006) or Jersey Girl (2004) mixture in it. Unlike the more serious tone of People Like Us (2012) or August Rush (2007), Butter still is able to capture a strong emotive punch from both the girl and Jennifer Garner's performance.

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.

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.