La famille Pickler

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.

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.

this movie is overall good. good movie casting choice and the storyline has successfully conveyed a meaningful message to the audience. it also has reflected the lives of the people in the America so it is relateble to almost everyone. even though I feel that there are a few unneeded scenes and a few details which have not been mentioned in the movie. all I have to say is that I loved it, it's funny and meaningful and I recommend everyone to watch it too. I don't understand why some people think it's silly and stupid when I actually cried at the touching ending. I don't think it's silly or stupid because I actually did learn something from this movie. 8/10.

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.

This had all the feel of one of those made for TV Movies of the Week that were produced in the '70's. It contained all the elements of morality and preachiness that we expect from an afternoon special and a predictable conclusion where we all learn a moralistic fable lesson.

Simple story but well acted and a number of names that are surprising for a movie of this caliber. The characters are one dimensional but well played. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the language and adult situations were added. This could have been a PG rated movie easily and will not have a problem being edited for TV.

Not a waste of time but I can understand not wanting to shell out the price of a ticket.