Duck Butter

Duck Butter intrigued me because it delved into LGBT romance and starred an actress I greatly admire, Laia Costa (I've watched her in both English and Spanish movies and she's always great). The concept is simple: Naima (played by Alia Shawkat, an actress I was unfamiliar with before this role) and Sergio (Costa) decide on a whim to spend 24 hours straight with each other soon after they meet and become intimate based on initial attraction. Sex, intimate conversations, and shenanigans ensue.

My biggest problem with Duck Butter is that it features two of the most immature, emotionally-stunted characters I've ever seen in a movie like this. The movie doesn't fully explore why these two women are so outlandishly emotionally stupid save for some scant background details about poor parental relationships, nor does it offer any solution by way of character growth or learning from past mistakes, save for one consequence Naima suffers in her career for acting unprofessional (the email scene and its conclusion). Naima is immediately unlikable; she is introduced first, immediately acts pretentious at her job, then preaches about politics to some clearly unimpressed ladies at a gay bar a scene or two later. While her character does become a little more tolerable as the movie progresses, by contrast Sergio starts out charming and energetic and devolves into an even bigger mess by the movie's conclusion. At their worst, Naima is groan-worthy and Sergio teeters on the edge of psychotic; at their best, these characters are groaning their way through some entry-level sex scenes in which we feel nothing, for the mutual attraction between them is never explained, felt, or fully understood.

That's not to say these actresses did a bad job; both Costa and Shawkat do the best with the material they're given, but their characters are simply so unlikable and dull that the performances aren't particularly memorable. This is coming from someone who has seen Costa's other angst-filled, young love drama Newness, which is a movie whose characters are at times immature, but at least that film had something to say. Duck Butter dwells in the infantilism of its leads without coming to any conclusions or even appropriately exploring the nuances of such disturbed characters to make them interesting enough for the screen.

As a last note, much has been said about the movie's odd obsession with scatological references and attempts at humor. I'm someone who can appreciate good juvenile humor, but the references here just seemed odd and out of place. Overall, the only good thing I took out of Duck Butter is that while I still like Laia Costa, I'll also keep on the lookout for Alia Shawkat. She's uniquely beautiful and did her best with the material here, and I hope to see her in new (and better) films.

Duck Butter tells a story of two struggling artists (sigh, I know) that flee from their troubles into an intense relationship. The good part is that both Alia Shawkat and Laia Costa deliver amazing performances as reserved Naima and dramatic Sergio, respectively. The bad part is that the story elements are rather trite and the plot doesn't lead anywhere. Overall, it seems like a waste of talent. At best, Duck Butter is a movie to be enjoyed for the ride rather than the destination.

I've been using IMDB for years, and I finally created an account just to review this movie.

Duck Butter captures REAL human emotions, challenges, and conversations. In "24 hours", this movie takes you through all the things you may or may not experience when you're in love. I'm a straight gal, but these actresses represented all the nuances that every couple (regardless of sexual orientation) can experience: clinginess, irrational jealousy, unexplainable sadness, family anger that trickles down into every day life, desire for space and breathing room, and very real arguments about music.

I love that the movie represented two extremes of the human spectrum -- one person who is vivacious and care-free, and one person who is a little more mild and guarded.

You'll have fun watching these girls through the motions, and you'll feel sad and cringe-y. Somehow, no matter how crazy people drive us, we know that it was worth all the while to open our hearts to them and to just love them.

From the photography to the story, it could not get indier than this. The film aims at throwing a light at the gay women dating scene, but often feels too focused on rich people's problems. Some parts are touching though. Oh, and the title is actually kind of gross.

This film is about two women who decide to spend 24 hours together in the hope that they will skip the learning period of a relationship.

This film is directed and co-wrote by Miguel Arteta (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day). It stars Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) and Laia Costa (Victoria).

This films plot his ambitious and interesting, their are instances in the film where it feels like a storytelling experiment, and the cameos by Kumal Nanjiani and the Duplass brothers make for a fun part of the film.

However, the writing isn't so good, it does not capitalize on the interesting plot. The acting and directing isn't so good either, it is so plain and unimaginative.

There's nothing much more to this film than an interesting story. But I would recommend you see it just once if you like film.

6/10