seib101

Avoid at all costs - if you expect to see a silly, edgy comedy. From the cute trailer to the impressive cast to the quirky concept, I was excited to watch Butter for a few laughs, but all I got was misled at every turn; horrible mis-casting, failed joke after failed joke, embarrassing attempts at edginess, not an ounce of originality, culminating with the indulgent, obligatory "outtakes" at the end which were TWICE as unfunny as the movie itself.

Director Jim Field Smith sh*t the bed with his attempt to deliver an edgy, midwestern comedy (trying oh so hard to be Election-esque) - having come from British TELEVISION - who thought he would be the right director to add a wry commentary on weird middle America? Sure the characters say the F word a bunch and talk about sex, but none of them is an authentic, original PERSON, just seen-it-before stereotypes. From the overly articulate, way- too-cute black orphan girl who we're supposed to root for, to Olivia Wilde as the waaay too hot-for-Iowa stripper/prostitute with zero comedic timing - perhaps a more intuitive director would've cast better actors for these roles, or perhaps a better casting director? Whatever the case, I found myself gritting my teeth after every ATTEMPT at a joke or a button - everything just fell flat!

Jennifer Garner is great, but she gets way too much screen time for a villain, and her character (or the way she was directed to play it) is just a boring hybrid of Election's Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman in To Die For. Ty Burrell doesn't KNOW what he's supposed to do, and never becomes anything short of "there", Hugh Jackman? Really? Who's debt did you need to repay? And Alisha Silverstone gets 3 maybe 4 lines... good to see her working again. Know who's funny? Kristen Schaal. She had nothing but gives something at least.

Mr. Smith, I congratulate you on your 2nd outing as a Hollywood director, some of us should BE SO LUCKY, but feel free to return to the UK, I'm sure you have a lot more to offer in terms of experience over there. The script wasn't terrible and the cast should've been stellar, but everything about this film felt forced, old, and amateur.

The problem with offbeat comedies is that they often seem desperately in need of a trim. Even well-loved films like The Big Lebowski,The Blues Brothers and current midnight-show favorite Wet Hot American Summer seem like they would have been better if a little less time had been spent between jokes. Advantage Hart does not have this problem. The new short film, playfully directed by newcomer Jeff Seibenick, is a rousing 34 minutes of comedy. In fact, the film is probably exactly what would happen if you squished the wacky humor of a 90minute comedy into a nice bite-size version. In only 34 minutes, the film has the emotional melodrama of a sports hero movie, the contrived romance plot of a teeny-bopper comedy, the gratuitous curses and butt shots of any National Lampoon sex romp and the sunny warmth and naïve brightness of a Disney Channel special. But most importantly, "Advantage Hart" parodies all of the very same styles it follows. The novelty of the film's overwritten style is the extent to which it doesn't take movies seriously. If you can't appreciate humor that's a little subtle, it's easy to miss the dopey charm of a movie with solemnly delivered lines like, "I can smell it in my bones." Advantage Hart certainly isn't without problems - the two main actors look too much alike, the borderline sincerity swings back and forth between comedy subgenres and the immediacy of the humor and gags begins to feel a little too frantic, like someone trying to pack a little more food into an already full stomach because they're running late. But for a project hell-bent on delirious brevity, Advantage Hart ages to take the time for some nice moments, particularly with Scrubs' Sam Lloyd as young Shad's coach, and the coach's perversely unhinged wife. Amber Mellott, playing the less attractive friend Shad doesn't seem to notice, also adds a cheerful toughness to a tired joke. This busy little movie is pretty sure it can win you over, and, by the end, probably will. Most importantly, though, if you look at the ages and statuses of the people who made it, Advantage Hart seems less like a jumbled hybrid and more like a promise of work to come. Already, the film's actors are beginning to move into TV and movies, the writers and director probably won't be too far behind. In a short film they've created a story with about five movies running through it: it's time for these guys to take the next step with a feature. Hey, who knows how their comedy might turn out if they're given the chance to do the full-length version?