Critic Reviews
-
Peter Debruge, Variety
A wicked Midwest satire with razor blades stashed beneath its bright candy-apple surface.
-
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter
Hardly the high-priced spread, this condescending comedy about Middle America will score with some audiences and put off others.
-
Nick Schager, Village Voice
Plays like one long, slow descent into cloying moralizing and uplift that's well past its expiration date.
-
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
The movie's entire superior attitude is kind of annoying.
-
Sean O'Connell, Washington Post
We're still just scratching the surface of witty, provocative humor as long as envelope-pushing directors such as Jim Field Smith continue to find work.
-
Kyle Smith, New York Post
At times, the Midwestern satire "Butter" is almost funny, and in its honor I almost laughed.
-
Al Alexander, The Patriot Ledger
The characters want to melt your heart, but like everything in "Butter," they're just too pat.
-
Christian Toto, Big Hollywood
Butter is a dizzying blend of smug satire, surface-level observations and mean-spirited swipes at flyover types. Oh, and take away Olivia Wilde and it's a laugh-free affair.
-
Shannon M. Houston, Paste Magazine
A movie concerned with the seemingly ridiculous world of butter carving may not sound like a smart, tear-jerking, must-watch political satire. Yet Jim Field Smith's sophomore effort Butter is all of the above and more.
-
Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com
As smart, savvy, and witty as the film is at times, it never escapes the inherent identity crisis in its makeup
-
Susan Granger, SSG Syndicate
Undeniably strange yet sassy, it spreads subversive, thinly-sliced Americana.
-
Brent Simon, Shared Darkness
A heartland-set train wreck of purported satire that is confusingly edited throughout, and full of false moments which betray a lack of rigorous conceptual thought and honesty.
-
Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing
The film's skewering of Middle America is so soft, you could easily cut it with -- what else? -- a butter knife.
-
Perry Seibert, TV Guide's Movie Guide
It settles for cute when it could have had more bite, and it aims for amusing when it had hilarious in its sights.
-
Todd Jorgenson, Cinemalogue.com
Like its namesake, this small-town ensemble comedy is somewhat oily and lacking in flavor.
-
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Another in a long line of bad films set in the Midwest.
-
Bill Gibron, PopMatters
(D)espite its slights, Butter finds a way to win us over.
-
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
Butter contains enough genuine levity to slide down easily.
-
S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media
Quirky comedy pushes boundaries in the name of laughs.
-
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
Garner's Laura is a lazy caricature, a Sarah Palin-style Republican trophy wife in power suit and pearls, but then every character in rookie writer Jim Micallef's script is a flat stereotype.
Read all 22 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
-
Who knew butter could be so interesting. Lol. This kind of reminded me of "Election". Jennifer Garner's overachieving character definitely had a Tracey Flick vibe to her. Bitching, backstabbing, a scheming hooker, what's not to like in this very black little comedy… More
Who knew butter could be so interesting. Lol. This kind of reminded me of "Election". Jennifer Garner's overachieving character definitely had a Tracey Flick vibe to her. Bitching, backstabbing, a scheming hooker, what's not to like in this very black little comedy drama.
-
Cute, and witty. Really well done. Excellent cast. Perfect Sunday afternoon movie....
-
There's going to be a meltdown.
Good decent movie! Butter is a delightful little comedy that has most of its best jokes in the trailer but still manages to make you smile throughout. I'll admit, when I watched this I didn't have particularly high hopes. The film's… More
There's going to be a meltdown.
Good decent movie! Butter is a delightful little comedy that has most of its best jokes in the trailer but still manages to make you smile throughout. I'll admit, when I watched this I didn't have particularly high hopes. The film's strength is its short run-time. At a little over 80 minutes, the film opens up quick, makes you chuckle and sometimes laugh, and wraps up before you worry about its problems. It is necessary for me to address these problems but I honestly didn't care much for them. I had a lot of fun watching it.
In Iowa, laid-back Bob has won the state fair's butter-carving contest 15 years running; his tightly-wound and hard-charging wife Laura sees Bob becoming governor, so when the contest organizers ask him to step aside so others can win, she's incensed; when Bob won't protest, she decides to enter herself. In the county contest, she's up against Destiny, an African-American foster child, and Brooke, a prostitute Bob hasn't paid. When things don't go Laura's way, she enlists the help of Boyd, an old boyfriend. Laura's step-daughter and Destiny's foster parents are in the mix as things heat up at the state fair. What are Destiny and Laura's destiny?
-
"What a fun quirky film. You never know what your going to get with an indie flick. In this one you get a butter sculptor, crazy stepford wife, a stripper, lesbian daughter (getting some lesbian action for you gals and guys who enjoy that stuff), an orphan, and a hillbilly car… More
"What a fun quirky film. You never know what your going to get with an indie flick. In this one you get a butter sculptor, crazy stepford wife, a stripper, lesbian daughter (getting some lesbian action for you gals and guys who enjoy that stuff), an orphan, and a hillbilly car dealer. Yes, all in one movie. If that doesn't draw you to this movie like a fly to an electric bug zapper (I'm not going to pretend I know what those are formally called), I don't know what would. I liked it. It was funny. I laughed even more when they showed the blooper reel at the ending. My favorite being of Olivia eating shit on the bike. Good times."
-
Annoying characters with forced personalities.
-
''Butter'' has an extremely likeable cast, but it's too predictable, repetitive and bland to warrant a strong recommendation.
-
Exploring the seedy underbelly of competitive butter carving, Butter is a dark comedy the tries too hard. In a small Iowa town a local butter carving competition turns ugly when the competitors set out to settle their personal scores with each other. The cast is actually pretty… More
Exploring the seedy underbelly of competitive butter carving, Butter is a dark comedy the tries too hard. In a small Iowa town a local butter carving competition turns ugly when the competitors set out to settle their personal scores with each other. The cast is actually pretty good, and includes Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Hugh Jackman, and Alicia Silverstone. While the film has some fun parts, the story goes to bizarre places and is overloaded with convoluted subplots. Yet despite its problems, Butter delivers a fair amount of laughs and it full of interesting characters.
-
With plenty of well-known actors dancing around this film, its a surprise the script is so frustrating to follow. There isn't much finesse in way jokes are delivered. This is supposed to be a satirical movie aimed at the midwest, but what you get is a jumbled movie with two… More
With plenty of well-known actors dancing around this film, its a surprise the script is so frustrating to follow. There isn't much finesse in way jokes are delivered. This is supposed to be a satirical movie aimed at the midwest, but what you get is a jumbled movie with two conflicting problems between Jennifer Gardner's character and the little girl. The little girl is endearing and actually provides the meat of the story you actually want to pay attention to, but it's quickly chopped down when Gardner's character's ambition goes too far. Granted at only 90 minutes, not much is given for character development, but I got a kick out of Hugh jackman and Olivia Wilde playing brash versions of characters you'd usually never see them play.
-
A quirky little comedy with a really great cast! I have to say, that if anything, Butter showcases the talents of Yara Shahidi. She outshone just about every actor that appeared in the movie. Which is surprising considering, she is only ten years old. This is currently available on… More
A quirky little comedy with a really great cast! I have to say, that if anything, Butter showcases the talents of Yara Shahidi. She outshone just about every actor that appeared in the movie. Which is surprising considering, she is only ten years old. This is currently available on VOD. So, if you have the money and the time to spare. Check it out!
Read all 9 featured audience ratings
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Also available on
Other Retailers
Subscription Services
