Spinning Into Butter (2007)

A hate crime on the campus of a New England college puts the school's dean in a position where she has to examine her own feelings about race and prejudice, while maintaining her administration's politically correct policies.

Director:

Mark Brokaw

Writers:

Doug Atchison, Rebecca Gilman (play)

Stars:

Sarah Jessica Parker, Miranda Richardson, Victor Rasuk

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Sarah Daniels
Miranda Richardson	...	Dean Catherine Kenney
Victor Rasuk	...	Patrick Chibas
Jake M. Smith	...	Jason
Becky Ann Baker	...	Ruby
Daniel Eric Gold	...	Nathan
Richard Riehle	...	Paul Meyers
Paul James	...	Simon Brick
Beau Bridges	...	Dean Burton Strauss
Peter Friedman	...	Jay Salter
Jessi Campbell	...	Lindsey
Emma Myles	...	Anika
Enver Gjokaj	...	Greg Sullivan
DeWanda Wise	...	Claudia Thompson
Jimonn Cole	...	Tyler Hogan

Storyline

Sarah Daniels taught in a Lancaster school and developed deep prejudice against minorities, especially blacks. She decided to re-locate to Belmont, Vermont with the hopes that it will be 'all white', and gets hired in Belmont College. She does not disclose her past to anyone, but when an African-American student, Simon Brick, becomes the victim of hate crime, she soon realizes that not only will her past return to haunt her, she will be expected to be the liaison person for the minorities, as well as be asked to prepare a 10-point bullet-ed list to resolve racism.

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Plot Keywords:

minority | college | vermont | african american | campus | 

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Taglines:

I sacrificed for you people!

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Um Crime Racial

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,534, 29 March 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,534, 29 March 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Whitsett Hill Films, Norman Twain Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Little Black Sambo (1935)

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Soundtracks

American Pie
Written by Ryan Howe and Mark Davis
Performed by Madd Flo and Richard Stites
Produced by Ryan Howe and Mark Davis
Played as theme song during end credit role

User Reviews

There's a good movie in there somewhere....

This movie's concept is thought-provoking, however the execution of the point it is trying to make gets lost somehow. In some way I think it is the actors chosen for this film -- maybe it would've worked better if they were mostly unknowns. Because what the viewer needs here is the ability to understand that the characters depicted in the story are not stereotypes. And yet they are portrayed as such to a great extent and it just didn't add up to the kind of depth that ought to be there to sufficiently address racism. Anyway the movie felt stunted, and for some reason I found it hard to believe that the actors themselves, for the most part, believed what the characters they portrayed were saying. Yes, there was the attempt to portray how hypocritical the college professors and professionals were and how sensitive the minority students were to prejudicial slights. I just got the impression that something more intrinsic to the entire situation was missing.

Interestingly Sarah Jessica Parker did eventually come across as believable. Everyone else i thought was on another planet and it all felt disjointed.

This film is not bad per se -- the story itself is intriguing in that it does try to depict racism. I found it hard to believe on some level that a college would react so oddly.