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Spinning Into Butter

  • 2007
  • R
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
4.4/10
968
YOUR RATING
Sarah Jessica Parker, Mykelti Williamson, and Paul James in Spinning Into Butter (2007)
Trailer for this drama exploring campus racism
Play trailer2:27
1 Video
10 Photos
Drama

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 administrat... Read allA 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.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
  • Stars
    • Sarah Jessica Parker
    • Miranda Richardson
    • Victor Rasuk
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    4.4/10
    968
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Mark Brokaw
    • Writers
      • Doug Atchison
      • Rebecca Gilman
    • Stars
      • Sarah Jessica Parker
      • Miranda Richardson
      • Victor Rasuk
    • 16User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews
    • 20Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Spinning Into Butter
    Trailer 2:27
    Watch Spinning Into Butter

    Photos10

    Sarah Jessica Parker in Spinning Into Butter (2007)
    Beau Bridges in Spinning Into Butter (2007)
    Miranda Richardson in Spinning Into Butter (2007)
    Sarah Jessica Parker in Spinning Into Butter (2007)
    Sarah Jessica Parker in Spinning Into Butter (2007)
    Sarah Jessica Parker in Spinning Into Butter (2007)
    Sarah Jessica Parker in Spinning Into Butter (2007)
    Sarah Jessica Parker, Beau Bridges, and Mykelti Williamson in Spinning Into Butter (2007)
    Still of Emma Myles and Victor Rasuk in Spinning Into Butter

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sarah Jessica Parker
    Sarah Jessica Parker
    • Sarah Daniels
    Miranda Richardson
    Miranda Richardson
    • Dean Catherine Kenney
    Victor Rasuk
    Victor Rasuk
    • Patrick Chibas
    Jake M. Smith
    Jake M. Smith
    • Jason
    Becky Ann Baker
    Becky Ann Baker
    • Ruby
    Daniel Eric Gold
    Daniel Eric Gold
    • Nathan
    Richard Riehle
    Richard Riehle
    • Paul Meyers
    Paul James
    Paul James
    • Simon Brick
    Beau Bridges
    Beau Bridges
    • Dean Burton Strauss
    Peter Friedman
    Peter Friedman
    • Jay Salter
    Jessi Campbell
    • Lindsey
    Emma Myles
    Emma Myles
    • Anika
    Enver Gjokaj
    Enver Gjokaj
    • Greg Sullivan
    DeWanda Wise
    DeWanda Wise
    • Claudia Thompson
    Jimonn Cole
    • Tyler Hogan
    Genevieve Elam
    • Rita Chambers
    Mykelti Williamson
    Mykelti Williamson
    • Aaron Carmichael
    Harry Zittel
    Harry Zittel
    • Reid
    • Director
      • Mark Brokaw
    • Writers
      • Doug Atchison
      • Rebecca Gilman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Michelle Beck and Betsy Beutler's debut.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Monsters VS. Aliens/Spinning into Butter/The Education of Charlie Banks/Goodbye Solo/Adventureland (2009)
    • 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 reviews16

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    5/10
    though-provoking theme clumsily executed
    In "Spinning Into Butter," a small ivy-covered college in Vermont, known for its liberal views and tolerant policies, is rocked by a racial incident aimed at a recently enrolled black student. Soon the incident has exposed a vein of racism running through the faculty and student body that has long lain hidden beneath a veneer of white liberal guilt and political correctness.

    Sarah Jessica Parker plays Sarah Daniels, the newly arrived Dean of Students who has to take the lead in quelling the crisis, but who may have issues of her own regarding race to deal with. Veteran actor Beau Bridges also appears as a fellow dean.

    Based on the play by Rebecca Gilman (who co-wrote the screenplay with Doug Atchinson), "Spinning Into Butter," directed by Mark Brokaw, starts off with the best of intentions, pinpointing some of the complexities inherent in an issue we too often sweep under the rug in an effort to avoid dealing with it. And the movie does an effective job highlighting the irony that sometimes it is the very well-intentioned efforts we make to try to alleviate the negative effects of racism - quotas, forced integration, segregation in the name of "cultural pride" etc. - that wind up actually exacerbating the problem in the end. The film also makes the rather provocative case that even in a mostly white, socially liberal enclave like Vermont, racism still exists, though since it is rooted more in the subconscious, it is more likely to manifest itself in covert rather than overt ways there. It's a daring and risky theme and one the filmmakers should be congratulated for at least having the courage to bring out in the open.

    However, noble intentions notwithstanding, the heavy-handed approach the movie takes towards the topic ultimately robs it of much of its effectiveness. Too often the characters sound less like real people than like spokespersons for individual causes. Moreover, the staging of events is frequently awkward, the drama needlessly contrived. And the resolution of the conflict, quite frankly, borders on the preposterous. Additionally, the performances, with the exception of Parker's, lack any mitigating trace of polish and finesse.

    There's no denying that there are moments of quality scattered throughout the film, and that the autumnal New England scenery is absolutely lovely (though a very small part of the exteriors were filmed - seamlessly, I might add - at the high school in Los Angeles where I work). Yet, sad to say, "Spinning Into Butter" emerges as probably the clunkiest and most self-satisfied examination of race relations in America since the urban drama "Crash."
    helpful•3
    1
    • Buddy-51
    • Apr 12, 2010

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 27, 2009 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Salvando las apariencias
    • Filming locations
      • Drew University - 36 Madison Avenue, Madison, New Jersey, USA
    • Production companies
      • Whitsett Hill Films
      • Norman Twain Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $8,064
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $5,534
      • Mar 29, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $8,064
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 26 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby

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