Butter (2011)

In Iowa, a girl in foster care discovers her talent for butter carving and finds herself pitted against an ambitious local woman in their town's annual contest.

Director:

Jim Field Smith

Writer:

Jason A. Micallef (as Jason Micallef)

Stars:

Jennifer Garner, Yara Shahidi, Ty Burrell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Garner	...	Laura Pickler
Ty Burrell	...	Bob Pickler
Garrett Schenck	...	Orval Flanagan
Kristen Schaal	...	Carol Ann Stevenson
Jason Yudoff	...	Announcer
Phyllis Smith	...	Nancy
Judy Leavell	...	Helen Flanagan
Joe Chrest	...	Butter Fan
Deana Ricks	...	Butter Fan's Wife
Yara Shahidi	...	Destiny
Kelly Tippens	...	Mrs. Moore
Dodie Brown	...	June Carmichael
Jeanne Evans	...	Mrs. Gunderson
Cindy Creekmore	...	Danielle Mattingly
Christine Scheller	...	Transitional Home Worker

Storyline

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, and when Bob won't protest, she decides to enter herself. In the county contest, she's up against African-American foster child Destiny and Brooke, a prostitute Bob hasn't paid. When things don't go Laura's way, she enlists the help of old boyfriend Boyd. Also involved as things heat up at the state fair are Laura's stepdaughter and Destiny's foster parents. are in the mix as things heat up at the state fair.

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Plot Keywords:

infidelity | butter | contest | state fair | prostitute | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about sex, power and spreading the wealth.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kate Hudson was set to play Brooke, but dropped out to do Something Borrowed (2011) instead. She was replaced by Olivia Wilde.

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Goofs

Laura's hand is shown in different places in shots when they announce her speech.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Laura Pickler: I believe in America. I believe we are the best. I believe we're number one. And I won't apologize for that. My husband and I are survivors. We fought tooth and nail to get where we are today. How? The old-fashioned way, hard work, and a can-do attitude. And here in the great State of Iowa, no less, where all great battles begin. My name is Laura Dean Pickler, and this is the cut-throat story of greed, blackmail, sex, and butter.

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Crazy Credits

On the Blu-ray, there are no opening credits except for the RADiUS-TWC logo and the title.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.74 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Keep Marchin'
Written and performed by Raphael Saadiq
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Light hearted funny satire with a top notch cast

This light satirical comedy about a butter carving competition has a strong cast and an OK story. The plot is quite funny with some lol moments. There are some cute digs about race and ambition.

I have never been a huge Jennifer Garner fan (the over perky grin) but luckily it makes use of the talents of other fine actors especially Olivia Wilde as a stripper, Alicia Silverstone, and Ashley Greene as a teenage daughter. Hugh Jackman makes a small appearance.

I can see why it wasn't a box office success - it's more TV movie material with a A list movie cast. But I found it worth a watch just don't expect too much.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 2012 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Butter

Filming Locations:

Bossier City, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$70,931, 7 October 2012

Gross USA:

$105,018

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$175,706

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hurwitz Creative, Michael De Luca Productions, The Weinstein Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1