A movie about butter sculpting. Ha! As in not-so-funny….
While exhibitng a handful of moments of sharp satire, Butter is largely a toned-down send-up of a Sarah Palin/Michelle Bachman-esque character (Jennifer Garner) smack in the middle of Iowa. The film is far too schmaltzy to effectively hold up a mirror to the timidity and insipidness of America’s heartland.
Director Jim Field Smith (She’s Out Of My League) wants to have it both ways. For every mocking shot he sends out, there are two or three competition comedy Tender Moments. Most involve a 10-year-old African American foster child butter-carver (Vara Shahidi), whose white parents (Rob Corrdry, Alicia Silverstone) seem shocked by her prowess.
Thank heaven Olivia Wilde’s around—not just for serious eye candy but because she’s got a comic chop or two. She plays a stripper turned contestant who’s involved with Garner’s henpecked husband (Ty Burrell) and, soon, their daughter. Hugh Jackman’s also got a small role. He didn’t make out so well. Comedy seems as foreign to him as brain surgery.
Here’s hoping producer Harvey Weinstein was joking about this film’s Oscar potential. He’d do better to concentrate on his sublime The Artist and let Butter sink to its natural level.
4 Clogged Arteries (Out of 10)