Blu-ray Review: Butter

Blu-ray Reviews, Reviews

When you look at the sheer talent involved in making Butter it’s fairly difficult to see how this film had a tiny release into theatres before being shunted into theatres. You don’t assemble a cast involving Jennifer Garner, Ty Burrell and Hugh Jackman (among others) without usually garnering a fairly substantial release. It’s odd on the surface, especially considering the film is a comedy, that a film with so much going in would get that treatment with a fairly loaded cast.

And then you watch the film and realize it’s because it’s absolutely rancid.

Butter follows the competition in a butter carving competition in Iowa that doubles as a sort of political satire. Unfortunately it’s idea of satire mainly involves painting those from small towns in the Midwest as ignorant racists with an IQ that would border on the double figures at most.

Laura (Garner) is the wife of Iowa’s best butter carver (Burrell). When he’s forced to resign from the competition she decides to step up in his place. He’s also in love with a stripper (Olivia Wilde) who enters the competition just to mess with her as they’re both competing for Burrell as their “man.” Throw in a 10-year-old butter carving prodigy (Yara Shahidi) into the mix, alongside Hugh Jackman as Laura’s dimwitted ex-boyfriend & accomplice, and you have what’s supposed to be a satire of modern politics but with butter instead of the power to shape government.

Unfortunately it’s not all that much of a satire as opposed to a series of bad jokes that just don’t stop. It’s painfully unfunny at its peak, downright insulting to anyone with half of a brain at most points, as this is the sort of film that thinks it’s funny and opts to keep repeating the same type of joke ad nausea. After a while it’s an endurance test to try and keep watching,

Butter barely crossed $100k in box office grosses and for a good reason: it’s awful on every conceivable level.

The usual Gag Reel and Deleted/Extended Scenes are included and don’t add much back to the film.

In a year where comedy has hit any number of high points, Butter is the absolute bottom. Recommendation to avoid.

Anchor Bay presents Butter. Directed by Jim Field Smith. Written by Jason Micallef. Running time: 90 minutes. Starring Ty Burrell, Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Ashley Greene, Alicia Silverstone, Rob Corddry. Rated R. Released: December 4, 201212. Available at Amazon.com.