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BUTTER (2012)Movie Reviews
Comedy about the ambitious wife of Iowa's butter sculpting champion, whose assured success is threatened by the arrival of a young black girl who is a butter-carving prodigy. Cast:Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Ty Burrell, Olivia Wilde, Rob Corddry, Ashley Greene, Alicia SilverstoneDirector:Jim Field SmithRelease Date:October 5, 2012DVD Release:December 4, 2012From:The Weinstein CompanyRating:RLength:1 hr 31 min
Butter (2012) played in regional release to weak reviews. • Peter Travers wrote in Rolling Stone, "...a spoof without oomph.... political satire needs more than a fresh setup -- it needs barbs that stick.... a movie that wishes it were a Christopher Guest sendup..." • And Joel Arnold wrote for NPR, "...casts its satirical net wide, and that breadth of focus sometimes blunts its biting message..." More Reviews Below...
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: WEAK(cg) "...a rancid political comedy... backfires by assuming that its intended liberal audience is just as intolerant and condescending as the conservative opposition insists it is."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 104 words, 09/21/12
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: MODERATE(cg) "...a spoof without oomph.... political satire needs more than a fresh setup -- it needs barbs that stick.... a movie that wishes it were a Christopher Guest sendup..."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 251 words, 09/28/12
Scott Bowles, USA Today: WEAK(cg) "...more enamored of its premise than interested in making it work.... a film informed and inspired by brainless TV.... the film doesn't try that hard."(See all of Scott Bowles's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 378 words, 10/05/12
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: WEAK(cg) "Sarah Palin jokes aren't funny anymore... every time the film brushes against something smart and sharp it skitters away like it's brushed a hot stove."(See all of James Rocchi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 617 words, 10/02/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (9 Reviews)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: FAIR "...tonally uneven... Well acted and sporadically amusing... alternates between looking down its nose at Midwestern passions and cooing over smugly liberal values..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 181 words, 10/05/12
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "Dripping with contempt for its main characters, the film slathers such condescension onto its Midwest setting, you'll either find it insulting or pandering."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 222 words, 10/05/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: POOR "...has all the exactitude and rigor of unrefrigerated oleo... Given the talent assembled for this diversion, you can't believe it's not better."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 540 words, 10/05/12
Kyle Smith, New York Post: POOR(cg) "...almost funny... Jennifer Garner, whose trademark look of banal vapidity has become a little too convincing over the last decade, mugs incessantly..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 218 words, 10/05/12
Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine: WEAK "These shrill stereotypes might have worked -- possibly -- against a broader canvas... They also might have worked if the film were genuinely funny..."(See all of Bilge Ebiri's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 599 words, 10/05/12
Darel Jevens, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...lacks fully defined characters... goes for Midwestern flavor and sometimes succeeds... more often its vision of heartland life seems condescending and cartoony."(See all of Darel Jevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 479 words, 10/05/12
Nick Schager, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...slathered in shameless bathos... plays like one long, slow descent into cloying moralizing and uplift that's well past its expiration date."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 197 words, 10/10/12
KEY CITIES (8 Reviews)
Sean O'Connell, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...we're still just scratching the surface of witty, provocative humor as long as envelope-pushing directors such as Jim Field Smith continue to find work."(See all of Sean O'Connell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 541 words, 10/05/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: POOR(cg) "...dumb, blunt-instrument parody. Lampoons can be mean-spirited and unfair yet devastating. What they can't be is facile and smug... rancid."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 321 words, 10/05/12
Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: MODERATE(cg) "...funny in spots, but it's so preoccupied with landing below-the-belt cultural jabs that it misses the opportunity for laying out biting social commentary."(See all of Barbara VanDenburgh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 382 words, 10/05/12
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: WEAK(cg) "...shrill, cartoonish -- not a total disaster, but no one's idea of a good movie... It may play to audiences who like their satire cynical and safe, but the aftertaste is rancid."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 474 words, 10/05/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "...a misfire.... though clearly intended as funny, it's difficult to locate, except in the most general terms, the focus of the movie's satire, and there's not a laugh to be had."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 133 words, 10/05/12
Roger Moore, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "...about as subtle as a slab of lard served on a slice of ham... it never feels like anything but an outsider's nasty dismissal of the cornfed corner of red-state culture."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 332 words, 10/05/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD(cg) "Director Jim Field Smith keeps the quirky characters coming with smooth efficiency and throws in some nice touches along the way... smooth and kooky."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 292 words, 10/05/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Nick Schager, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...slathered in shameless bathos... plays like one long, slow descent into cloying moralizing and uplift that's well past its expiration date."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 197 words, 10/10/12
Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: WEAK(cg) "...there are more than a few interesting characters in the mix that you want to see more of, but the movie has trouble committing and it suffers as a result."(See all of Eric Eisenberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 811 words, 10/05/12
Sam Adams, AV Club: WEAK(cg) "A toothless, insufferably smug satire... so contemptuous of its corn-fed rubes, it might as well be a Trojan horse crafted to prove the movie industry's liberal bias."(See all of Sam Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 358 words, 10/04/12
Jesse Hassenger, Pop Matters: POOR(cg) "...turns cutesy long before giving way to sentimentality.... There's something a little pitiful about a big-screen sitcom that fancies itself a cutting satire."(See all of Jesse Hassenger's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 648 words, 10/05/12
Zeba Blay, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...with the smallest of flourishes, it could possibly have been something great.... Instead, 'Butter' serves up a story that's as implausible as it is unsatisfying."(See all of Zeba Blay's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 469 words, 10/04/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "...ultimately charming, occasionally hilarious... The film grows increasingly mirthful as the characters come into focus, and the casting is the key..."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 337 words, 10/05/12
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: FAIR "...tonally uneven... Well acted and sporadically amusing... alternates between looking down its nose at Midwestern passions and cooing over smugly liberal values..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 181 words, 10/05/12
Joel Arnold, NPR: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...casts its satirical net wide, and that breadth of focus sometimes blunts its biting message... an otherwise well-executed farce..."(See all of Joel Arnold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 703 words, 10/04/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...has all the exactitude and rigor of unrefrigerated oleo... Given the talent assembled for this diversion, you can't believe it's not better."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 540 words, 10/05/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "...a wicked Midwest satire with razor blades stashed beneath its bright candy-apple surface.... Conservatives and liberals alike take a licking..."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 773 words, 09/05/11
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: FAIR "...satire on self-righteous, homily-spewing Red Staters and the cutthroat world of butter carving trades almost entirely on making jokes at the expense of others..."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 836 words, 09/06/11
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...has all the exactitude and rigor of unrefrigerated oleo... Given the talent assembled for this diversion, you can't believe it's not better."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 540 words, 10/05/12
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: MODERATE(cg) "All the actors, especially Jennifer Garner, are too broad, an indication that they were defeated by the material and/or misguided by the director, who also stumbles..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 536 words, 09/24/12
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: FAIR "...tonally uneven... Well acted and sporadically amusing... alternates between looking down its nose at Midwestern passions and cooing over smugly liberal values..."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 181 words, 10/05/12
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "...ultimately charming, occasionally hilarious... The film grows increasingly mirthful as the characters come into focus, and the casting is the key..."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 337 words, 10/05/12
18.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Butter (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 18.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Butter (2012) (32 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Butter (2012)'s reviews cover 53.8% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 13,207 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 413 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 9 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Butter (2012)'s reviews on average broke 9 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Butter (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Butter (2012) (32 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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