Butter

We are in a small town in Iowa to witness the finals in the annual butter-carving contest. The perennial winner has agreed not to compete in the future, so his ambitious wife has stepped up to the plate for next year's competition. In the meantime we have a newcomer, a little girl who has discovered her own talent; her adoptive parents are totally supportive. (She hasn't unpacked her suitcase yet, because of her past history as a foster child.)

The culture in small-town Iowa is naturally the butt of a lot of jokes from sophisticated Hollywood, but my favorite character is the car dealer who agrees to help that ambitious wife sabotage that little girl's entry. As I watched, I kept thinking he reminded me of Hugh Jackman....

Here are some of the players:

• Ty Burrell ("Modern Family") is that talented (but now retired) sculptor. He hasn't been entirely faithful to...
• Jennifer Garner ("The Invention of Lying") his wife who intended to use his string of victories to generate a political career.
• Yara Shahidi (Lots of TV) is that talented newcomer to the butter-sculpting community.
• Alicia Silverstone (Lots of TV) is her adoring new mother, happy to adopt such a beautiful little girl and help her express her inner sculptor.
• Rob Corddry ("Warm Bodies") is her new daddy, supportive and proud of his bright little girl.
• Olivia Wilde ("Rush") is the stripper who had a fling with the butter-carving champion. She tells the little girl she works at Barnes & Noble.
• ...and Hugh Jackman ("Wolverine") speaks pure Midwestern American. Whatta guy! His prayers to Jesus are heartfelt and very, very funny.

This R-rated outing (language and sexual situations) is sappy and predictable, but who cares; it's heartwarming and satisfying.

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Here is a preview:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2889852185/
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