Well, this is a bit surprising. Even though it was reported just a couple of weeks ago that The Weinstein Company were going to give “Butter” a one-week Oscar qualifying run in October before a wide release in 2012, the sudden launch of a website for the film, complete with a clip from the movie (below via ComingSoon) and an accompanying viral Twitter account, perhaps point to a bigger release than previously intended. Or maybe a much more concerted Oscar or Golden Globes push. Either way, it’s our biggest look at the film yet, and it seems perfectly primed for the build-up to next year’s presidential election.
The story follows Laura (Jennifer Garner), the wife of former butter sculpting champion Bob (Ty Burrell), who tries to take the mantle from her husband only to be thwarted by a young adopted African American girl (Yara Shahidi), who has discovered that she has a natural talent for making art out of butter. Sounds simple, right? However, the premise serves as an analogy for the 2008 Democratic primaries. In this political allegory, Laura and Bob are obviously Hillary and Bill Clinton, with the the young African girl playing the Barack Obama figure in the story. And in this clip, in which Laura pleads her case to the jury of the butter sculpting competition, the satire is more than apparent. However, Garner’s character also gives a pretty fierce nod to Sarah Palin, and is described on the site as: Wife first, Christian second, American always and Stepmother third.
You can catch more of Laura’s views over at her Twitter account — including why she’s boycotting Chick-fil-A — and you can get a better taste of “Butter” below. No release date yet, but we presume this sudden launch of web material is leading to something bigger than we’d have anticipated before.
