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Spinning Into Butter

Play trailer Poster for Spinning Into Butter R 2009 1h 26m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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16% Tomatometer 32 Reviews 33% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Amid charges of racism, Sarah Daniels (Sarah Jessica Parker) leaves the school where she's been teaching and relocates to a small college in Vermont. There, she becomes dean without informing anyone of her past. After African-American student Simon Brick (James Rebhorn) becomes the victim of a hate crime, Daniels must confront her attitudes about race when she's called upon to resolve the situation and come up with a plan to defuse tension at the school.
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Spinning Into Butter

Spinning Into Butter

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Critics Consensus

Both leaden and stilted, Spinning into Butter is an unsubtle drama with stagy direction and lackluster dialogue.

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Critics Reviews

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Cary Darling Dallas Morning News 04/17/2009
C+
The biggest lesson from Spinning Into Butter has nothing to do with the ethics of race and more with realizing that every hit play doesn't need to be turned into a movie. Go to Full Review Peter Rainer Christian Science Monitor 03/30/2009
D+
The staging by theater director Mark Brokaw, in his first feature, is, well, stagy. I don't mind a movie where people spend a lot of time jawboning, but what they say had better be interesting. Go to Full Review Glenn Whipp Los Angeles Times 03/27/2009
2/5
The foils have no compunction about hurling ugly truths at each other, most of the time much too literally to work on screen. Go to Full Review Sonny Bunch Washington Times 08/30/2009
1.5/4
Spinning Into Butter is the perfect example of a movie taking an interesting premise and, through incompetence of acting, writing and directing, turning it into an unwatchable mess. Go to Full Review Kevin Carr 7M Pictures 06/15/2009
2/5
if you're not interested in a sermon, you'll want to skip this one Go to Full Review Brian Orndorf DVDTalk.com 05/05/2009
D
Butter makes a disastrous transition to film, aiming to salvage pertinent points on the witch's brew of racism through a filmmaking undertaking perhaps best described as "total clown shoes." Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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06/08/2013 Probably watched this movie for the wrong reason. This movie does make you think. Not all individuals think in terms of stereotypes. The reason the situation happened is really messed up. But, it's like people say, when you go looking for trouble, or you always expect it, you shouldn't be surprised when it finally happens. See more 04/29/2013 it has this play feel to it and that doesn't translate well into being a movie. wanted to like it but ended up boring me. See more 01/14/2013 ?? film ???? ????? ?? ??? ???? ???????? ??? ?? ????????!!! ??? ??? ??? S.J.Parker...... ???????? ?? ??? ????? ???? ???????? ???? ??? ?? sex and the city......! See more 05/14/2012 This movie gets you thinking I just wish the plot was thought out a little more See more 05/10/2011 there are good racism movies. this is not one of them. this isn't much of good movie, period. incredibly stale and wooden performances from the entire cast, with the possible exception of Mykelti Williamson. the characters aren't sympathetic, the story is mired in political correctness, and the dialogue is so forced you almost have to wonder if it'd be a different film if people could say what they would naturally say instead of lines off a script. Rebecca Gilman's play is at least somewhat tolerable because it involves a bit of thinking on the audience's part. this does all your thinking for you, and it does a very poor job of it. See more 05/10/2011 there are good racism movies. this is not one of them. this isn't much of good movie, period. incredibly stale and wooden performances from the entire cast, with the possible exception of Mykelti Williamson. the characters aren't sympathetic, the story is mired in political correctness, and the dialogue is so forced you almost have to wonder if it'd be a different film if people could say what they would naturally say instead of lines off a script. Rebecca Gilman's play is at least somewhat tolerable because it involves a bit of thinking on the audience's part. this does all your thinking for you, and it does a very poor job of it. See more Read all reviews
Spinning Into Butter

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Cast & Crew

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Mark Brokaw

Director

Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Daniels

Miranda Richardson

Catherine Kenney

Victor Rasuk

Patrick Chibas

Paul James

Simon Brick

Beau Bridges

Burton Strauss

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Spinning Into Butter

Beau Bridges as Burton Strauss in "Spinning Into Butter." Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Daniels in "Spinning Into Butter." James Rebhorn as Winston Garvey in "Spinning Into Butter." Miranda Richardson as Catherine Kenney in "Spinning Into Butter." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Amid charges of racism, Sarah Daniels (Sarah Jessica Parker) leaves the school where she's been teaching and relocates to a small college in Vermont. There, she becomes dean without informing anyone of her past. After African-American student Simon Brick (James Rebhorn) becomes the victim of a hate crime, Daniels must confront her attitudes about race when she's called upon to resolve the situation and come up with a plan to defuse tension at the school.
Director
Mark Brokaw
Producer
Ryan Howe, Norman Twain, Lou Pitt
Screenwriter
Rebecca Gilman, Doug Atchison
Distributor
Screen Media Ventures
Production Co
Norman Twain Productions, Whitsett Hill Films
Rating
R (Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 20, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 9, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.5K
Runtime
1h 26m
Sound Mix
Dolby