Ty Burrell, Jennifer Garner and Olivia Wilde spread the love and insanity with some BUTTER in this first trailer

Did you know that in America you can buy a deep-fried stick of butter? Deep-fried. Butter. Hmmmm… That myocardial infarction sure does sound delicious!

With that kind of crazy affection for it, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood made a film about butter, which is exactly what Ty Burrell, Jennifer Garner and Olivia Wilde have done. Except, instead of clogged up arteries, they’re using crazy lantics to tackle that other cardiac affliction: Love.

Set in the highly competitive world of championship butter carving, “Butter” blends social commentary, outrageous comedy and heartfelt drama in telling the story of the ambitious Laura Pickler (Jennifer Garner), the self-anointed First Lady of Butter Carving. Refusing to accept that her husband (Ty Burrell) wants to step down after his 15-year run as the “Iowa State Butter Carving Champion,” and therefore end the Pickler family’s reign in the spotlight, Laura takes a stab at the title herself. But her bid for glory is complicated when two unlikely contestants enter the race – one, her husband’s hard-living mistress (Olivia Wilde), and the other a 10-year-old foster child named Destiny (Yara Shahidi). Enlisting the help of her high school sweetheart, Boyd (Hugh Jackman), Laura will stop at nothing to be crowned champion, even if it means resorting to sabotage. Part political satire, part Capra-esque comedy, “Butter” is a story about what it means to win at all costs and against all odds.

Directed by Jim Field-Smith, the same guy behind the Jay Baruchel-Alice Eve rom-com She’s Out of My League, this certainly has all the makings of a predictable love-triangle comedy, but when the film premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, it actually garnered (Ha. Punny) some pretty decent reviews. If that big R at the start of the trailer didn’t give it away, the film is apparently surprisingly mature and edgy, and uses some great comedy to tackles some pretty meaty, non-rom-com issues like religion and politics.

All of which is just gravy as my bromance with Modern Family‘s Phil Dunfee means that I’ll pretty much watch anything with Ty Burrell in it. And Olivia Wilde.

Last Updated: August 24, 2012