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Duck Butter

Play trailer 1:55 Poster for Duck Butter 2018,  1h 33m,  Comedy/ Drama/ LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Duck Butter: Trailer 1 Duck Butter: Trailer 1 Now Playing View more videos
Watchlist 55% 38 Reviews Tomatometer 40% 100+ Ratings Popcornmeter
55% Tomatometer 38 Reviews 40% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Two women, jaded by dishonest and broken relationships, make a pact to spend 24 uninterrupted hours together, having sex on the hour. Their romantic experiment intends to create a new form of intimacy, but it doesn't quite go as planned.
Duck Butter

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Duck Butter has a pair of compelling leads and a refreshing female-driven perspective, but its story is ultimately too thin to support a feature-length production.

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Critics Reviews

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Heather Hogan Autostraddle Aug 2, 2018
The sex was good but the delirious lesbian mumblecore didn't leave a lasting impression. Go to Full Review
Richard Brody The New Yorker May 7, 2018
The director, Miguel Arteta (who co-wrote the script with Shawkat), finds no symbolic dimension or wider resonance in the schematic proceedings. Go to Full Review
Roxana Hadadi Pajiba May 4, 2018
What a feat for Shawkat in particular -- her myriad creative strengths are exemplified here, and I'm so excited for whatever she does next. Go to Full Review
Ben Turner The Pink Lens Sep 1, 2021
2/5
Duck Butter only succeeds in making its characters feel uncomfortably trapped in a pact of their own making. Go to Full Review
Matthew St. Clair Cinema Sentries Oct 9, 2020
Both Costa and Shawkat have intoxicating chemistry that makes the film worth watching. However... even though the story is intentionally simplistic, it still doesn't have much payoff by the end. Go to Full Review
Steven Prokopy Third Coast Review Jun 11, 2020
Duck Butter is an odd movie, anchored and made great by sincere and painful writing, as well as two superb, often quite funny and raw performances that are among the bravest I've seen so far this year. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Apr 25, 2019 I don't get this movie. It's really bad. Don't watch it!
Mar 29, 2019 Only giving 4 stars because we didnâ(TM)t know if she cleaned the shit off the window or not. Otherwise great movie.
Abraham G Feb 6, 2019 This movie was pretty shit every second scene is a completely unnecessary sex scene. The story and characters had potential but I feel this movie is made for men who want to see lesbian sex scenes. The characters also hadnt potential then they made them crazy. This is exactly what you would expect from a lesbian movie directed by a man See more
Aug 5, 2018 This movie is pure hyperbole, but I think that's the point. It's not funny like "haha, good jokes and wit." It's funny because at first you think "this is ridiculous" but by the end you relate somehow. You know what it feels like to have someone who is messy and clingy and dependent and immature. Or maybe you are that person. Or maybe you're the other. Unknowingly leading someone on. Using them for some sort of adventure or physicality that's missing you. These characters are exaggerations of both sides of an unsuccessful relationship. A ridiculous, exaggerated portrait of how it feels when a relationship falls apart. If you go into the movie expecting a comedy, you will be disappointed. But if you go into looking for a one night stand or "relationship goals," the movie might hit you how it's supposed to. See more
Albus P Jul 22, 2018 - Duck Butter shows the ugly and the beautiful parts of love - After living in New York City for three years, I finally made it to the Tribeca Film Festival. The first movie I got to screen was Duck Butter, co-written by Alia Shawkat, fabulously funny and talented since her teen years on Arrested Development. As a longtime Shawkat fan who shares not just her birth year but a love of the arts, I felt more than a smidge cheerleader-y as I settled down to watch her latest creative endeavor. The plot is simple enough: Naima (Shawkat) is a tightly wound, socially conscious young actress who finds herself smitten with Sergio (Laia Costa, Victoria) after they meet at a club. They're not much alike - Sergio boldly rushes the stage to sing her own original music, while Naima is content to argue with older women who share her table about the state of U.S. politics - but both are yearning for honesty, intimacy, and affection. Eventually, they decide to share an unusual experience - to stay awake and in each other's company for 24 hours straight, having sex every hour, and being totally real about their thoughts and feelings. After all, they muse, it's not like traditional dating guarantees blissful romance or lasting love. Maybe it could be the most beautiful thing they've ever done. At a glance the premise sounds steamy, titillating even, but when it unfolded, I found there wasn't much that was truly erotic about it. Sure, there are moments of sweetness, passion, and real connection. But, there are also awkward conversations, shouting matches, chores, napping, and exhaustion-crying. And while I was hyper-aware of Naima's commitment issues from the very beginning, eventually I realized that (underneath her Manic-Pixie exterior) Sergio has her own baggage to deal with, too. As one might imagine, the movie is almost entirely conceptual. With simplistic dialogue and meandering plot, it feels about as experimental as Naima and Sergio are trying to be. It's probably not one for the history books. Still, it left such a warm spot of admiration in my heart after it was all said and done. There are some special and beautifully ambitious aspects of the project that endeared me, and not just because it was my TBFF debut. Shawkat shines both as a performer and a creator. Costa is filled to the brim with energy and life, and is a pure joy to watch for 90 minutes. The camera is free of the Male Gaze, and most scenes feel cozy and even sort of hectic, like I was actually in the room while it was being filmed. I personally found myself really appreciating the casual moments of surprisingly refreshing, non-sexual nudity - like when Naima meanders topless to the fridge to find something to eat. As anyone with a body knows, most nudity in life is actually pretty boring. "You're the first people to see this EVER!" crowed Director Miguel Arteta to the room before the lights went down. And to bookend that honor, we also got to participate in a short Q&A with some of the team after the credits rolled. That was when I found out a few factoids that made me respect the movie even more. Like how Shawkat and Arteta had initially begun by auditioning men for Sergio's role, but couldn't help give the role to Costa after she blew away all the boys with her enthusiasm, vulnerability, and outright game. Or how the script, while carefully paced and directed, included no written dialogue for the actors before filming began - resulting in organic conversation, highly personalized character development, and ad-libbed interactions. Or (especially for fans of Victoria) how the 24-hour sequence in the story was ACTUALLY filmed in 24 hours by the cast & crew! (I knew those exhaustion tears seemed real.) Duck Butter is many things all at once. It's visionary, yet familiar. It's unfettered and binary-breaking, yet its themes and questions are timeless. I saw the weaknesses, quirks, and beautiful parts of my friends, myself, and my family written on the faces of these two characters who are just trying to learn how to trust and feel. Maybe you will, too. ---------- This review was first published on Narrative Muse, http://www.narrativemuse.co/movies/duck-butter, and was written by Debbie Holloway. Narrative Muse curates the best books and movies by and about women and non-binary folk on our website http://narrativemuse.co and our social media channels. See more
Hermione L Jul 12, 2018 I could of done without out the mom, because her scene was very predictable to the story line. The story was a little odd sometimes, but I really loved how it ended. See more
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Duck Butter

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Duck Butter

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Movie Info

Synopsis Two women, jaded by dishonest and broken relationships, make a pact to spend 24 uninterrupted hours together, having sex on the hour. Their romantic experiment intends to create a new form of intimacy, but it doesn't quite go as planned.
Director
Miguel Arteta
Producer
Mel Eslyn, Natalie Qasabian
Screenwriter
Miguel Arteta, Alia Shawkat
Distributor
The Orchard
Production Co
Netflix, Duplass Brothers Productions, The Orchard
Genre
Comedy, Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 27, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 24, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.3K
Runtime
1h 33m
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