Spinning Into Butter

Based on the play by Rebecca Gilman, director Mark Brokaw's dour, heavy-handed drama about race prejudice stars Sarah Jessica Parker as college professor Sarah Daniels, who has developed a fear and loathing of blacks as a result of her years spent teaching in an urban environment. Transferring to a more fashionable college in lily-white Vermont, Sarah is forced to come to grips with her prejudices after black student Simon Brick (Paul James) becomes the target of a hate crime—and as dean of students it is Sarah's responsibility to deal with the ensuing turmoil. Miranda Richardson, Beau Bridges, and James Rebhorn costar as Sarah's fellow deans, while Mykelti Williamson delivers a solid turn as a reporter from Chicago. Unfortunately, Spinning Into Butter's theatrical origins are readily apparent: the movie fairly talks itself to death, delivering ponderous, politically correct pleas for tolerance and reconciliation that are beyond banal. Not recommended. (E. Hulse)