The Movie

To make a successful film, you need more than great stars or even a decent script. Sometimes the timing has to be right. 2008 was a big political year with strong battles between Obama and Clinton and eventually Obama/McCain. It was a high stakes election and it wasn’t difficult to elicit an opinion.

With that in mind, along came the late summer release, Swing Vote. Kevin Costner plays Bud, a middle-aged slacker who can barely find it within himself to spend quality time with his bright daughter. On Election Day, Bud’s supposed to help his daughter with an essay on voting, but when he gets laid off, he spends the night at the bar instead of meeting her at the polling booth. Furious, she sneaks in and attempts to vote for him. When an errant cleaning woman unplugs the computer, Bud’s vote isn’t registered.

The election turns out to be just as crazy as the one in 2000, coming down to a rural New Mexico county and eventually, Bud’s uncounted vote. When his name is leaked to the press, every news agency on the planet shows up at his front door. Eventually, the Republican incumbent and his Democratic challenger show up to woo the clueless and apathetic father.

Bud’s in it just for the 15 minutes of fame and all the free goodies lavishly heaped upon him. As his opinions waver back and forth, the media and the candidates find themselves making compromised choices and everyone is forced to take a good, long look at who they really are and how far they are willing to go to get what they want.

Swing Vote, while absurd and oftentimes ridiculous, pokes fun at the world of politics and takes an exaggerated, albeit potentially true look at the desperate measures politicians take to win. The film is full of moral dilemmas but ultimately takes the easy way out by letting everyone take the high road. Obviously inspired by the 2000 election, the writers have infused the story with a broad and simplistic "get out and vote" message. They’ve done so in a non-partisan way, which, while I understand why they did it, ultimately feels incomplete.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the movie. Costner does the middle-aged slacker well and despite the presence of Dennis Hopper, Kelsey Grammer, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci and George Lopez, Swing Vote is dominated by young newcomer Madeline Carroll. She’s great as Bud’s daughter and while her character is unrealistically wise beyond her years, she does a great job balancing her character’s wit, sarcasm and sorrow. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of her in the years to come.

With the exception of an unnecessarily clunky scene towards the end, Swing Vote works better as a father/daughter relationship film than a plea for people to vote. That’s what I meant about the timing. Had this come out in 2007, people might have cared about an election film. By the time it was released, people were likely already sick of the drawn-out election process and just wanted to get through November. With election burnout still in effect, Swing Vote seems even less timely now on home video. The film does have some funny and heart-warming moments, but I’m just not sure if it has an audience.

3 out of 5
Rated PG-13  

The Disc

Swing Vote has been released on both DVD and Blu-ray disc and feature 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 surround sound. The picture quality on the DVD is good, but obviously the Blu-ray is better. The bonus features are the same on both discs, so unless you’re a high-def freak who absolutely has to have the optimal picture quality, I’d say save a few bucks (on your purchase or rental) and go with the DVD.

Bonus Features

Inside the Campaign: The Politics of Production – This short, twelve minute documentary gives a brief overview of the cast, script and production process.

Deleted Scenes

Audio Commentary

Modern West music video – Kevin Costner’s band plays a tune from the film