Swing Vote

Swing Vote

gepete80 from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 17/12/2008

I used to have a bit of a unhealthy dislike of Kevin Costner. It’s a common thing in your life to be against somebody but actually have no real reason as to why. You just simply don’t like them. Maybe it was something to do with the over the top, grandiouso films, or the fact that the guy seemed to take himself WAAAAYYY too seriously, or the fact that he shoved baseball down my throat constantly but I just didn’t like him. In fact I was so glad that Waterworld flopped cos I hoped that would sink him (pardon the pun).

But rather predictably it didn’t, and instead he’s continued along on his merry way making more emotionally charged cheese fests. That was until I stumbled on Mr Brooks earlier on this year, and realised that actually he’s not all the bad. Now admittedly I liked his turn in JFK and Robin Hood was a little bit of fun but this was the first film off of Costner that I REALLY liked him in. Therefore, strapped to my plane seat 36,000ft over the Middle East somewhere I found myself tapping the fourth new film on the In-flight entertainment list, Swing Vote.

That this film was seeing the light of day around this time of the year was no real surprise, given that the US election had just been completed (hence the timing of Bush biopic, W as well) and in some ways Costner has fallen again into the morality propaganda pic again, with a film spouting the clear motto ‘Every Vote Counts.’ In the film Costner is Bud Johnson, a man who through a technical glitch becomes the sole decider of the US Presidential Election. This would be some task even for a well educated college professor, but considering Bud is Homer Simpson in a trailer park it wasn’t going to be plain sailing.

So as the worlds media and warring presidential candidates descend on Buds town, he becomes the centre of a circus where he is the star. With all of his needs pandered to and his whims entertained its not long before he loses sight of the objective, buried under his new found star status and messages from his idols. While Bud might be Homer though his daughter Molly is absolutely Lisa. While she may not champion every ecological cause on the planet (although I’m sure she would given a chance) she is smart, well-educated and world wise.

Both of these characters obviously represent the differing attitudes to the democratic process, Buds representing the apathetic American voter who doesn’t believe in the system and that his vote doesn’t matter, while Molly is the new eager blood of the States, who is driven by the policies and a hope of a better world. The process itself is obviously brought to life by the election and warring candidates Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hopper, who hold either end of Bud in the tug of war when really they should be sweet talking Molly. That these men stoop to extraordinary lengths to try to win Buds vote is a play on politics in general. The broken promises made only to win over the voters, and the abandonment of morals just to win the toughest job in the world, no matter who it may affect. The fact that the race has become more about winning then actually making a difference has been apparent in recent years, although many may now believe that the times they are a changing now with the election of the big O.

Swing Votes tone changes quite often, from sentimental family drama to a political satire and is pretty bloody enjoyable and in some places downright funny. Costner is (I can’t believe I am saying this) excellent as the lay about bum, playing bunny caught in the headlights superbly. Grammar and Hopper seem to have an enourmous amount of fun parodying political leaders, and are ably supported by their campaign managers, smarmy Stanley Tucci and desperate Nathan Lane. But the standout here is Molly (Madeline Carrol). While we may have seen some pretty prodigious child actors in recent years, she is truly brilliant as Bud’s long suffering daughter. A stand out section where Molly has to apologise for her absent father to her class mates while being seriously hurt because he isn’t there isn’t just touching but practically rips your heart out and she is definitely one to keep an eye open for.

While the majority of the film is well handled and enjoyable, it is somewhat of a pity that it should then end with a schmaltzy monologue from Costner (haven’t we been here before?). Surely there was someway of conveying the point with out the old Costner staple ending. While this certainly does lead to a finger down the throat reaction, it is fundamentally a decent film, and while it might be a public service announcement to some it is enjoyable nonetheless.

May I just add in amendment that it is also nice to see Judge Reinhold back again even if he is playing the Carl or Lou of the story.

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OH DEAR ME !

Burnhamite from BURNHAM [Highly rated reviewer] , 30/10/2009

Certainly not one of Kevin Costner's better movies by a long chalk. The storyline was erratic, rambling and lack of achievement from start to finish. The movie itself was too long by at least 30 minutes and the creditability of the actors left a lot to be desired. The ending when it came was as baffling as the soundtrack, which also was poor, not helped by the ABSENCE of sub-titles. To sum up: POOR and HARDLY WORTH A HALF A STAR.

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Voter apathy breaks out.

Northernsky from Halifax [Highly rated reviewer] , 01/10/2009

I guess it isn’t absolutely essential to be American to enjoy Swing Vote but I’m sure it would help a great deal. Like the film Dave Swing Vote riffs heavily ( some would argue too heavily ) on the promise the good ol, US of A has for the ordinary Joe. How one man( and presumably women ) can make a difference in the great nation and how everyone has an investment in the direction the stars & stripes takes. It’s a right load of hooey and in the end it patronises and insults the working Joes it purports to celebrate.

In the case of Swing Vote the working Joe is Bud Johnson ( Kevin Costner ) Working Joe is actually a slight misnomer as Joe is a barely functional alcoholic with a job in an egg packing plant he barely clings onto and is a single father to precocious daughter Molly ( Madeline Carroll ). Flush with civic responsibility she does his voting for him but a power cut means his/her vote is lost on the electronic voting machine meaning the two candidates are tied in that state and Bud ,a political ignoramus and a man contemptuous of politicians, has to recast his vote to decide the election.

Subsequently the two candidates -incumbent Republican President Boone ( Kelsey Grammer ) and Democratic challenger Donald Greenleaf ( Dennis Hopper ) unleash a propaganda and media frenzy as they try to convince Bud to cast his precious vote for them . But Bud being bud- a beer swilling , laissez fair individual who remains blissfully ignorant of political issues hasn’t the first clue who to vote for . The satire element of the film comes into play here as the candidates slavishly pander to what they perceive Bud will want in order to gain his support. Then with string drenched predictability Bud inexorably comes to realise the importance of grasping his civic responsibility and talking your place in a democracy .

The first half of Swing Vote is passable , focussing on the relationship between Bud and his forthright daughter. This is helped considerably by the performance of Madeleine Carroll who is by some distance the best thing about the whole exercise and just about drags this film into two star territory , something the film and flimsy DVD release( no extras , though that may be a blessing ) do not deserve. When the film switches into a satire it is too lame , neither funny or especially satirical ( see In The Loop for top-notch political satire ) and worst of all the final message seems to say that if you are poor , struggling to find a place in society or feeling disenfranchised then don’t blame the Government or society , it’s you’re own fault for not getting off your sedentary backside and changing things for yourself. This might well be true for some people but the writer makes a gob-smacking sweeping generalisation and hammers it home with the sturdy mallet of right wing truth( Incidentally Kelsey Grammer & Dennis Hopper are both staunch Republicans which might explain why they attached themselves to this project ) .

Full of isn’t it just great to live in the land of the free-isms and schmaltzy strings to let you know this is real life affirming stuff Swing Vote rather than convincing me with the emotional power and logic of it’s message made me want to tack my next ballot paper to the booth with galvanised power nails and then set fire to the booth while ordering a new duck island for the dam across the road……all on expenses naturally including the nails, matches and petrol . But then I’m not American and we are a bit more cynical of our politicians over here.

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Swing Vote

1of6 from Aberdare , 04/10/2009

I enjoyed the film and I did feel like giving the character played by Kevin Costner made me really feel as if I wanted to give him a good shake.

I think this film should be shown in the schools just to show the kids what lying louts politicians can be.

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Swing Vote

gepete80 from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 17/12/2008

I used to have a bit of a unhealthy dislike of Kevin Costner. It’s a common thing in your life to be against somebody but actually have no real reason as to why. You just simply don’t like them. Maybe it was something to do with the over the top, grandiouso films, or the fact that the guy seemed to take himself WAAAAYYY too seriously, or the fact that he shoved baseball down my throat constantly but I just didn’t like him. In fact I was so glad that Waterworld flopped cos I hoped that would sink him (pardon the pun).

But rather predictably it didn’t, and instead he’s continued along on his merry way making more emotionally charged cheese fests. That was until I stumbled on Mr Brooks earlier on this year, and realised that actually he’s not all the bad. Now admittedly I liked his turn in JFK and Robin Hood was a little bit of fun but this was the first film off of Costner that I REALLY liked him in. Therefore, strapped to my plane seat 36,000ft over the Middle East somewhere I found myself tapping the fourth new film on the In-flight entertainment list, Swing Vote.

That this film was seeing the light of day around this time of the year was no real surprise, given that the US election had just been completed (hence the timing of Bush biopic, W as well) and in some ways Costner has fallen again into the morality propaganda pic again, with a film spouting the clear motto ‘Every Vote Counts.’ In the film Costner is Bud Johnson, a man who through a technical glitch becomes the sole decider of the US Presidential Election. This would be some task even for a well educated college professor, but considering Bud is Homer Simpson in a trailer park it wasn’t going to be plain sailing.

So as the worlds media and warring presidential candidates descend on Buds town, he becomes the centre of a circus where he is the star. With all of his needs pandered to and his whims entertained its not long before he loses sight of the objective, buried under his new found star status and messages from his idols. While Bud might be Homer though his daughter Molly is absolutely Lisa. While she may not champion every ecological cause on the planet (although I’m sure she would given a chance) she is smart, well-educated and world wise.

Both of these characters obviously represent the differing attitudes to the democratic process, Buds representing the apathetic American voter who doesn’t believe in the system and that his vote doesn’t matter, while Molly is the new eager blood of the States, who is driven by the policies and a hope of a better world. The process itself is obviously brought to life by the election and warring candidates Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hopper, who hold either end of Bud in the tug of war when really they should be sweet talking Molly. That these men stoop to extraordinary lengths to try to win Buds vote is a play on politics in general. The broken promises made only to win over the voters, and the abandonment of morals just to win the toughest job in the world, no matter who it may affect. The fact that the race has become more about winning then actually making a difference has been apparent in recent years, although many may now believe that the times they are a changing now with the election of the big O.

Swing Votes tone changes quite often, from sentimental family drama to a political satire and is pretty bloody enjoyable and in some places downright funny. Costner is (I can’t believe I am saying this) excellent as the lay about bum, playing bunny caught in the headlights superbly. Grammar and Hopper seem to have an enourmous amount of fun parodying political leaders, and are ably supported by their campaign managers, smarmy Stanley Tucci and desperate Nathan Lane. But the standout here is Molly (Madeline Carrol). While we may have seen some pretty prodigious child actors in recent years, she is truly brilliant as Bud’s long suffering daughter. A stand out section where Molly has to apologise for her absent father to her class mates while being seriously hurt because he isn’t there isn’t just touching but practically rips your heart out and she is definitely one to keep an eye open for.

While the majority of the film is well handled and enjoyable, it is somewhat of a pity that it should then end with a schmaltzy monologue from Costner (haven’t we been here before?). Surely there was someway of conveying the point with out the old Costner staple ending. While this certainly does lead to a finger down the throat reaction, it is fundamentally a decent film, and while it might be a public service announcement to some it is enjoyable nonetheless.

May I just add in amendment that it is also nice to see Judge Reinhold back again even if he is playing the Carl or Lou of the story.

Read all highest rated reviews

Swing Vote

1of6 from Aberdare , 04/10/2009

I enjoyed the film and I did feel like giving the character played by Kevin Costner made me really feel as if I wanted to give him a good shake.

I think this film should be shown in the schools just to show the kids what lying louts politicians can be.

Read all highest rated reviews