Review: Swing Vote (2008)

[Steve Rhodes]

SWING VOTE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2008 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****):  ** 1/2

SWING VOTE almost got my vote until its long and treacly last act.  Starting 
slowly, the picture builds momentum so that its middle section is a 
wonderfully endearing comedy about a lovable loser, played by Kevin Costner, 
who gets to single-handedly pick the next president of the United States. 
It's certainly an honor that Bud Johnson (Costner) dreamed not of.  Happiest 
when he is downing another beer with buddies, the aptly nicknamed Bud is an 
everyman character straight out of a Capra comedy.  Drinking on the job, 
showing up late and taking what must be a record number of "sick" days, Bud 
is fired from the egg packing factory where he works in a tiny town in New 
Mexico.

When comedies set out to skewer politicians, as SWING VOTE does, they work 
best when they are able to maintain a consistent tone.  The long middle 
section of SWING VOTE does just that.  Like WAG THE DOG and CHARLIE WILSON'S 
WAR, SWING VOTE is an equal opportunity and politically incorrect ridiculer 
of politicians.  There are very funny bits during this part of SWING VOTE, 
as the laughs come hard and often.

But forty minutes before this excessively long comedy is over, it switches 
gears entirely, violating all of its principles.  It no longer is interested 
in making us laugh.  Now it wants to lecture us with sappy sermonettes on 
the importance of the little man and the downtrodden.  This cheesy drama is 
as worthless and trite as the comedy is fresh and cute.  Perhaps the way to 
enjoy this movie is to leave as soon as it starts going downhill.  That way, 
you'll have a good time and will remember the movie fondly.  But, if you 
stay until the end, be ready to leave with a bad taste in your mouth. 
You'll probably be angry too that the filmmakers needlessly blew it, turning 
a good movie into one not worth recommending.

The silly setup for the story, which manages to work just fine in the 
context of a comedy, is that Bud's vote isn't counted because of a power 
failure.  The election is so close that the result of a single state, New 
Mexico, will determine who will be the next president.  New Mexico ends in a 
tie vote.

Will President Andrew Boone (Kelsey Grammer), a Republican, be reelected, or 
will Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper), his Democrat challenger, be elected 
instead?  Both candidates are doofuses.  But both are fully willing to 
shamelessly abandon all of their previous political positions, no matter how 
intensely and fervently held, in order to pander to Bud's every whim -- even 
to things Bud doesn't even believe but they mistakenly think he does.  The 
best scenes are hilarious commercials prepared by each side in order to try 
to get Bud's revote, which, by New Mexico law, must occur within ten days 
after the original election.

The catch to the story is that Bud himself never made it to the polls on 
Election Day.  He was drunk as usual, so his daughter Molly, played with 
wonderfully likeable spunk by 12-year-old Madeline Carroll, attempted to 
cast Bud's vote for him.  A further complication is that Bud is oblivious to 
who is even running.  Only Molly cares about the election and the importance 
of citizens voting.

It's too bad that Molly wasn't given a final vote on the script.  Maybe she 
could have negotiated with the writers to give us a brisk and bright 
90-minute comedy rather than a full two-hour part good comedy and part bad 
melodrama.

SWING VOTE runs a long 2:00.  It is rated PG-13 for "language" and would be 
acceptable for kids around 8 and up.

My son Jeffrey, age 19, gave it just barely **.  Although he said that the 
movie had its moments, he said that it made two hours feel like ten.  He 
thought it took too long to get started, and he hated the last part.  He 
found Bud's drinking problem to be sad rather than funny.  Jeffrey's 
girlfriend Yasmin, almost 19, really liked the whole idea of the plot but 
didn't like the movie itself, giving it just **.  She liked the commercials 
in the movie but didn't think much of the rest of it.  She did, however, 
like the daughter.  Yasmin especially did not like the very final scene of 
the movie.

The film opens in nationwide release in the United States on Friday, August 
1, 2008.  In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the 
Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.

Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: Steve.Rhodes at InternetReviews.com

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