Movie Info:
Writer: Jason Richman, Joshua Michael Stern
Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Cast: Kevin Costner, Madeline Carroll, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, George Lopez, Judge Reinhold, Charles Esten, Richard Petty, Willie Nelson, Mare Winningham
Rating: PG 13
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Release Info:
Theatrical Release: August 1, 2008
DVD Release Date: January 13, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $25.99
There was a brief point in time when Kevin Costner movies and I just didn’t get along. Maybe I was just being too picky. Then again, maybe he went through some weird movie mid-life crisis sort of thing. Either way, for some time, when I heard Kevin Costner alongside the words “new film” I would cringe. With that in mind, paired with the fact that this looked like a lighthearted family comedy, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. Being completely honest, my expectations were pretty low for Swing Vote. They couldn’t have been much lower unless RuPaul had been one of the presidential nominees. Luckily, that was not the case.
The thing that convinced me to want to see Swing Vote was more about the supporting cast than it was the main cast. Knowing people like Stanley Tucci, Nathan Lane, George Lopez, Judge Reinhold, and a host of others were in this made me want to see it, even if my body initially rejected the idea. Now that I have seen it I have to say that despite it not being my normal cup of tea, it was actually pretty good.
Swing Vote has an interesting, though fictional story, good acting, and an fun feeling to it. It’s suitable for the whole family, but it’s something that adults can enjoy without any problem on their own. There are light elements of romance, but it’s more of a character driven comedy. Political aficionados should enjoy this to some extent as it shows the occasional absurdities of politics.
It’s not the kind of movie that will spend hours afterwards making you think, but it will offer a good time and it’s certainly worth seeing more than once. Swing Vote is a feel good movie and there is nothing wrong with that!
The Swing Vote Plot
Kevin Costner plays Bud Johnson, a stereotypical good ole’ boy that doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but doesn’t particularly care about them or their problems either. He’s a single father living in the small, unknown town of Texico, New Mexico. While he spends time drinking beer and working at the egg factory, when he’s not causing trouble, his daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll) is concerned with the issues.
When the movie begins, it’s election day and Molly needs Bud to meet her at the polling place because she needs his voting stub for a school project. Bud lets Molly down all the time, but he promises that he will be there, even though he has no clue who the candidates are. Furthermore, why would he care, everyone knows one man’s vote doesn’t count anyway?
Little does Bud know, this one time one man’s vote will count. In the closest race in history, it’s down to one vote from Texico, New Mexico. It’s down to Bud Johnson’s vote. The only problem is that Bud Johnson didn’t technically vote. When he doesn’t show up at the polling place (he knocked himself out after running into a “Vote Now” sign) Molly takes things into her own hands and attempts to vote for him. Only the machine shuts off and Bud becomes the deciding vote for the Presidency.
Learning that Bud Johnson is the one vote left in all of America, the Republican President, Andrew Boone (Kelsey Grammer) and the Democratic Nominee, Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper) hightail it to Texico to woo the final vote. They are determined to build a campaign around one man and one vote. The lengths that they will go to is ridiculous, but it’s apparent both men are good.
Unfortunately, their campaign managers are not so honest. Working for the President is Martin Fox (Stanley Tucci). He builds campaigns on lies while stealing ideas, but he’s never lost a campaign. Meanwhile, Art Crumb (Nathan Lane) works for the Democrats. He’s never won a campaign though he runs honest and believable campaigns. Neither man is ready to lose and it’s apparent that the Nominees and Bud are stuck in the middle of their war.
Both sides woo Johnson and go to incredible lengths to promise anything they think he wants if it will help to get his vote. Molly is quick to catch on to their game and she begins to resent Bud because he takes advantage of all of the extras that both sides are offering him. Molly, a true-hearted kid, is worried about all of the people that are writing Bud letters, hoping he will take the responsibility of choosing the president seriously. As the short window to learn about the candidates comes to a close it is up to Bud to do his daughter right and help America or to pick the guy who is willing to become down home enough to please him the most.
It was great to see so many of my favorite actors in one movie. The acting was great and the young Miss Carroll was a great choice in casting for Molly. Everything worked out great and though it seems like one of those movies that will miss the mark, it actually hits it dead on.
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Acting:
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Audio/Visual:
Swing Vote comes with a 1080p AVC transfer and a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. Things look good overall. The detail is high and the level of sharpness looks good. The colors are a bit off in some areas. The outside scenes at times have some color problems and do not look as good as they could. However, the more subtle scenes look much nicer. Still despite some small color issues, the video quality for Swing Vote still ranks pretty high. The annoyances are kept to a minimum and you should be able to enjoy the movie and the quality with little problems.
The sound quality for Swing Vote is nearly perfect. The DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 doesn’t offer any major problems. There are plenty of scenes in the movie, especially when the media arrives in Texico that show off the surround sound capabilities. Things have never sounded better, which is mildly surprising since I am used to action films looking and sounding the best in Blu-ray. A Spanish track is also available in Dolby Digital 5.1. Finally, some subtitles in English and Spanish are available.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
Surprisingly, the bonus features here are a little basic. All of the extreme basics are represented, but at the end of the day that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Among the basics you are able to enjoy a somewhat flat commentary by the likes of Joshua Michael Stern and Jason Richman, a small selection of deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary, and various previews.
There is a music video by Costner’s real life band. If you’ve watched the film you have already seen them perform, but this gives you another chance to see them. The only other special features is “Inside the Campaign: The Politics of Production” which is a small, but interesting look at the Pundits that have cameos in Swing Vote.
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Bottom Line:
I had a great time watching Swing Vote. While I watched it alone, I would have no problem letting the kids see it. It was well acted and fun to watch. There were plenty of moments where I laughed. I loved how many layers there were to the characters. They were not just basic cardboard stereotypes of what you might expect. They were written to feel like actual people and this certainly helped the movie considerably. It was a great film and I highly recommend checking it out on Blu-ray.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Blu-ray Review, Swing Vote, Touchstone Pictures, Voting, New Mexico, Kevin Costner
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