Swing Vote (2008)

In a remarkable turn-of-events, the result of the presidential election comes down to one man's vote.

Director:

Joshua Michael Stern

Writers:

Jason Richman, Joshua Michael Stern

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Costner	...	Bud Johnson
Madeline Carroll	...	Molly Johnson
Paula Patton	...	Kate Madison
Kelsey Grammer	...	President Andrew Boone
Dennis Hopper	...	Donald Greenleaf
Nathan Lane	...	Art Crumb
Stanley Tucci	...	Martin Fox
George Lopez	...	John Sweeney
Judge Reinhold	...	Walter
Charles Esten	...	Lewis (as Charles 'Chip' Esten)
Richard Petty	...	Richard Petty
Willie Nelson	...	Willie Nelson
Mare Winningham	...	Larissa Johnson
Mark Moses	...	Attorney General Wyatt
Nana Visitor	...	Galena Greenleaf

Storyline

November, 2004, New Mexico. Bud is a slacker with one good thing in his life, his engaging fifth-grade daughter Molly. On election day, Bud is supposed to meet her at the polling place. When he doesn't show, she sneaks a ballot and is about to vote when the power goes off. It turns out that New Mexico's electoral votes will decide the contest, and there it's tied with one vote needing recasting - Bud's. The world's media and both presidential candidates, including the current President, descend on Bud in anticipation of his re-vote in two weeks. Can the clueless Bud, even with the help of Molly and a local TV reporter, handle this responsibility?

---

Plot Keywords:

awakened by one's daughter | father daughter relationship | presidential candidate | election returns | election coverage | 

---

Taglines:

Hey, America, This Guy's for You

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie has a similar plotline to "Popeye for President" (1951).

---

Goofs

When the election officials visit Bud and Molly for the second time, Bud asks if they can move the news people further back, because they did't get much sleep the night before. One of the election officials turns and signals the agent with ear piece standing behind them to go sort it out. As he walks off, he lifts his left sleeve to speak into the microphone, then quickly switches to his right sleeve once he realizes his mistake.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Radio Announcer: After a hotly contested race, Americans go to the polls today in what promises to be a very close election. The Republican Andrew Boone, hoping to hold on to the Oval Office by edging out the Democratic challenger Donald Greenleaf.

---

Crazy Credits

"and introducing Madeline Carroll"

---

Connections

Referenced in 30 Rock: Unwindulax (2012)

---

Soundtracks

Fiesta
Written by Daniel Indart
Performed by Mariachi La Estrella
Courtesy of LMS Records
By Arrangement with MS-Pro

User Reviews

Costner's Charisma and a Couple of Sharp Jabs at Dems and Republicans

"Swing Vote" is a good movie. It could have been great, but it isn't, but it is still good. At its best, it invokes Frank Capra's classic films on politics, including "Meet John Doe" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." It never reaches their level, though, and that failure to hit the top is a bit frustrating.

An older, dumpier, and shabbier Kevin Costner is the best part of the film. Costner is a star and that shows here. Even the grunge that is his costume in almost every scene can't disguise his charisma. Costner's voice has not aged and he uses it to great effect, especially in a final speech.

The film draws laughs by parodying our two major political parties, with a Democratic presidential candidate starring in the funniest anti-abortion TV commercial ever made (no doubt its competition was slim, but it is very funny) and a Republican presidential candidate touting his party's tender concern for the environment.

These excellent scenes make you wish that the movie had gone deeper. It doesn't, though. It veers off into dead-end soap opera subplots about Costner's daughter's boyfriend from school and her attempt to live with her estranged mother (Mare Winningham, in a role that should have ended up on the editing room floor, as it contributes nothing to the film.) The casting wasn't great. The two presidential candidates and their aids end up being cardboard cut-out stereotypes of Machiavellian evil (Stanley Tucci) and compromise (Nathan Lane). Kelsey Grammar and Dennis Hopper, as the candidates, never transcend their "Frasier" and "Easy Rider" personas. Other actors, perhaps unknowns, should have been cast in these two key roles.

Paula Patton, the woman who played what would have been the Barbara Stanwyck role in the Frank Capra movie, was pretty as a little doll and a complete bore. This is part of a pattern in today's Hollywood; female leads must have the perfectly perky looks of a plastic doll; there's no need for them to be talented. Male leads, like Costner, can be beat-up, and slovenly, but must be talented. Patton's role, that of the desperate, sharp, female reporter who gains inside knowledge of a national story, is underwritten, and she does nothing with it. It's a dead-end, and that's a shame. It makes me want to rewatch "Meet John Doe" in which Stanwyck worked so well as the female reporter.

Overall, though, this movie is better than much else at the multiplex, and it at least ventures into the world of ideas.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Swing Vote

Filming Locations:

New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$21,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,230,669, 3 August 2008

Gross USA:

$16,289,867

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,635,397

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Radar Pictures, 1821 Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1