Swing Vote (2008)

Director:

Joshua Michael Stern

Writers:

Jason Richman (written by) &
Joshua Michael Stern (written by)

Release Date:

1 August 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

One ordinary guy is giving the candidates a reason to run.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Bowling | U.S. President | Presidential Campaign | Father Daughter Relationship | Political

US Showtimes:

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Cast

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
Richard Petty	...	Himself
Willie Nelson	...	Himself
Mare Winningham	...	Larissa Johnson
Mark Moses	...	Attorney General Wyatt
Nana Visitor	...	Galena Greenleaf

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language.

Runtime:

USA:120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 CORRECT: CORRECT: REPLACE WITH: (certificate #44167) REPLACE WITH: (certificate #44167) | USA:PG-13 CORRECT: REPLACE WITH: (certificate #44167) | UK:12A | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec)

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Treehouse Films (II)

Goofs:

Continuity: At Kate's table, when Molly is confessing to Kate, the phone is ringing. When Kate watches the "hidden camera" replay, we do not hear the phone.

Quotes:

Bud Johnson: America needs someone who's bigger than their speeches.

Movie Connections:

Features "Hardball with Chris Matthews" (1997)

Soundtrack:

El Toro Bravo

If you buy into it, you'll love it.

Yes, the whole concept is absurd, and as a result the film will probably take a lot of criticism, but I really enjoyed every minute of it at an early screening this evening. I enjoy Kevin Costner's work except when he tries to go action hero and he is thankfully getting too old for that unless he decides to buy growth hormone from Stallone or something. He was terrific in Mr. Brooks and he excels once again in a totally different role. It is the sort of character that he does best, more akin to his "Bull Durham" role.

The real find of the film was Madeline Carrol who played his daughter. She joins Abagail Breslin, Dakota Fanning , and Anna Sophia Robb in a current crop of extremely talented tweeners.

I enjoyed the entire cast and it was great to see Judge Reinhold for the first time in awhile.

The whole concept of how Costner's vote becomes so important is one that is hard to swallow, but if you go along for the ride I promise that you will have a great time.

Late in the film Mare Winningham appears in perhaps the films most powerful though least appropriate scene. It is her only scene. I believe it was used to hammer in a serious message though the scene had little to do with the message of the film other than shift to a more sober mood. Sober may not have been the best choice of words to describe the scene though.

One of the nicer aspects of the film is its terrific music. A mix of tunes from several decades centered around Marshall Tucker's "Can't You See" really makes for a nice soundtrack.

Ultimately the film has a great message about the importance of one person, one vote. And if it gets a lot more democrats(whoops I mean Americans) to vote this year, then in my opinion it will have done a great public service in addition to being solidly entertaining. And no, it does not have a liberal agenda, so all you Rush fans need to hold judgment before slamming the film. Unlike this reviewer, the film is really good at not taking a political stance. The film depicts all politicians as if they would stoop to anything to get elected, and garners a lot of laughs with that premise.

I want to add one last thing. I would call this a family movie except for the profanity. I took my 9 year old precocious daughter and she loved it, but there was actually a running joke about Costner's character's love of swearing. So if a little swearing and some references to controversial issues (abortion, gay marriage, legal pot) are OK with you, bring the kids. Like I said, it does have a good message.