Movie Review: Swing Vote

You have to give Costner lots of credit here. His own money, rumored to be around 20 million or so, went into financing this movie. Cast as the downbeat good for nothing Ernest Bud Johnson this slacker gets upstaged constantly by his smart as a whip daughter, Molly. We all know it’s tough to raise a child in a single family home only this slob takes the cake. Unlike his daughter, Bud has no appetite to take part in anything meaningful, preferring to pursue a dead end job while drinking himself silly.

Against this home life misery Bud somehow makes it to prime time as apparently his messed up ballot may in fact hold the key to the presidency of the United States. Sound far fetched? Well, in the wake of the missing chads in Florida just about anything is possible in the skullduggery of politics, North American style.

Director/writer Joshua Michael Stern sure does have a keen eye for the electoral process and nails the political machines down pat. Naturally, there are two competitors for the presidency now vying for Bud’s seal of approval. Off we go to the sticks in a hick town in New Mexico as the Johnson family is turned upside down.

Fans of politics will get a charge out of this movie thanks to the pitch perfect performances of all those insiders who try to influence poor old Bud. Costner is good but that drinking and boorish no care attitude does grow a bit on you. Much better and redeemable is the work of Madeline Carroll (The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause) who is terrific as a wise beyond her years twelve year old who can teach good old dad (and adults in general) a thing or two about life – or doing the right thing.