by Karyn Beach

I’ve never been a big Kevin Costner fan. And in this hyper-political climate, the idea of watching a political film did not appeal to me. Yet, by the end of Swing Vote, my vote had changed.

Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner) is an alcoholic single dad who spends his days working in a New Mexico egg factory and his nights drowning his sorrows in the local watering holes. His 13-year old daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll) is the responsible one. Bright, smart as a whip and wise beyond her years, she needs her father to vote as part of a social studies project. When he fails to show up at the polling place, she manages to sneak in and cast his vote. At least she tries to, before a ‘malfunction’ occurs.

Through the kind of twist of fate that can only happen in the movies, the presidential race is in a dead hit and it all comes down to Bud’s flawed vote. The decision is made to let him recast his vote in 10 days. Media the president (Kelsey Grammar) and his opponent (Dennis Hopper) descend on this small New Mexico town in hopes of swaying this sole voter.

Swing Vote succeeds on two levels. First as a study in the father-daughter dynamic, Costner and Carroll have a genuine charisma and the relationship is portrayed with flaws and all. Even by the end, their relationship might have grown but it was still far from perfect.
As far as the politics, Swing Vote manages to stay on the fence. Instead of looking at the election from a Democrat and Republican perspective, it takes the view that there are good men on both sides, men with good intentions who often get swept up in the drive to win at all cost. If there are any bad guys, they are the campaign managers, played by Stanley Tucci and Nathan Lane that urge their reluctant candidates down an increasingly preposterous road.

In an effort to win over Bud, both candidates take comments he’s made to the extreme and flip-flop on some major issues more than a stack of IHOP pancakes. Some of the film’s funniest moments involve ads on gay marriage, immigration and abortion.

Swing Vote is all about what lengths people are willing to go to in order to win. Paula Patton plays an ambitious reporter who has to decide just how far she’s willing to go to get to a major anchor desk. I was personally glad that there wasn’t a relationship between Bud and Patton’s Kate and Costner’s Bud. Not because of the interracial aspect but because it would be ridiculous to pair a woman as together and intelligent as her character with the likes of Bud.

Towards the end, there is a ‘moving’ speech that some might find a bit too excessive, but overall Swing Vote gets my vote.