Review of Swing Vote (2008) by Aaron C — 02 Nov 2009

Bud Johnson is a slacker and a lovable loser from Texico, New Mexico. He works at the local egg factory, a job he hardly cares about and he used to play in a Willie Nelson tribute band until most of the members ended up in jail. The only good thing Bud has in his life is his engaging fifth-grade daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll). Due to the fact that Bud has a hard time taking care of himself, Molly has been forced to grow up a bit faster than most kids in the same age.

The election day of the President of The United States is at hand, and Bud is supposed to meet Molly at the polling place. Molly sees this as a very important day, so when Bud does not show up, 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 is a tie with one vote that needs to be recast. And that is Buds. In an instant Bud becomes a household name and the world media puts all the attention on him. The presidential candidates does of course as well whatever they can to get his vote. The pressure is on Buds shoulders to make the right decision. Something that will effect the future of the world.

I might as well say it straight away, I am a fan of Kevin Costner. Have been since "Silverado" in 1985. Ok, fair enough his choices of movies have been a bit floaty since "The Postman', but I still think he is a strong actor. Unfortunately, "Swing Vote" is kind of continuing Costners wishy washy movie choices. I reckon the storyline offers an intriguing backdrop at some point, but this never becomes that exciting until the actual end. The speech Bud is holding in the final conclusion, is somewhat emotional and it brings out some important thoughts. Costner is not bad as Bud, but I do prefer to see him doing a bit "smarter" characters. And I reckon Madeline Carroll is quite good as Molly. "Swing Vote" is ok, but not much more.