Swing Vote

When the mischievous antics of a precocious 12-year-old girl result in the outcome of the United States presidential election hinging on the vote of her apathetic, likable loser of a father, the man who thought that life had long since passed him by is reluctantly thrust into the national spotlight ...more

Former heartthrob Kevin Costner looks a little worse for wear in the satirical political comedy Swing Vote, but that's probably the intention. Costner's character, the lunkheaded Earnest "Bud" Johnson, represents working class Americans threatened by topical issues such as insourcing and outsourcing of their jobs to immigrants and foreign countries as they toil in the flyover states that many coastal dwellers tend to forget. Costner's leathery skin and unkempt hair are physical indicators that ...more

Anyone with a basic understanding of election procedures knows that the American presidency can't be decided by a single voter; even if one county is tied, as in Swing Vote, it's the statewide popular count that determines which candidate receives the electoral votes (see Florida, 2000). But Joshua Michael Stern's film isn't going for plausibility. It's a full-on satire, taking literally the idea that every vote counts, and whatever prejudices Kevin Costner may inspire in a viewer, they don't ...more