From Deseret News archives:
Swing Vote
Film review
But Capra and Sturges would have never stooped to the depths that this buffoonish comedy does. Witness its irksome, nearly offensive use of character stereotypes.
What's disappointing, though, is that we want to like the film. Unfortunately, it keeps doing things that make that nearly impossible. Such as a rather dubious sequence in which Kevin Costner sings.
Costner stars as "Bud" Johnson, an alcoholic single father who's just lost his latest, dead-end job and is on the verge of losing his much-smarter daughter, Molly (Madeline Carroll).
She's insisting that he cast his vote in the presidential election, but he wastes that opportunity by drinking in a pool hall instead. So Molly sneaks into the polling place to cast a vote on his behalf even though that's illegal.
As unbelievable as it may seem, that vote may decide the presidency, since a crucial electoral vote hangs in the balance. But thanks to a momentary power outage, Bud's supposed ballot isn't counted.
Co-screenwriter/director Joshua Michael Stern's film may be well-intentioned. But his inexperience behind the camera really shows in the broader comic scenes.
Also, at nearly two full hours, the film is too long by at least 20 minutes, and the dumb subplot about a wannabe network television newswoman (Paula Patton) only drags it down more.
That said, the television-ad spoofs are sort of amusing, and you can't fault Costner, who seems to be having fun for a change. He's well-matched with relative newcomer Carroll, too. So maybe we'll forgive him for the singing.
"Swing Vote" is rated PG-13 for occasional strong profanity (including one usage of the so-called "R-rated" curse word), some brief, violent imagery (violent arrests, done for laughs, and target shooting), derogatory slurs and language, and some vulgar humor (belching) and references. Running time: 119 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com
Recent comments
This was a very enjoyable movie and the only buffonish thing about it...
Anonymous | March 7, 2009 at 1:32 p.m.
Cast: Kevin Costner, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, Judge Reinhold, George Lopez, Willie Nelson, Mare Winningham
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