Touchtone Pictures / Ben GlassReview in a Hurry: Like so many presidential candidates, Swing Vote falls victim to unfulfilled promises, wasted opportunities and smug self-satisfaction.
The Bigger Picture: Molly Johnson (Madeline Carroll) and her father Bud (Kevin Costner) live in a tiny New Mexico town, struggling to get by. Adrift in booze and poverty, Bud has little interest in the upcoming presidential election, but Molly insists he vote. Before his choice is counted, the voting machine malfunctions. The candidates are neck and neck, and the entire election falls on Bud's scruffy shoulders.
This is a perfect concept for a sharp political comedy, and it took real work to screw it up. At first, the film gleefully dives into the candidates' desperation with a shameless lack of subtlety. The Republican president's advisor (Stanley Tucci) is Martin Fox. The eco-conscious Democratic candidate's name is Greenleaf. (We get it, we get it!) But when are politics ever subtle? Grand gestures, poll-driven platforms, "big idea" speeches—that's the game, folks.
Bud's the perfect agent of change from politics as usual, as per the Mainstream Movie Playbook, but he sees the light way too late, spending endless scenes hobnobbing with candidates and soaking up the world's attention. The movie clunks along aimlessly, and finally, when Bud is about to hit Capra-esque heights, the plot darts into left field with an overdramatic subplot about the dysfunctional Johnson family.
Was this a political satire or a family drama? Swing Vote should have stayed on message.
The 180—a Second Opinion: Kid actors can make or break a movie. Overly precocious, they're annoying and manipulative. Sincere and intelligent, they can charm the socks off an audience. Consider this audience socks-less—Carroll is fantastic as the tic-free and lovable Molly.