When it was funny, I had a good time. When it tried to be serious and high minded, I fell asleep. Kevin Costner stars as Bud Johnson – a down on his luck working class dude (in clichéd “real America”) Texico, New Mexico with a tween daughter, Molly (Madeline Carroll), who is smarter than him and a wife who took off to enjoy drugs instead of supporting the family (this could be a Willie Nelson song). It’s Election Day, and Molly’s class is working on a project about their parents’ voting experiences, but Bud has never been one to take such things all that seriously or think one vote counts for much. After a voting machine malfunction, Bud has to recast his vote, but the stakes are quite high. The Electoral College vote is tied. The state of New Mexico vote is tied, and Bud’s decision will determine the next president of the United States (and, with Judge Reinhold in the cast, I was starting to think the Supreme Court might get involved). Who will Bud vote for? Will the big secret about his election night activities be revealed? Any movie with Richard Petty and Willie Nelson can’t be all that bad, but Swing Vote is a film that is afraid to embrace its goofiness for long periods of time. In spurts, writer/director Joshua Michael Stern, along with co-writer Jason Richman, comes up with some of the funniest, satirical political ads you have ever seen, and somehow allows Bud Johnson to be a lovable loser (even though it’s hard to love a guy who drinks too much, allows his tween daughter to drive his truck home when he is drunk, drinks on the job and has the kid acting like his mother to make him be more responsible). Yet, Stern and Richman are trying too hard to make Swing Vote appeal to too many people and tackle too many issues. The two throw in an entire family drama that isn’t needed as we watch Molly and Bud struggle with the exit of her mother and the pressure they face as the eyes of the world look down upon them. Stern and Richman also make a ham-handed attempt to bring some purity and purpose back to the political system complete with supposedly heartfelt, innocent, non-partisan words flowing out of Bud in his Mr. Smith Goes To Washington moment that turns sincerity into schmaltz. This was the stuff that made me fall asleep for a good ten minutes of Swing Vote. And, guess what? I didn’t miss a thing as I snored and dreamed of Carrie Underwood (and I am sorry to those around me for disturbing them). That’s a horrible sign your movie is not engaging with the audience and not giving us enough twists and turns that matter. Costner tries his best to be Larry The Cable Guy (and succeeds to Git R Done), and is part of the reason we are willing to chuckle at Bud’s horrible parenting and work ethic. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast perfectly fills out their roles in this farce. Kelsey Grammer, as the President, is wonderfully vain and craven about his attempts to establish a legacy. Dennis Hopper is just the right mix of straight laced with a bit of hippie tossed in to be the challenger, and I wish Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci had more screen time in their roles as the campaign advisors. Swing Vote isn’t enough to make you stop avoiding the political season (or inspire a 24-hour session of CNN watching), but has enough moments to make it palatable. Swing Vote is PG-13 for language.
