 "Photo: Photo courtesy Treehouse Films")
The box office failure of such recent war films as "Redacted," "In the Valley of Elah" and "Rendition" has made movie studios reluctant to bankroll any film that addresses America's current political climate. The new Kevin Costner comedy "Swing Vote" is, for at least 75 percent of its runtime, one of the most politically conscious movies so far. However, it might actually get audiences interested because a) it's not a gritty war drama and b) it features two lead performances so charismatic and funny that audiences will focus on them over the topical statements the movie labors to make.
The two leads are Kevin Costner as Earnest "Bud" Johnson and 12-year-old newcomer Madeline Carroll as his daughter, Molly. The dynamic they share is a familiar one: Bud is a semi-alcoholic, semi-deadbeat dad, but his irascible daughter is preternaturally intelligent and wise. While the setup isn't exactly original, the chemistry Costner (in one of his better recent performances) and Carroll create is enough to keep "Swing Vote" rolling even when it loses track of itself in the final 20 minutes.
The film takes place during election time, and the two presidential candidates, incumbent President Andrew Boone (Kelsey Grammar) and Democratic challenger Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper), are so evenly matched that the entire election comes down to one vote in the comically rundown small town of Texico, New Mexico.
Guess which recently laid-off single dad holds the deciding ballot?
The rest of the film involves Bud alternately courted by both candidates. "Swing Vote" is at its best here, as Bud's political apathy reveals both parties as approval-seeking media whores. The candidates compromise their ideals and platforms to win the last vote. "You're ruining America!" exclaims a disenchanted Molly after one especially pandering political ad.
Sadly, whatever satirical points "Swing Vote" makes in this middle section are forgotten in the soggy third act, which practically kills itself trying to show Bud's transformation into a conscientious American citizen. Costner delivers a climactic monologue that is passionate but overwritten and needlessly sentimental. Many of the film's most interesting characters are also left out in the cold. Stanley Tucci and Nathan Lane, as competing campaign advisers, should have received more screen time. More focus on the candidates would have been nice as well, as both are layered, likable characters. Other cast members, including Paula Patton, George Lopez and Judge Reinhold, get a few funny lines and not much else. The score is also fairly pedestrian.
Nevertheless, Costner and Carroll are able to carry the movie. The rapport between the two is believable enough to forgive the screenplay's sledgehammer political jabs and its final lapse into sapiness. Costner is one of the film's producers, and it is obvious that he believed in the project. If only the script had a few more drafts, maybe America would have gotten its first totally successful political film in quite some time.
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