July 22, 2009: Swing Vote
I was intrigued by the idea of Swing Vote when I saw previews, but it certainly didn’t seem like anything requiring me to rush out to the theatre. Sure enough, the concept plays out in a thoughtful way and lots of territory is explored or at least acknowledged, though in the end it’s kind of a throwaway movie.
Swing Vote is about an everyday American man, played by Kevin Costner, who through a series of plausible but unlikely snafus around voting technology and the US electoral system, needs to re-cast his vote and because the election is otherwise a tie, the choice of the next US President hangs on this single vote. During the few weeks leading up to the scheduled re-casting of his vote, Costner is lobbied by Democrats and Republicans including personal efforts by the incumbent president and his challenger. Misinterpretation of Costner’s frequent off-the-cuff remarks leads to wildly reactive policy flip-flops as each party tries its best to secure the win at whatever cost, largely driven by the intensely competitive campaign managers from both sides. In the end, Costner makes his selection but we don’t find out who he chooses. Complicating all of this is the fact that his precocious and politically-minded daughter, in an attempt to engage her politically disengaged father, actually submitted the vote for him in violation of the law, and they try to avoid letting that fact become known.
There are some big names in this flick. Costner is known for his wildly uneven acting, and while I don’t always think he’s so bad, he’s pretty horrible here. Kelsey Grammer (TV’s Frasier) and Dennis Hopper (of Easy Rider fame, among many many other iconic and intense roles through the decades) play the incumbent president and his rival, respectively, and they bring some valuable nuance to their roles, as they go through parallel transformations from slimy politicians to guys who really can’t bear to put their name to the ongoing shenanigans as their credibility is eroded away. They also both know to keep it light – this movie asks a whimsical what-if question – it doesn’t purport to provide a balanced analysis. Stanley Tucci and Nathan Lane as the blinkered campaign managers come across as the well-meaning but seriously flawed pit bulls they are supposed to be, and exploration of the frustrated campaign history of Lane’s character brings unexpected depth to the question of whether the best man ever wins.
Swing Vote is a Bulworth-esque political comedy-drama, with a good point to make but not intending to bring a heavy or serious resolution. I was surprised to see that it had a 1 hour and 59 minute running time, since I would have expected something more like 1 hour and 46 minutes for this type of movie, but fortunately it turned out OK despite the extra length. One or two of the lobbying flip-flops could have been cut, but it’s clear that everyone was having so much fun with playing out the ideas that they wanted to keep them all in. There’s no real reason to see this movie, and a few reasons not to, so don’t go out of your way, but it will be fun if you like the players and/or want to escape into some US electoral craziness for a couple of hours.
An empty shell isn’t always bad.
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