Sunday, August 03, 2008

Movie Review: Swing Vote



I don't know if the movie "Swing Vote" could have been made before the 2000 election, but after unlikely photo-finishes in both the Gore-Bush race, and a couple of statewide races here in Washington, you may be more likely to willingly suspend your sense of disbelief.
The movie occurs during a presidential campaign. Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner) is a happy-go-lucky drinker who has a low paying job in a factory and is pretty much raised by his grade school age daughter, Molly who is serious minded and scolding. Bud has a heart, but always seems to miss the mark when it comes to responsibility. Politically savvy Molly sneakily registers Bud to vote, but politics do not show up on Bud's radar screen. He does promise to vote, but when a night of heavy drinking gets in the way, Molly sneaks a vote in for President in Bud's name. A glitch however stops it from counting. When the race ends up in a dead heat, all attention turns to Bud. He soon become a national celebrity and the results are hilarious.
Both presidential camps go to hilarious attempts to capture Bud's vote, that is where the real satire comes in. Both candidates seem sincere, but are influenced by there handlers. Kelsey Grammer plays the incumbent presidential candidate Andrew Boone, Stanley Tucci, plays his handler loosely based on Karl Rove. Dennis Hopper plays the Democratic candidate, Donald Greenleaf, with his handler played hilarously by Nathan Lane.

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