Movie : Swing Vote

Movie Info

Starring: Kevin Costner, Madeline Carroll, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, more cast
Theatrical Release Date: 08/01/2008
Rating: PG-13
MPAA Reasons: for language
Distributor(s): Touchstone
Production Co.: 1821 Pictures
Director(s): Joshua Michael Stern
Genre(s): Comedy
Themes: Heads of State, Single Parents, Crisis of Conscience
Tone: Wry, Biting, Satirical
Keywords: voting, campaign, election, TV-station, working-class, political-crisis, political-machine, presidential-election
Country of Origin: USA
Language: English

Synopsis

When the mischievous antics of a precocious 12-year-old girl result in the outcome of the United States presidential election hinging on the vote of her apathetic, likable loser of a father, the man who thought that life had long since passed him by is reluctantly thrust into the national spotlight in this political-themed comedy starring Kevin Costner. Bud Johnson (Costner) is your typical American -- a simple man and loving father who never would have thought he had the power to change the world. Though when election day finally arrives and Bud prepares to cast his ballot, his over-achieving daughter Molly proves the catalyst for a stunning series of events that place the fate of the free world in the hands of a man more comfortable slinging cases of beer -- her father. The two candidates will be portrayed by Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, with Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci set to play their campaign managers. George Lopez also stars as a local TV-station manager that has to deal with the political factions as they set up camp in the small town.~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide



Movie Review (cinematical.com)
by Eugene Novikov

'Swing Vote' Jumps on Viral Bandwagon with Campaign Commercials
I know that studio attempts at "viral" internet marketing are a dime a dozen these days, but you should watch this. It's funny.

Swing Vote, due August 1st, presents the wildly improbable scenario that a United States presidential election comes down to one politically apathetic New Mexican's choice, leading the candidates -- an incumbent Republican played by Kelsey Grammer and a Democratic challenger played by Dennis Hopper -- to converge on his tiny hometown and court like they've never courted before. The obvious marketing hook: a campaign ad! Actually four of them, two by each candidate, all targeting Kevin Costner's Bud Johnson. My favorite one is above; the rest are here and here.



I like these because they're done with some nuance; I particularly enjoyed the parodies of real-life candidates' disingenuous tendency to "swing to the middle," decimating whatever convictions they previously claimed to hold to pander to "moderate" swing voters. The folks behind these videos take that to its absurd conclusion, of course, with the Republican uncomfortably embracing gay marriage and the Democrat haranguing his opponent about not being pro-life enough. The latter's the video I've embedded at the top of the post -- it cracked me up.