Movie News & Reviews

The new decider

You've had it drummed into your skull since junior high civics class: Every single vote counts. Diebold machines and hanging chads notwithstanding, it's still a resonant, if improbable, message that any citizen of our nation might cast the deciding vote in an election.

"Swing Vote" puts a serio-comic twist on the premise, turning a trailer park layabout (Kevin Costner) into the sole decider of a presidential tie.


Through a mechanical malfunction, Bud's ballot is not recorded and he is allowed to cast it again. But first he is courted one-on-one by the Republican incumbent (Kelsey Grammer) and Democratic challenger (Dennis Hopper), who converge on his flyspeck hometown to convince disenfranchised Bud that they deserve his vote.



The bits are funny in and of themselves. The anti-abortion spot features a playground full of happy children who vanish one by one in little mushroom-cloud poofs. But the ads are also a well-deserved poke at candidates' tendency to compromise their ideals and run to the middle as Election Day nears.

Costner is a master at this kind of lovable loser role. He is blissfully silly in a scene where he hears a no-nonsense knock on the door, concludes that the child protection authorities are after him again, and slips a crucifix necklace over his daughter's head.



The film is handsomely produced, with an all-star cast including Stanley Tucci and Nathan Lane as PR spinmeisters. Costner poured $21 million of his own money into it. Like many vanity projects, it's a bit overlong and self-important.


"Swing Vote" doesn't take the facile route of mocking and blaming politicians, with Costner's character as national savior. Bud has convictions, sort of, and a core of decency, but he is woefully uninformed and lazy -- a real mainstream American, the film implies.

It takes his precocious daughter to shame him into making more of an effort to understand the issues and the consequences of his decision.

"Swing Vote" captures the spirit of an election year in which many once-apathetic Americans are keenly interested in the outcome. We have met the enemy and he is us. But so is the hero.