Kevin Costner stars in the hilarious timely comedy Swing Vote as Bud Johnson, an Average Joe, who is coasting through life with the help of Molly, his wise-beyond-her-years daughter. In a remarkable turn-of-events, the res... more »ult of the presidential election comes down to his vote. Costner is joined by a brilliant all-star cast including Dennis Hopper, Kelsey Grammer, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci and George Lopez who will stop at nothing to win over the vote of the man who holds the fate of the free word.« less
Sharon F. (Shar) from AVON PARK, FL Reviewed on 11/15/2021...
Great family night movie. The little girl is so good in her role...very believable. And Kevin Costner can do no wrong in my book. Very entertaining and well worth your time.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Shawna B. (Asforever18) from VISALIA, CA Reviewed on 12/31/2013...
This film is about a man and his daughter. He becomes a write in on a ballot for holding a state position. His daughter helps by doing everything she can to make him look like the best candidate for the job. He goes on a smooth campaign tour until things about his life and simple way of living are questioned. A typical campaign ride with a surprise ending. Not one of my favorite films, but one I watch occasionally. This review is not very detailed as my usual reviews as I haven't watched in a while. It's a film you should see at least once especially if you like comedy mixed with drama all in one. Happy Viewing and I hope you like it!
0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Deb B. from EUCLID, OH Reviewed on 12/26/2009...
GREAT SHOW kids are still talking about it they also watched and re-watched it over and over again loved it thinks
0 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Mary L. (marymix) from NANTUCKET, MA Reviewed on 11/21/2009...
I enjoyed this very much. The story archtype is the down-and-outer who believes he's lost everything finally finding enough gumption to pull himself out of his hole and do the right thing. Throw in a dose of patriotism, love, and honor, and the good guys win.
There are plenty of heart-warming moments, and funny moments, but there is also mild bad language throughout the film. One interesting plot line is watching the politicians struggle alongside the main character to define what they stand for.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Jami C. (wearthergirl90) from ROBERSONVILLE, NC Reviewed on 6/29/2009...
My family and I watched this last night. Or rather, we all started to but then my brother and I left the room and my parents finished watching it.
There was curse words that I found offensive, though mostly it was the G-D word that made me leave the room.
Here is the parental advisory from IMDB.
Sex & Nudity
It briefly focuses on a woman's chest. You don't see anything
Violence & Gore
none
Profanity
There is one F-word; however, the movie contained more than 24 expletives, earning it a PG-13 for language.
-At least 15 uses of sh-t (some cruder than others, i.e. sh-t hole, full of sh-t). -Around 4 uses of G-damn. -A few uses of ass. -Other milder language-
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking
Bud gets drunk a few times, and often shows him drinking. There are scenes in a bar, where people are smoking and drinking. In a different scene, there is a sign that says "Marijuana is Medicine".
Frightening/Intense Scenes
none
3 of 14 member(s) found this review helpful.
Suzanne B. Reviewed on 2/12/2009...
So bad I could not even watch the whole movie.
2 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
One clever idea turned into a long, predictable movie
G.V. | Mexico City, Mexico | 01/10/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"If you enjoy 2 hours of Kevin Costner acting like a slob and 2 minutes (at the very end) of his heroic customary speeches in which his voice cracks down while defending his less fortunate fellow men, well, this is the movie for you. Personally I found this very similar to ARTHUR in which the prospect of watching the part of a stupid drunk for a long time gets more and more annoying. I also had a hard time buying his wholesome daughter and after watching her Mom and Dad it becomes impossible to understand how she could turn out that wonderful. The movie itself is all one clever idea with very mediocre dialogue, flat jokes and lacking any surprises."
Portrayal of Americans?
TDM | Colorado Springs, CO | 02/22/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Swing Vote surprised me, it was actually a decently entertaining movie. I thought it was as well written as it could have been for a movie that is somewhat limited in the direction it could take. There were laugh out loud moments and other moments of pure corniness. Kevin Costner plays a great Drunk and uniformed father but I thought the special role was played by his co star on screen daughter.
The movie fell short in some areas:
#1 once again the portrayal of American politicians whether democrat or republican was harsh and phony. How stupid can we make our president look?.
#2 This would have been better if they cut out the swear words and made it into more of a PG family film. It was right in that gray area where I wouldn't want young kids to watch but it could have been a great movie if they hadn't tried to make it more of an adult hit.
#3 If they actually wanted to make this movie more for adults then they didn't go far enough and they made every single character except for the daughter look too stupid to even live life. Or was that the point?
#4 Personally the way the movie sums up is a little rough. But that is for you to decide.
Overall will you enjoy this movie? Yeah I think so but it could have been better and I think you will wish the same thing? Is it better than a lot of movies out there? Yes so it isn't a complete life waster. Just warning you though it is somewhat enjoyable you will probably wish for changes by the end."
Predictable, but somewhat heartwarming
The Tao of Netflix | Washington, DC | 10/10/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"First off, the movie was 2 hours long, at least 30 minutes longer than it needed to be. Quite a bit of filler nonsense that didn't add value. That notwithstanding, it was a cute movie, and somewhat heartwarming. The eventual connection of real american issues to the campaign race was a salient reminder of the disconnect between average american issues and the things that CNN and foxnews choose to focus on. To that point, it was an interesting, albeit slightly subtle, satire on american media, and the absolute absurd extent to which its mandate for factual news reporting has been so sadly clouded by its corporate profiteering motives. There was a good commentary about personal redemption too. As the candidates attempted to woo Costner, they eventually questioned their own motives. Further, Costner did as well. Together, they all came to realizations that emphasized the need to be true to oneself. That's a good message, and one often lost in our sardonic society. Overall though, again, the acting was decent (c'mon, Costner is a guilty pleasure and its ok), high production values, decent (albeit wholly predictable) story line, etc. Worth a rental, just be prepared to fast forward through the ennui."
90 minutes of yawns followed by an OK speech
T. Johnson | Portland, OR | 05/24/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I fell asleep a couple times during this movie because it was so boring. Kevin Costner's acting was less than stellar. The girl was OK but the movie was too boring for me to care. It all felt completely contrived. There was no depth to anything in the movie either, except for the final speech which was the only 2 minutes of the movie worth watching.
Really the whole message of that speech is that Americans (yes Kevin represents most of us) are lazy, ignorant, selfish people who deserve the politicians that we put in office with our ignorance and falling for their manipulative advertisements. After I gave it a little thought, I find this highly offensive.
Regardless, the movie was boring, bland, predictable, and I wish I had not wasted my time watching it. It's not HORRIBLE it's just not good.
"
A good solid, though not spectacular, effort at political an
terpfan1980 | Somewhere near Washington DC, United States | 01/17/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"My wife and I watched Swing Vote on Blu-ray and found it enjoyable, though not necessarily much more than middle of the road for the overall package.
While the Blu-ray touts high def (HD) picture and sound, the picture quality is nice but not much more than that as unfortunately there is just not much impressive scenery throughout the film to really wow the audience with. What is there looks nice, and there are a couple of what could be called scenic shots, but much of the film takes place indoors and/or is compromised of a bunch of close-up shots of the characters that really drive the film.
The story itself is cute but quite predictable election and family relationship comedy with Kevin Costner and Madeline Carroll. Costner plays the part of a bum that is nicknamed Bud, about to lose his job because he takes too much sick time and can't seem to stay sober enough to get to work on time and/or not make a mess by accident. Getting to work shouldn't be that difficult as his daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll) serves more as his guardian rather than the other way around. Unfortunately, like Bud's work habits, his parenting skills are quite poor and it leaves Molly repeatedly disappointed in his efforts or lack there of.
One of those disappointments comes when Molly is working on a school project that involves watching Bud practice his civic responsibility by voting in the national election. Bud winds up drinking himself into a stupor when he's supposed to meet Molly at the polling place, and Molly takes matters into her own hands (again) and sneaks into the polling place and actual voting booth to register Bud's vote for him. As things turn out the vote is never registered thanks to an error with the voting machine, yet Molly still has the receipt for the ballot. Things go more than a little crazy from there when we learn that the election is a dead heat with the state of New Mexico up for grabs, the same state that (coincidentally) Molly and Bud live in. It seems that even within the county that Bud lives in there's a dead heat, so Bud's 'one vote' must be cast to determine who the next President of the United States will be.
Over the course of the nearly 2 hour running length we see Molly and Bud's relationship warts and all, and we might, just might, also see some growth from Bud as his 15 minutes of fame starts to flame out leaving his friends disappointed and jealous. What makes the film a bit more fun is that viewers are treated to a total lampooning of both of the political parties and their sacred platforms. In the effort to win the one all important vote the political operatives and candidates from those parties (played primarily by Stanley Tucci, Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hopper) make promises to Bud and steal issues from each others sides so they can demonstrate to Bud why he needs to vote for their side.
Sadly, while I found the film enjoyable, I don't think it would hold up to multiple viewings and therefore rates more of a 'rent it' rating from me rather than a buy it.
Family viewers should be warned that Bud's language is coarse and could be objectionable. Consider the PG-13 rating well deserved."