Just in time for our own election season, "Swing Vote" enters theaters and, like most politicians, tries hard to reflect the thoughts and feelings of the average American.
Instead, it flip-flops on its message.
Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner) is a bum. His daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll) is responsible for waking him up, preparing his breakfast and making sure he gets to work on time.
The one thing she asks in return is that Bud vote in the upcoming election between incumbent Republican President Andrew Boone (Kelsey Grammer) and his Democratic opposition Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper).
When the election comes down to one uncounted vote, the vote that Bud seems to have cast, both candidates fly to his sleepy New Mexico town to win him over before he recasts the crucial ballot.
The audience is meant to follow Bud as he discovers the importance of voting and political awareness, but the political process is shown to be a joke where ideals and morality are thrown out in favor of power struggle.
The action unfolds like a tennis match once the candidates come to town. If one candidate makes a commercial or holds a benefit aimed at Bud, the other quickly responds with a similar tactic.
Like Bud, the audience is overwhelmed by all the hoopla surrounding him. The talents of Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci as advisers are wasted in brief and almost identical roles.
Even the presidential candidates lack complexity and growth.
Their dilemmas and emotions are superficially represented as they experience guilt over pandering to Bud yet continue to do so, as if helpless.
Bud calls for someone "bigger than their speeches," yet the film culminates in a huge speech.
By trying to balance cynicism and optimism, the movie proves that you can't win everybody over.
While the concept has potential, "Swing Vote" needs a new, clearer platform in order to be a potent satire.
