Swing Vote

A Capraesque dramedy based on the cherished American belief that every vote counts, filmmaker Joshua Michael Stern's Swing Vote was cast into the competitive summer movie pool and promptly, albeit undeservedly, sank like a stone. Kevin Costner delivers his best performance since The Upside of Anger as Bud Johnson, an alcoholic single father from New Mexico who becomes the nation's most important man when it's discovered that the entire presidential election hinges on his vote. In fact, Bud's defective vote was cast by his conscientious 12-year-old daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll), who was embarrassed by her father's lack of civic responsibility. According to the barely plausible premise, the allotment of the state's electoral votes—which will swing the election to either the incumbent (Kelsey Grammer) or the challenger (Dennis Hopper)—hangs upon on Bud's choice. So Bud becomes a constituency of one as the candidates fall all over each other to make outrageous promises in desperate attempts to secure his vote (the ruthless campaign managers played by Stanley Tucci and Nathan Lane will, of course, say or do anything to win). The link to Frank Capra films lies in Bud's character, an average Joe thrust into an impossible situation, while being pitted against smarmy establishment types who try to manipulate him. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer/director Joshua Michael Stern and writer Jason Richman, the 13-minute behind-the-scenes featurette 'Inside the Campaign: The Politics of Production' (13 min.), deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary (11 min.), the music video 'Hey Man What About You?' performed by star Kevin Costner and his band Modern West, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an amiable film.] (E. Hulse) [Blu-ray/DVD Review—May 21, 2019—Kino Lorber, 120 min., PG-13, DVD: $11.95, Blu-ray: $19.98—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 2008’s Swing Vote features a fine transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include audio commentary by director Joshua Michael Stern and writer Jason Richman, an 'Inside the Campaign: The Politics of Production' featurette (13 min.), and deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary (11 min.). Bottom line: a fine edition of this Capra-esque political crowd-pleaser.]