Swing Vote

Swing Vote deals with the story of an election set somewhere in the near future where Bud Johnson, a lovable loser, who is coasting through a life and has not a political thought in life, is thrust into an improbable dilemma. Coaxed on by his 12-year-old daughter Molly to take more of a serious approach to life. Molly runs the household and sees an opportunity on election day to energize her father. The election is a "dead heat" with the winning ballot in the hands of a mystified Bud, who is being wooed by candidates from both sides.



Set for theaters on August 1, the film stars Kevin Costner, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, George Lopez, and Madeline Carroll.

Trailer:
http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/swing-vote/trailer

Doest seem like a film id enjoy but I have been proved wrong before.....

__________________

~In the event of a Zombie Uprising, remember to sever the head or destroy the brain!~

Has an excellent cast and I want to see it. I'm really hoping it's funny/smart and not a waste of time -- it could end up being either.

I'm a fan of Costner's earlier work, and he gets a really bad rap now (some of it deserved, some not) so I root for him to put out a good film ... doesn't always happen, though.

seems lame.

I'm curious about this. I don't like Costner much, but in the right film he's fine.

The trailer was extremely good, which doesn't necessarily mean much. Odds are it has a ceiling of "pretty good" and a bottomless floor. And, of course, this is a major Hollywood flick, so we all know he'll pick the Democrat (probably Kelsey Grammar).

Two reviews in at this point. Hollywood Reporter hated it (nasty review, imo, but because it is Costner, that is what I would expect) and Variety loved it.

Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...265&&rid=11473

Personally, I think the review is rather ridiculous and interestingly, completely the opposite of the Variety review. How can that be?

Link to Variety: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117...goryid=31&cs=1

It's really a glowing review... and while I see that Yoda has on this site the words, "Where Costner is a dirty word" (GRRRR..... , Costner gets a some nice words here!

The film sounds like an enjoyable comedy with a bit of a message, but not deep political satire. I expect mixed reviews at this point.

I hope the film does well. My son and I will see The Mummy on Friday and this on Saturday.

Actually Kelsey plays the Right Wing Republican incumbent.

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

My bad, though the casting was just a guess. If he actually wins, then I'll be fairly impressed, though I'd imagine that'll only happen if the film steers clear of policy and makes it a choice between the two men's personalities.

according to the reviews, the film attempts to be apolitical; instead focusing on the idea of a citizen taking seriously the right to vote. It does sound rather corny but hey, I like that if it works.

It steers clear of terrorism but does discuss the usual liberal/conservative politics.

EDITED TO ADD: Oh and Yoda, do you actually type in all those little blurbs we see at the top of site? No comment about the "Where Costner is a dirty word?" blurb... *pouts*

Yeah, those are mine, though most of them were added ages ago.

Pout all you want...the man single-handled ruined Thirteen Days for me! And for many moviegoers he's ruined much longer periods of time.

Yoda -- I kid. I actually love the blurbs, they're amusing!

But....Ugh, I thought Thirteen Days was an extremely underrated film! Of course, Bruce Greenwood was the true star of that film.

Well, for my part, Costner's given me hours of pleasure. So there.

I guess I just hate all the hating if that makes sense. There are many wonderful film in his filmography. I had a bit of fun on Rotten Tomatoes just now defending him.

Aye, I'm just messing around, too. And I actually really liked Thirteen Days, but I liked it in spite of awful Costner's attempt at a New England accent. I don't think he's a talentless hack or anything, but I do think he's been horribly miscast at times, and shown extraordinarly poor judgment as to which films he's done. Hard to separate the actor from the film sometimes, which is probably one of the reasons he gets a bad rap. That, and I don't think he's ever been really fantastic in anything. No, not even Field of Dreams.

But sure, the hate goes overboard, and I admit I'm part of the problem in that regard. Doesn't mean I'll STOP, of course, but I concede the point.

The film is released in theaters on August 1, so we should be getting some more reviews soon..

I'll take what I can get, I suppose.

Actually, I agree. He made some great choices early in his career, then his ego went out of whack and he made some terrible choices, along with some very self-conscious performances. His accent in TD was horrid, you're right there. (I thought he was fantastic in Bull Durham and DWW. Both roles suited him great, I thought.)

But lately, his performances seem to be much less self-conscious (as if he knew that was his problem). I liked that this Variety critic actually touched on it. I would like to see him get a hold of a great script, but don't know if it will happen.

Its just that some of my favorite films are his and I guess I'm just loyal to a fault.

Yeah, well I guess I'm on your side Tramp..
I just read the reviews and see what I can get, to wheter or not the movie is good, but I'll still see it..

I'm no Kevin defender as he has an extremely limited range and I'm on record with plenty of venom about many of his flicks, but I'd say Bull Durham and not Field of Dreams is the touchstone for the kind of thing he does best and easily (if too rarely). But for me, by far, his greatest work as an actor is in Eastwood's A Perfect World (1993) as Butch Haynes, an escaped convict and kidnapper with Daddy issues. He is truly excellent in that flick. Rent is ASAP if you haven't seen it, or haven't seen it in a long while.



And back on the subject of Swing Vote, I have no desire to see this 21st Century Capra-corn. I'll maybe check it out when it hits HBO in a year or so.

Good call, Holden!! Forgot about that one. He is excellent in a film that I think is rather underrated.

And yea, Bull Durham is just a great movie all around and everyone is wonderful in it. His other Ron Shelton film, Tin Cup, is another one where he seems really well suited. This film, Swing Vote, looks to be that kind of role. That's why I'm not surprised he at least got this one positive review so far.

On RT, there is another review in the forums where they say he's good and the movie is funny.

I'll shut up now... lol

It Seems Like It Could Be Good.

I just watched this on instant Netflix. What a load of ****.


Swing Vote (2008, Joshua Michael Stern)



Calling the movie Swing Vote Capraesque is too damn easy. I call it garbage. Capra's films had a few good moments. Kevin Costner is God-awful in this thing as the dead-beat white trash low-life father to his all too intelligent daughter. His daughter convinces Costner's character, Bud Johnson to go out and vote. He doesn't vote, but rather gets drunk instead and his daughter sneaks in to vote for him. The trouble is, the plug gets pulled before his vote can be cast, and as the election is a dead heat, Bud Johnson is the tie-breaking vote. That's the setup for the film, ridiculous as it is. I can't figure out if the film is meant to be some lame feel good thing about how your vote counts or a brilliant and subtle slam against the electoral college. Eh.
This film is beyond manipulative and it caters to the lowest denominator in our country, people who believe in this patriotic trite and are easily persauded that one villain politician is better than another. People like... say Bud Johnson. Now there's an American name!
I could write pages and rant on for hours about how horrible this movie is, but I'll just mention a few complaints. The shameless promotion of Bass Pro Shop brand with Bud's baseball cap. How American! The pathetic real-life cameo's attempting to place the film into the real contemporary world: cameos such as Richard Petty (looking more like Skeletor), Bill Mahr, Willie Nelson, Chris Mathews, Larry King, and so forth. Does this ******** really make audiences think more highly of these types of films? Does Larry King getting a paycheck for a minute's work make this film more credible as a quality product?
If the "your vote counts" and the stupid cameos weren't enough to make me hate this film then what I really abhor is the light hearted humor that's made out of a worthless father. I really dislike how the film makes a joke out of Costner losing his job, but that's OK because like a real slacker American, he'd rather drink a beer and go fishing, YEES SAARR! Yeehaw, I'm sure the beer guts in the audience can relate to that. I hated how the daugther seemed responsible in light of this worthless father, because these things rarely happen. I teach school and see many parents that are as worthless as the Bud Johnson character and the apple does not fall far from the tree. I dislike how irresponsibility and people who should have jerked off instead of having kids, are made into light Frank Capra-corn humor.
This film is beyond reproach. It's remarkable that the idea didn't get laughed out of existance. It's suprising that anyone would even want to attach themselves to this project. Swing Vote now ranks up there with The Terminal as one of the most insulting films I've ever seen.

Grade: F

__________________
"A candy colored clown!"
Member since Fall 2002
Top 100 Films, clicky below

http://www.movieforums.com/community...ad.php?t=26201

Hmmmm.... well, I get your reasons for finding the film insulting but I liked it a lot. *shrugs*

I think it was that last line: "If this is the richest country in the world, why is that so many of us can't afford to live here?" A true question.

Anyway....

And cool, another teacher!