Swing Vote (DVD)

Released in the US just before last year’s Presidential election, Swing Vote sets up a rather contrived situation where a spoiled ballot in New Mexico ends up with a single man, Bud Johnson, getting to recast his vote after the main election, and due to a dead heat, decide whether the Democratic or Republican nominee will become the President.

As a result the nominees fly in, each keen to court Bud’s vote, while the news media swarm like vultures. However Bud (Costner) is not the man you’d normally want deciding the fate of the free world. He’s a borderline alcohol, who’s just been laid off work and has a young daughter who has to parent him as much as he parents her. He has no idea about the issues or the importance of what’s happening to him, but as his life goes crazy, he slowly begins to see the light.

There’s a good film hidden inside Swing Vote, but it never quite makes it onto the screen. There are all sorts of neat ideas that aren’t quite fully formed, and it doesn’t help that it has a tone that leaps from lightweight satire to quite dark and depressing, but little that really links the two. I think what the problem is, and which the script keeps coming up against whilst not acknowledging it, is that it’s based on a fallacy about what democracy is about.

When people say every vote is important, it means that every vote is important collectively. It is about the will of the population as a whole, not about the individual, despite what politicians like to say. If everything comes down to a single named person who the nominees can court, the democratic system has essentially collapsed. Yet Swing Vote wants to laud engagement in the democratic process (even if it’s less impressed with politicians and the media), while being about a situation that’s almost as undemocratic as you can get. It’s for this reason that the satire feels so lightweight, as every time it gets close to biting, it seem to realise it’s in danger of revealing the flaw underpinning the whole thing. One man’s vote making a difference is a great idea, but this isn’t what’s meant when people say that.

A solid cast including Kevin Costner, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci and the excellent young Madeline Carroll do their utmost and give great performances, but it ultimately all rings a bit hollow.

The disc also includes a pretty good making of featurette, as well as an audio commentary, some deleted and extended scenes, and a music video. It’s an okay selection but doesn’t really help save a watchable but rather flawed film.

Overall Verdict: Despite what the film seems to think, this isn’t what’s meant when people say one vote makes a difference, and despite attempts to get round its flawed premise, it never quite succeeds.

Special Features:
‘Inside The Campaign: The Politics Of Production’ Featurette
Deleted & Extended Scenes
Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Joshua Michael Stern and Write Jason Richman
‘Hey Man What About You?’ Modern West Music Video

Reviewer: Tim Isaac