LOUSY ending!
Added 10/22/2009
I won't reveal it, but I'll bet almost NO one who sees this film will like it the way it ends!
What a fiasco!! What were they THINKING?!?
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Predictable, but somewhat heartwarming
Added 10/10/2009
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.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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The polls are in, and we don't have a winner...
Added 9/26/2009
Here it is again, that peculiar mathematics of Hollywood, where Great Idea + Great Talent = mediocre movie. On the face of it, this must have been a great pitch. The idea of having a movie, which showed in movie theatres during one of the most interesting elections in years in the US, all about the importance of voting. A scenario where the voting is neck and neck and by a (very) peculiar circumstance, it all comes down to one.. swing... voter, in one.. small.. town. The candidates descend on small town America to woo this voter, and in the process expose the flaws of modern American voting, where candidates will sell their principles just to get the vote. Satirical, topical, and put in Kevin Costner as Bud, the everyman at the centre of it all, and what could go wrong!
Unfortunately, the satirical edge is blunted by a need to not take sides, and an overdose of syrup to keep it family oriented. Also, for a film marketed as a comedy, it's pretty unfunny.. there are a few fun moments watching Kelsey Grammar and Dennis Hopper as the candidates squirm and dance through hoops for that crucial vote, but frankly, thinking this would spin out to two hours worth of entertainment was a misfire. Costner is fine, but bear in mind you will be watching him as a (in the movies own words) sub-average American who drinks too much, for almost the entire movie - with just a bit of redemption where he gives that trademark American values speech at the end, before a cop-out ending. Best things about the movie are a really quite fantastic performance from the young Madeline Carroll as Bud's intelligent and sincere daughter, and the hysterically awful political TV spots the candidates design to cater to Bud.
Unfortunately where this could have been fascinating and dark, it turned out frothy and forgettable.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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This Bud's Not for You
Added 9/5/2009
Some of the criticisms aimed at this film are well deserved but not well delineated.
This is a great deal like Dudley Moore's "Arthur", with Kevin Costner doing a Larry-the-Cable-Guy schtick for the entire film. What galled me most, of course, was the pathetic waste of talent. Kelsey Grammer and Nathan Lane in the same film as Dennis Hopper? And NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS FUNNY FOR EVEN A SECOND?
I'd say skip this rancid snore and invest in "Recount" with Kevin Spacey.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Funny Political Satire
Added 7/13/2009
Ever wondered whether a single vote could determine the outcome of an election? This entertaining political satire imagines that very scenario. Bud (Kevin Costner), a newly laid off assembly line worker and single dad, forgets to vote only to find that his precocious, wise-beyond-her-years daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll) has cast his ballot for him. And there's more: for technical reasons, his "vote" wasn't registered, and the entire presidential election hangs in the balance. Bud is a caricature of the apathetic and uninformed American citizen who is more interested in drinking and fishing than in paying attention to politics (in fact, he doesn't even know who's running). Molly is his mostly unheeded social conscience; she understands and cares about the issues, reading and responding to the letters that pour in from fellow citizens who hope he will draw the candidates' attention to their hardships.
The movie pokes fun not only at political apathy, but the political process itself. Desperate for Bud's vote, both candidates descend upon the little town of Texaco, New Mexico intent on winning him over, even if it means losing sight of their own ideals. Particularly hilarious are the over-the-top campaign ads playing to Bud's presumed fear of immigrants, environmentalism, and opposition to abortion, none of which really represent Bud's opinions anyway.
If you like movies like THANK YOU FOR SMOKING and WAG THE DOG (or even OFFICE SPACE), you will probably enjoy SWING VOTE. It's a funny satire, and it also carries a pertinent message: If voters were better aware, more concerned, and more outspoken about the issues, politicians would have little use for the manipulative tactics SWING VOTE mocks.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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LOUSY ending!
Added 10/22/2009
I won't reveal it, but I'll bet almost NO one who sees this film will like it the way it ends!
What a fiasco!! What were they THINKING?!?
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Predictable, but somewhat heartwarming
Added 10/10/2009
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.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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The polls are in, and we don't have a winner...
Added 9/26/2009
Here it is again, that peculiar mathematics of Hollywood, where Great Idea + Great Talent = mediocre movie. On the face of it, this must have been a great pitch. The idea of having a movie, which showed in movie theatres during one of the most interesting elections in years in the US, all about the importance of voting. A scenario where the voting is neck and neck and by a (very) peculiar circumstance, it all comes down to one.. swing... voter, in one.. small.. town. The candidates descend on small town America to woo this voter, and in the process expose the flaws of modern American voting, where candidates will sell their principles just to get the vote. Satirical, topical, and put in Kevin Costner as Bud, the everyman at the centre of it all, and what could go wrong!
Unfortunately, the satirical edge is blunted by a need to not take sides, and an overdose of syrup to keep it family oriented. Also, for a film marketed as a comedy, it's pretty unfunny.. there are a few fun moments watching Kelsey Grammar and Dennis Hopper as the candidates squirm and dance through hoops for that crucial vote, but frankly, thinking this would spin out to two hours worth of entertainment was a misfire. Costner is fine, but bear in mind you will be watching him as a (in the movies own words) sub-average American who drinks too much, for almost the entire movie - with just a bit of redemption where he gives that trademark American values speech at the end, before a cop-out ending. Best things about the movie are a really quite fantastic performance from the young Madeline Carroll as Bud's intelligent and sincere daughter, and the hysterically awful political TV spots the candidates design to cater to Bud.
Unfortunately where this could have been fascinating and dark, it turned out frothy and forgettable.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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