Swing Vote (2008 film)
| Swing Vote | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Joshua Michael Stern |
| Produced by |
Kevin Costner Jim Wilson |
| Written by | Joshua Michael Stern Jason Richman |
| Starring | Kevin Costner Paula Patton Kelsey Grammer Dennis Hopper Nathan Lane Stanley Tucci George Lopez Madeline Carroll |
| Music by | John Debney |
| Cinematography | Shane Hurlbut |
| Edited by | Jeff McEvoy |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $21 million |
| Box office | $17.6 million |
Swing Vote is a 2008 American comedy-drama film about an entire U.S. presidential election determined by the vote of one man. It was directed by Joshua Michael Stern, and stars Kevin Costner, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, George Lopez and Madeline Carroll. The film was released on August 1, 2008.
In a presidential election set in an alternate 2008, Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner) is a lovable loser from Texico, New Mexico, who is coasting through life and has not had a single political thought in his head, while being coaxed by his eight-year-old daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll) to take more of a serious approach to life. Molly runs the household and sees an opportunity on election day to energize her father: frustrated with her father's apathy toward voting, she sneaks into her local polling place and tries to vote on behalf of Bud. However, due to the voting machines being unplugged, the ballot is registered, but no decision is indicated on which candidate gets the vote. The entire election comes down to this one man and, namely, Bud's vote. Neither candidate has a majority in the electoral college without New Mexico's electoral votes. The popular vote is tied for the two major candidates in New Mexico, leaving Bud to decide the next President of the United States. Bud gets wooed by candidates from both sides: the incumbent Republican, Andrew Carington Boone (Kelsey Grammer), and his campaign manager, Martin Fox (Stanley Tucci); and the opposing Democrat, Vermont Senator Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper) and his campaign manager Art Crumb (Nathan Lane).
Bud's actual opinions (or lack thereof) are misinterpreted by the media, causing the candidates to flip-flop on several positions (the Democrats take a prolife and anti-illegal immigration stand, while the Republicans take a pro-environmental and pro-gay marriage stand). As the film progresses, however, the two candidates are shown to move away from the cynical tactics forced on them by their advisers, and both gain Bud's respect. In the end, he chooses to hold a final debate the day before he is set to recast his ballot. In a written speech, he confesses that he knows little to nothing about politics, or for that matter, life, and decides to ask questions people have sent to him in the mail. The film ends with Bud casting his vote, though for whom he voted is never revealed.
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