Jan 12 2009
Monday’s Movie - Swing Vote
A Novel Menagerie has started a new meme called Monday’s Movie. I know I mostly post about books, but the title of my blog is Books and Movies, so thought I’d take part.
In the trailers, Swing Vote was made to look like a political satire. Don’t get me wrong, it has elements of political satire in it, but this is really a father-daughter movie.
Kevin Costner stars as Bud, and Madeline Carroll is his daughter, Molly. Bud is an all-around slacker and Molly is the responsible one in their relationship, taking care of both Bud and herself. When Election Day rolls around, Molly wants Bud to care about something besides himself. She takes matters into her own hands, which sets events in motion so that the entire presidential election comes down to one vote - Bud’s.
The media descend upon Bud and Molly, and the presidential candidates court Bud with beer and fishing, changing their policies based on every off-hand remark that passes Bud’s lips. Meanwhile, Molly is reading the letters sent to Bud from regular people who see him as their one chance to have a voice in the election.
While this movie did have some funny and true and sad things to say about the American political process, it is mostly about the relationship between Bud and Molly, and the question of whether Bud can be the kind of father who will make the intelligent, motivated Molly proud.
Costner was perfect as the red-neck slacker Bud, but Madeline Carroll stole the film - she is a brilliant young actress and has quite the future ahead of her. I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I expected to, which was a pleasant surprise. 4 out of 5 bags of popcorn.
