Plot
November, 2004, New Mexico. Bud is a slacker with one good thing in his life, his engaging fifth-grade daughter Molly. On election day, Bud is supposed to meet her at the polling place. When he doesn't show, she sneaks a ballot and is about to vote when the power goes off. It turns out that New Mexico's electoral votes will decide the contest, and there it's tied with one vote needing recasting - Bud's. The world's media and both presidential candidates, including the current President, descend on Bud in anticipation of his re-vote in two weeks. Can the clueless Bud, even with the help of Molly and a local TV reporter, handle this responsibility?
Keywords: polling-place, ballot, presidential-election, water-tower, airforce-one, strike, newsweek-magazine, red-carpet, egg-salad, drinking-from-bottle
One ordinary guy is giving the candidates a reason to run.
Bud Johnson: America needs someone who's bigger than their speeches.
Bud Johnson: You guys protect the President!::Lewis: She's... she's smarter.
Bud Johnson: I know exactly what you mean Andy.::President Andrew Boone: Do you?::Bud Johnson: Maybe not...
Bud Johnson: I'll call them back.::Molly Johnson: If we had a phone you could call them back.
Bud Johnson: Did you save me any hot water?::Molly Johnson: I don't know, did the water heater fix itself?
Bud Johnson: What's that?::Molly Johnson: Egg salad.::Bud Johnson: Egg salad?::Molly Johnson: You like egg salad.::Bud Johnson: Yeah but not every damn day.::Molly Johnson: We're on a budget.::Bud Johnson: Well you've got to stir it up a bit.::Molly Johnson: You want to eat better? Drink less beer.
Kate Madison: [bowling] Remember when we were kids? This was the only thing to do on weekends.::Bud Johnson: [laughs] It still is.
President Andrew Boone: Do you like football?::Bud Johnson: I'm an American aren't I?
Molly Johnson: I want to live with Mom.::Bud Johnson: So do I.
Bud Johnson: Jesus, Molly, you've got to quit being such a smartass.::Molly Johnson: And *you* have to stop using 'Jesus' as a cussword all the time. He's a billion people's Saviour.
Coordinates | 47°09′25″N27°35′25″N |
---|---|
name | Swing Vote |
director | Joshua Michael Stern |
producer | Kevin CostnerJim Wilson |
writer | Joshua Michael SternJason Richman |
starring | Kevin CostnerMadeline CarrollPaula PattonKelsey GrammerDennis HopperNathan LaneStanley TucciGeorge Lopez |
music | John Debney |
cinematography | Shane Hurlbut |
editing | Jeff McEvoy |
distributor | Touchstone Pictures |
released | |
runtime | 120 minutes |
country | |
language | English |
budget | $20 million |
gross | $16,799,379 }} |
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 pro-life 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 movie ends with Bud casting his vote, though it is never revealed for whom he voted.
Joshua Michael Stern, who directed and co-wrote the script with Jason Richman, had earlier precedents to follow. The premise of the film is similar to an Isaac Asimov story "Franchise", in which elections have evolved until the entire decision is based on one man chosen by Multivac. The premise of Garson Kanin’s 1939 movie The Great Man Votes is also very similar to Swing Vote.
Aaron Brown, Campbell Brown, Mary Hart, Arianna Huffington, James Carville, Larry King, Bill Maher, Chris Matthews, Willie Nelson, Lawrence O'Donnell and Richard Petty appear as themselves (mainly in cameos).
The reception of the film has been mixed. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 37% of critics gave it positive reviews based on 139 reviews, and it holds a 47% mixed to average approval rating on Metacritic. The Times of the UK ranked Swing Vote No. 14 on its list of The 100 Worst Films of 2008.
The film grossed $16,289,867 domestically and $509,512 overseas totaling $16,799,379 worldwide. On its opening weekend, the film grossed $6,230,669 placing it #6.
After release, a controversy arose when one of the main stars complained about his role being cut; Dennis Hopper in a series of interviews, claimed, "I got cut out of that movie".
Category:2008 films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:2000s comedy films Category:Films about elections Category:Films set in New Mexico Category:Films shot in New Mexico Category:Political comedy films Category:Political comedy-drama films Category:Touchstone Pictures films
de:Swing Vote es:Swing Vote it:Swing Vote - Un uomo da 300 milioni di voti ru:На трезвую головуThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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