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Swing Vote Mostly Falls Short

Political comedy likeable but 'generic'

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 1, 2008 8:05 AM CDT

(Newser) – Swing Vote, the story of a beer-drinking slacker whose vote will decide the presidential election, is “a mainstream, eager-to-please, relatively generic endeavor,” writes Manohla Dargis in the New York Times. At the same time, she notes, it’s “one of the most surprising, politically suggestive movies to come out of Hollywood this year.” Other critics aren’t so sure about that.

The film is “too scattered to achieve its predictable goals,” writes Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News. The “soft and derivative” picture “lopes along” without “much to say,” notes Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune. It’s “best taken,” he says, “as a tale of a father and a daughter coming through a rough patch, rather than anything to do with real-world politics.”

[Images (3)]

[Videos (1)]

In this photo provided by Disney, Kevin Costner stars as Bud Johnson in "Swing Vote." (AP Photo/Ben Glass)

In this photo provided by Starpix, actor Kevin Costner holds actress Madeline Carroll, 12, at a screening of their film "Swing Vote" in New York, Thursday, July 31, 2008. (AP Photo/Marion Curtis)

"Swing Vote" director Joshua Michael Stern, left, chats with cast member Kelsey Grammer at the post-premiere party for the film in Los Angeles, Thursday, July 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

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Swing Vote Mostly Falls Short