Tulsa World: One Man, One Vote, One Mediocre Movie

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One Man, One Vote, One Mediocre Movie

By Rachel Stromberg/NIE Blogger
Published: 8/26/2008 11:39 AM
Last Modified: 8/26/2008 1:52 PM

Swing Vote is the story of a politically clueless man who is faced with the task of choosing the president of the United States.

Bud Johnson lives in the tiny town of Texico, New Mexico, with his twelve-year-old daughter Molly, who cares for both of them. They are struggling to get by, until one day Molly makes a fateful decision that ultimately results in Bud’s uncast vote being the tiebreaker in the presidential election. He is suddenly thrust into the unfamiliar world of cameras and microphones, and the presidential candidates take an interest in him, going to extremes to win his vote.

There were some very funny parts and the actors were very genuine. The balance of comedy and drama in the film was perfect. Not for a moment did I feel like the words the characters were saying were being read off of a piece of paper.

Some of the elements of the story were not realistic. For instance, the presidential candidates would have been more subtle about switching sides on issues such as abortion and gay marriage based on Bud’s opinion. It is also doubtful that Bud would have been able to educate himself about political issues thoroughly in one night.

There were several sub-plots that would have been good stories had they been more fleshed-out, but there is only so much that can be crammed into a 90-minute movie before all the different stories begin to feel flat. Although the problem with Molly’s parents was interesting, it could have been a story on its own, and piling it onto her father’s voting dilemma seemed to distract

from the main storyline. I was left feeling confused about Kate Madison, a reporter.

At first she seemed a likeable enough character, but she was then portrayed in a way that made it seem as though she was out to get Bud. If there had been more details about her, I might have been able to better appreciate her development throughout the story, but since her story was not closely followed, her character seemed inconsistent and unrealistic.

This film is a heartwarming story of how a father and daughter learn how much difference one vote, one person, can make. Still, I won’t be buying it when it comes out on DVD due to the fact that I was constantly thinking “That would never happen.” All in all, a good movie, but not a great movie.

By Rachel Stromberg/NIE Blogger

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