The Film
Kevin "Everyman" Costner returns for Swing Vote, an election-year comedy that weighs in on the political process, the blurring between hardcore and popular news outlets, and ultimately about the state of America herself. Down-on-his-luck Bud (Costner), motivated by his plucky daughter Molly (Madeline Carroll), reluctantly agrees to cast his ballot, but a series of mishaps causes his vote to be lost. An investigation leads the government to Bud's doorstep, and with the race for those electoral votes in his home state of New Mexico--and nationwide--too close to call, it looks like the next president will be chosen by Bud alone.
The movie has heart but is ultimately not quite believable on several levels. Despite a few good laughs; some small (preparing for a surprise visit from social services), some big (the president lets Bud, a former jock, hold "The Football"); the basic concept loses steam and comes to rely on too many cinematic clichés, including the beautiful, conflicted (and single!) reporter who's going to blow the story wide open. Bud is too much of a loser, while Molly is just too mature for her years. Adorable, gifted young Madeline carries much of the movie, but seems destined to spend it almost entirely either ticked-off or sad. It also sags a bit under its two-hour length, despite mistaken indications in the menus that the running time is actually 128-minutes-and-change.
The Picture
The 2.4:1 image displays adequate detail in brightly lit scenes, with minimal ringing and haloing. Darker scenes can begin to lose detail and take on an excessive graininess although to be fair, the original photography does not always appear to have been razor-sharp. Backgrounds are frequently noisy, enough to seriously compromise the entire intended HD experience, and even the clothing or the face of the primary character in a scene can be distractingly twitchy. Several scenes take place inside smoke-filled bars, a choice which results in multiple unrealistic shots. The colors utilized are distinctive and strong.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is largely undistinguished, mixed in a respectable spread across the five channels, but even moments like the revelation of the media circus on Bud's front lawn and subsequent glimpses of it all are "blink-your-ears-and-you'll-miss-it" brief. Later, when Bud performs live on stage with his band, there is a more forward placement of the music, but certainly not the you-are-there presence we've heard in movies like The Commitments. Pop songs and the musical score are pleasingly distributed throughout the home theater soundfield, off-camera voices pop up interestingly here and there, and crowd noise at the final debate fills the room, but by and large the audio fails to excite, while the heightened detail and dynamic range available are not particularly well-exploited.
The Extras
The audio commentary by writer/director Joshua Michael Stern and his co-writer Jason Richman is enjoyable for their enthusiasm and explorations of the underlying dynamics of certain scenes. Worth noting are two "bonus" subtitle streams that recreate the spoken commentary in English text and a Spanish translation. There are also eleven minutes of deleted and extended scenes, in high-definition and Dolby Digital 5.1 and with optional Stern commentary, about as good as anything in the final cut, but something had to go. "Inside the Campaign: The Politics of Production" (13 minutes, HD/5.1) is the usual "making of" while a music video (with movie clips) for "Hey Man What About You" performed by Costner's band Modern West is presented in HD and stereo.
Final Thoughts
Fans of "just-go-with-it" high-concept comedies will likely have fun with this timely tale of The Power of One, although for me it didn't hold up to much scrutiny. The extras are an ample complement, although the sound and picture left me as disappointed as Sarah Palin on November 5th.
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