Film Swingset Vote
posted by on August 5 at 15:45 PM
So…
I just got this email from someone who hated Swing Vote because its fictional Child Protective Services didn’t do the right thing, and Dan Savage is on my case because he wants to rip Kevin Costner’s head off…
So I’m curious. Sure, Roger Ebert and Manohla Dargis endorse it (I agree with Ebert on the sacrificed scoop thing; I strongly disagree with Dargis about the mom scene, assuming that was an objection), but did any of you Slog readers—political party cynics that you are—kinda sorta appreciate Swing Vote? Aren’t the New Mexico locations nice? Isn’t the acting surprisingly decent?
Or am I just a total sucker for a movie about doing your civic duty?
In other vague and possibly pointless questions, what was that ’30s movie that was at the Grand Illusion a few years ago where all the curmudgeonly frontiersmen sing “America the Beautiful”—or some other patriotic song?—in a… schoolhouse or something? (Josh Feit? Did you see that with me?) It’s been driving completely me nuts because I—clearly—can’t remember a thing about it.
why would anyone go see this ?
it would require at least one Franklin to get me in to see this crap...
tell us the plot at least.
Kevin Costner? Oh, Annie!
Does Josh Feit exist?
I thought it was cute. The little girl gives a pretty great child performance, Costner is always best when he's "goofy Kev" instead of "taciturn Mr. Costner", and I thought they almost pulled off making the circumstances believable. And the campaign commercials were hysterical.
And yes, I DID like the New Mexico locations.
seriously!! this looks like something i'd beg to not be on during a long flight to chicago.
civic duty? whatever-
i dont need the guy who threw away millions of dollars on movies about futuristic mailmen and an amphibious road warrior to convince me to do something about our economy.
cant we just put this forgetful and poorly made movie out to pasture with dignity, only to pop up at unbearably long family thanksgivings at your aunts house?
Ah, Costner's awful rendition of The Postman - I had hoped we had put that behind us. :( That's another great David Brin novel and there's a nice/revealing essay by him about the Costnerization here:
* http://davidbrin.com/postmanmovie.html
Costner and the little girl were the only truly great parts of the movie. It bugged me that the filmmakers created a political satire with no satire. It seemed like they were so scared of ticking off both political parties that they straddled the fence.
Instead of sharp humor, they lobbed Nerf ball-soft jokes. Look! The Republican is acting like a tree-hugger and the Democrat is pretending to be pro-life! Isn't that crazy?!
It's not completely terrible, though. Check it out on cable in a couple of years if it's raining outside.
So, scoring from home: Everyone who saw it thought it was likable enough, and everyone who didn't see it is mocking me. Thanks for playing!
just saw it, out of curiosity, annie.
it is a bad movie.
I did enjoy the movie. The crowd I saw it with loved the campaign ads- especially the playground one and the illegal immigrants. For me the cast was the draw and I thought they delivered, especially the candidates (Denis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer) and the daughter, who showed an amazing range throughout the movie.
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