I've always been a fan of Kevin Costner, and he carries this film extremely well. I didn't really like his character at the start... well, to be honest, I never really liked his character at all. However, Costner played the part of an inept, loser father and human being really well. As I mentioned, Madeline Carroll does a superb job as Bud's daughter, and she has one of the most moving moments in the film, so it's good that her talents were up to the task; this was not an easy role for a kid to portray.

The supporting cast is also great. Kelsey Grammar and Dennis Hopper don't have a lot to do as the candidates seeking Bud's vote, but they do what they have extremely well. Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci also do great jobs as the campaign managers, and Paula Patton does a fine if not entirely believable job as a local news reporter.

The one major flaw of Swing Vote is that there are too many characters who are given interesting story arcs that aren't satisfactorily resolved. We see how the events change Bud and his daughter, which is exactly what one would expect; but what about the candidates? We're given some hints that perhaps everything that takes place has changed them too, but we're never really shown how they're affected or changed. The same is true for the campaign managers; I wanted to know what happened to them. This wouldn't have mattered as much to me if there hadn't been a few scenes with each of these characters that suggests their encounter with Bud and all the craziness surrounding this bizarre election was having an effect on them. If you're going to introduce that possibility, I want to see the result.

Swing Vote on DVD doesn't come loaded with extras, but it does have a few that aren't bad. You get a few deleted scenes with some explanations of why they were cut out, some behind-the-scenes vignettes explaining a little bit of how this movie was put together, and you also get a commentary track with the director. Again, it's not a huge selection, but then again there wasn't really a lot to this film to begin with, so it's hard to imagine what you would put on any sort of multiple-disc edition. I think the only thing I would have really liked was some more insights on the political side of things: some talk about how improbable this all is, an explanation of the electoral college, how close presidential races have really been, and stuff like that.

Swing Vote is really Joe the Plumber: The Movie. It's about an average guy who unexpectedly becomes the focus of an election. Sure the setup is completely unlikely, but if you can get past that, there's a very thoughtful movie here. However, it's thoughtfulness doesn't have anything to do with politics, which you might think from the cover. Rather, it's about life and our need to be loved and cared for and who's going to do that for us. Although there are some very funny moments, I didn't really think of this movie as a comedy. In fact, I found it kind of hard to watch because of the raw despair and the desperate nature of Molly's need to matter, and her desire for a father who cared, and how that's something we all feel. Swing Vote was not the movie I was expecting it to be, but it was a good movie

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