Costner’s “Swing Vote” displays a heart-felt respect and love for “loser fathers”
Maybe the most knowing story of today’s American father—in his sometimes pitiable and lost and degraded life–can be found in the new Kevin Costner movie “Swing Vote.â€
On the surface, this movie is a comedy about a presidential election which is so deadlocked that it comes down to the vote of a single man in New Mexico, one Bud Johnson, played by Costner. Bud Johnson is a good guy, a real father, but self-indulgent and unserious. He’s a cheerful loser, but starting to notice just a little the dark around the edges of his life.
The movie is light weight until about three quarters of the way through, when the pathos of the American family in shambles, previously hinted at, comes to the surface for real. I am not going to tell the plot, nor say exactly in which scene the movie begins to take on a more serious heft and feeling. But something different and more real happens in the last section of the movie.
The cheerily befuddled beer-drunk Bud Johnson comes to be seen in a new light: it’s not that he is bad, but that he and his wife, and American parents…have just lost their way.
The movie ends with a speech in which Bud Johnson confesses his confusion as a man to the American people, and expresses his shame and regret at a wasted life. It’s a surprise scene and a powerful speech that lifts the movie into a serious and heart-shaking plane. Thus Bud Johnson, not easily, redeems himself. And the movie ends.
It’s a surprising movie. I recommend it. Someone involved in this movie—the writer, or director or Costner, who funded it—knows what the American tragedy is. They see what we see.
I walked out into the parking lot a bit shaken, a bit choked up by the experience and surprised, saying to myself, “We need a group called The Reconstruction of American Manhood.â€
Thinking Nothing less will do. All will be lost unless we reconstruct American manhood.
Editor of the Liberator, America's Shared Parenting Quarterly. | More from John Maguire
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August 3rd, 2008 at 4:14 am
I figured the movie was just another “don’t vote for evil conservatives” rag.
As for “reconstructing your manhood”, no one can it for you. We can only inform and fight the liberal man-haters.
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:09 am
The politics of the movie are neutral. It’s not an anti-conservative rant at all. And the movie is about an American man, a good and confused father, pulling himself back together. It’s also about daughters’ love for their fathers. It ends on an inspiring note.
August 5th, 2008 at 3:20 am
I have to admit that I have no idea whether I want to see this film from the description. The impression I get is that it presents a tired stereotype of the fallen male – beer guzzling, unserious Bud – is that Bud Light, or as pronounced by the frogs? Then what happens in the end? I’m not sure about the speech – but does he apologize for being male? (Which is of course and unserious beer-guzzling think to be.) Does he need to reconstruct male-kind? Not fully adapted to feminist doctrine – or what? And – is it all his fault that families aren’t working?
If it was supposed to have a touch of realism, there would be a need for it to be a more serious political film, or have a more serious political message exposing the political corruption that has caused so much damage to the American family – and is kicking Bud’s butt for no apparent reason throughout the movie (actually the reason is politicians, corruption, money) – not an apologetic beer drinker who comes to realize he should have taken life more seriously and apologizes to the nation for it. It should have had more of a Mr. Smith goes to Washington flavor.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Roger,
Sorry for the impressionistic movie review. I didn’t, probably, do the movie justice. I do recommend that you see the movie.
No, in fact, Bud Johnson does not apologize for being a male…what I didn’t say is that the movie, about 75 per cent of the way through, shows Johnson’s wife, and she is clearly a total wreck…so that we see that the shambling but loyal Bud Johnson clearly is the man of the hour. In fact, what the movie says, clearly, is that even a rough-hewn man full of imperfections who drinks too much is dreadfully needed by his children and he has to rise to the occasion. And Bud Johnson does. No, this is not a tired stereotype movie at all. It inverts the stereotype at the end. And it does have a Mr. Smith goes to Washington flavor. If you see it, tell us what you see in it.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
John, it sounds like it might be worth watching. I hope they make a sequel about a drunken feminist truck driver who realizes her small children need a stay-at-home mom and gives up feminism and drives her truck through the front doors of NOW when all the top bitches are having a crab-session.
I’ll write the script if you can get the financial backing.
Hey, that gives me an idea. Since Hollow-Wood has the real power, we men should all put our money together and buy out a Hollywood studio and make movies the way we like them. We’ll use the proceeds to finance the men’s movement so we won’t need donations, which most guys are not giving anyway. We’ll use lots of cool explosions and there will be lots of dead feminists at the end. Men will love it and we’ll get the message across. The hero will rescue his kids from the feminists and the state, and unbrainwash them by making them read men’s news daily for one hour each day.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
John; Thanks for the additional info. A lot of movies have come and gone that play on the stereotypes so the normal expectation is that any new film will. The only reasonably good man who ever complained about child support is on 2 1/2 Men, and his divorce related financial problems are still based on an unrealistic, very outdated concept of the legal side of divorce.
Zorik; Yep, if there’s financial backing, you can get a film created. I’ll be happy to use my Hollywood connections to see if we can get things going as soon as there’s 10s of millions of dollars available. Of course, it’s been done for less. This one probably doesn’t need a lot of special effects, large cast, elaborate staging, trained animals, exotic locations ….
August 7th, 2008 at 4:24 am
Guys–
Here’s a decent review of the movie from the New York Times–the writer gets the point.
http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/movies/01swin.html
August 7th, 2008 at 7:04 am
Still difficult to pre-judge from a fathers’ rights perspective – (not that I’ve been writing movie reviews lately anyway – just did the critique of Al Gore spoiling the documentary style for everyone else: “Thanks Al.”) – but I’m a movie-lover too, and I’m going to see what I can do about seeing this film. Sounds like at least the best thing to come along since “Falling Down.” I’m not in the US, so I’ll have to check local listings to see if / when it’s here or wait for the DVD.
August 7th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Interesting reviews on amazon. According to these reviewers, it’s not all about fatherhood. It looks more like Bud is an apathetic and generally meaningless guy (except he’s a father) who finds himself deciding who the president is going to be. One vote counts, even his.
http://www.amazon.com/Swing-Vote-Theatrical-Release/dp/B00164IV8W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1218132702&sr=1-1
August 8th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Ex-Bush aide claims `Swing Vote’ stolen from him