Costner stars in Swing Vote as Bud Johnson, a lazy, ignorant, borderline-alcoholic, single-father living in Texico, New Mexico. He works at an egg-packing plant, but he’s not a model employee. His daughter, Molly (Madeline Carroll), is a gifted child who is embarrassed and impatient with her father. Molly has become very interested in the political process and was even featured on the local TV news reciting her essay about the importance of voting. She has nagged Bud about Election Day and he agrees to meet her at the polls after work. Unfortunately, he gets drunk and passes out. Molly goes to the polls anyway and attempts to vote in Bud’s place, but the machine malfunctions -- the ID is accepted, but the vote isn’t. That night, the Presidential election votes are tallied and it all comes down to one vote in Texico, New Mexico...the vote of Bud Johnson (or at least, the authorities think that it’s Bud). Bud is visited by state officials who inform him that his vote wasn’t counted and that he’ll be able to vote again in 10 days. (We’re never told why he has to wait.) Suddenly, Bud becomes a international celebrity, with the media camping-out on his doorstep. Incumbent President Boone (Kelsey Grammer) and his opponent, Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper), both come to Texico with their staffs to sway Bud to vote for them. At first, Bud is overwhelmed by all of this, but he soon begins to like the limelight. There’s only one problem, he knows nothing about the election and has no idea for whom to vote.

Swing Vote is one of those movies which look great on paper. The movie is a reality-based fantasy where the fate of the entire American electoral system rests on the shoulders of one man. The story takes this notion one step farther and makes the man an ignorant, white-trash redneck. This is the sort of tale which could be rife with satire and really make fun of how far politicians will go to win. Unfortunately, the filmmakers behind Swing Vote have decided to aim the film squarely at people just like Bud Johnson.

This movie takes what could have been an incendiary, dangerous idea and waters it down to an impotent waste. The movie shows both Boone and Greenleaf pandering to Bud, but they simply bend their message to match what they think Bud wants. The movie never goes beyond a "Hey, isn't it funny that politicians are two-faced?" mentality, and doesn't challenge the audience. The only part of the film which gets edgy is an anti-abortion ad which is so funny and outrageous that it feels as if it came from a different film.

The lack of spice is further hampered by the fact that the movie never knows what it wants to be. Well, the movie thinks that it's a political satire, but it isn't. On top of that, it throws in a predictable romantic vibe between Bud and a reporter (Paula Patton). The film's finale then turns into a weep-fest as Bud finally begins to take his situation seriously. During all of this, the audience waits for the comedy which we had been expecting.

In the 90s, Disney's arm, Touchstone gained a reputation for releasing banal and hokey movies, and Swing Vote continues this tradition. The movie takes a great idea and sucks any life out of it. Like Robin Williams' Man of the Year, Swing Vote castrates a political satire and brings us a movie which pales in comparison to the drama of a real election.

The Swing Vote Blu-ray Disc has a handful of extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Writer/Director Joshua Michael Stern and Writer Jason Richman. The Disc contains four DELETED & EXTENDED SCENES which run about 10 minutes and can be viewed with optional commentary from Stern. The scene between Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci is good, but a long scene with Kelsey Grammer and a group of Native Americans is a dud. "Inside the Campaign: The Politics of Production" (13 minutes) is a brief making-of featurette. It contains comments from the cast and crew, discussing the casting, characters, and story. The co-writers share some background on the origin of the script's idea and there is a nice amount of behind-the-scenes footage. The final extra is a MUSIC VIDEO for the song "Hey Man What About You?" by Modern West.