The Bus

HD Trailer | IMDB | Director: Joshua Michael Stern | 1 August 2008

<hr>

Last Kevin Costner movie I was excited about was Waterworld (also with Hopper) and the last political comedy I wanted to see was Dave so this is an absolute rarity. The trailer seems a bit maudlin/hokey but I think this will be a fine little film.

Plus, it's got Judge Reinhold!

Superman07

I was just about to post this. Somebody caught the trailer this week at a "The *appening" showing.

I think it looks really good actually. I don't know if I'll check it out in the theater or wait until dvd. If it gets good word of mouth I may check it out in the theater since Costner hasn't had the best of luck recently and could probably use a push.

chris_sc77

Yeah I saw the trailer before Sex And the City. was surprised to find myself thinking "wow that movie looks really good."
And it does have quite a cast as well.

SuckaMC

i'm a big Costner fan. I'll check it out. I think he has a horror movie coming out soon too

project86

This movie doesn't make any sense to me, the voting process doesn't even work that way.

The Bus

Pro Tip: Most films are fiction.

lordwow

Well, it can't get any worse.

RyoHazuki

The plot didn't make any sense to me either but I'll probably see it for Kelsey Grammer on the big screen.

The Bus

Good point.

fumanstan

While the plot doesn't seem to really make sense, it looks like a fun film. A lot of positive reaction from the crowd when I first saw this trailer.

Drexl

I can't help but think this would work better on a much smaller scale, like if it was set in a small town and the vote was for mayor or something. It would be much more believable that one guy could have the swing vote (it has happened), and there wouldn't be as many complications with the electoral college and other things. It would be a nice little microcosm of political maneuvering, kind of like Election.

The Bus

My guess this movie is aiming a bit broader.

silentbob007

From the picture above and the title, I thought this was a sequel to Tin Cup ....

Zen Peckinpah

I'll call it now: best Kevin Costner movie since 3000 Miles to Graceland.

I might see it, if only because it looks surprisingly solid and the cast (Dennis Hopper!).

And Reinhold FTW!

fernsita

Yah, I definitely think the cast is what won me over instantly. When I was watching the trailer it was like one famous face after another. Seems interesting.

Patman

Even though the film's premise (one man's problematic vote in the Presidential election will decide his state's electoral college votes, which is enough to swing the presidential election by his sole vote, which is to be re-cast due to a voting machine malfunction) has a super-low probability of ever happening, the writers use it to springboard into some very satirical bits on what the candidates are willing to do in order to campaign for one single vote that will decide the Presidential election.

Kevin Costner is solid as Bud, a blue-collar type just trying to get by on a low wage job, with a young daughter (Molly) who is the adult in their relationship. Their scenes together play very well and endears us to them as Bud has history foisted on him due to the voting machine malfunction. As Bud gets authenticated as the lone swing voter, he is given 10 days to go on an unexpected personal journey that includes courtship by both candidates (where pandering and a juggling of their political party platforms is of the utmost expediency for Bud's vote) and a personal re-examination of what it means to participate in the political process as a means to affect meaningful change in people's lives.

Kevin Costner and physical comedy - 2 things I thought I'd never pair with one another, but Costner's pretty funny at the limited bits in the film. Madeline Carroll, who play Molly, is very sweet and has a real connection with Costner and makes their father-daughter scenes work and bolsters the film with an emotional core. While the rest of the cast of characters aren't fully developed (they don't need to be), they all are written well enough to convey at what cost is their life's ambition worth to their personal integrity, and how each one handles their crossroads in a proper manner.

I was entertained for most of its running time, laughed at some funny campaign commercials and other situations that develop from this premise. Though Bud sure did get to experience a lot in 10 days, the script pokes necessary fun at the 2 major political parties, and campaign process, and distills it into a microcosm of landing Bud's vote.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

fernsita

Saw this movie this past weekend and just like Patman, I loved Kevin Costner's performance. It was a pleasant surprise to see him in such a different role and he played it out very well. I found myself laughing the entire time and really liked the music in the film too!

Giantrobo

So they're calling this film a BO bomb now?