Kevin Costner has made his career by playing lovable rascals, and he’s at the top of his game in “Swing Vote,” a crowd-pleasing, Capra-esque political satire-cum-family drama. Costner’s also smart enough of a filmmaker to surround himself with a rock-solid supporting cast, and this time out it’s newcomer Madeline Carroll who really shines. At only twelve years of age, she pretty much steals the show from the rest of her accomplished co-stars.

Costner plays Bud, a beer-swillin’ single dad who’s raising a precocious little girl named Molly (Carroll), although it’s obvious that the daughter is really the only responsible adult in this family. On Election Day, Molly browbeats her father into doing his civic duty, but when he doesn’t show up, she sneaks in and votes in his place. Due to a malfunctioning voting machine, Bud’s vote is not recorded. And because the election comes down to a tie, apolitical Bud will now personally decide the next president of the United States when he casts his “Swing Vote.”

It’s all quite far-fetched, but just plausible enough to get us to a place where two presidential candidates and their campaign staffs descend on a small New Mexico town, intent on pandering to the last remaining voter. There’s actually some very funny stuff here, as the candidates churn out political commercials designed to win Bud’s approval, even if it means abandoning their party’s long-established positions. Suddenly Republicans are pro gay marriage and Democrats are putting out impassioned pleas to stop abortions. The political commercials alone make for very witty satire.

The core of the movie is the daddy-daughter relationship, and it will melt your heart to watch this little girl defend her daddy, even though she knows he’s a screw up. As you might guess, Bud decides to change when he realizes that he’s such an embarrassment to his daughter, the “one good thing he’s got” in his life.

The political satire is nice (but perhaps too gentle) and the family drama is touching, but the two elements don’t necessarily mesh well within the same film. “Swing Vote” also wanders a bit off course with a subplot involving Molly’s mother, who turns out to be a worse parent than Bud, but the bottom line is that focus issues aside, this is another likeable-but-slight comedy from Costner with a nice message (every vote counts) a great family drama and some occasional political barbs that hit home.

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published bi-weekly in The Port Arthur News. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@kavutv.com.