Kelsey Grammer plays a gay-wooing Republican incumbent in "Swing Vote"

When I saw the above teaser trailer for the upcoming comedy Swing Vote, my first thought (after I rolled my eyes) was, "Oh, jeez ... it looks like another I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry"...

But it appears that the trailer is a political ad that the desperate candidate uses in the movie (or at least approximates one he would use), and it's probably supposed to be appalling. Swing Vote is a Wag The Dog-ish comedy that skewers our political process, including the lengths to which candidates will go to win. From the press release:

"Kevin Costner stars as Bud Johnson, an apathetic, beer slinging, lovable loser, who is coasting through a life that has passed him by, except for the one bright spot in his mundane existence, his precocious, over achieving twelve-year old daughter, Molly. She takes care of them both, until one mischievous moment on Election Day, when she accidentally sets off a chain of events which culminates in the presidential election coming down to one vote, her dads. Suddenly, Bud Johnson, the nobody, becomes the voice for everybody when the world realizes that his vote will be the one that elects the next president. Politicians invade the small town of Texico, New Mexico and its unwitting inhabitants, waging war for Bud's vote."

Director Joshua Michael Stern with Nathan Lane and Dennis Hopper

In addition to Grammer and Costner, Swing Vote also stars the out Nathan Lane, the always delectable Stanley Tucci, and for some reason, George Lopez. It's a pretty big cast for a writer/director (Joshua Michael Stern) whose biggest previous credits include writing a David DeCoteau movie and Amityville Dollhouse.

Interestingly, the movie that Stern wrote for DeCoteau, Skeletons, is a drama about anti-gay violence in a small town. (It's also one of the horror director's few "legit" and best films.) No idea whether Stern is himself gay or not, but he's handled gay subject matter in the past and handled it quite well, which is encouraging.

You can see the full trailer after the break, and watch for Swing Vote when it hits theaters on August 1st.