Election (1999)

Okay, so we know one side of American high schools, the one where students'only concerns are related to alcohol, sex and drugs, a situation we've witnessed in both comedies (American Pie etc) and serious movies (The Rules of Attraction). In this cynical satire, on the other hand, we get to see what really goes on in all the classes, offices and hallways that mean so much to US people.

As the title says, the movie is about an election, more precisely the one which will decide who is gonna be the new president of the student body. There are three candidates, and they couldn't be more different: Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) is an annoying, over-intelligent, overambitious, spoiled girl who wants nothing less than the best and is willing to do anything to obtain it (if Lisa Simpson and King Kong's Carl Denham had a kid, it would be her), Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) is an ex football champion who thinks he can do good things for his fellow students, as well as gain some popularity, while his sister, Tammy (Jessica Campbell) is running for president only because Paul "stole" her "girlfriend". Actually, a fourth person is involved, too: Tim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), a teacher who just loves his job, tries to keep his marriage together and wishes he could prevent Tracy from winning the election. These people's paths are gonna cross, with unusual, unexpected results...

Election is one of the most original comedies of all time, and it's suggested to anyone who's considering a screen writing career: Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor's script breathes fresh air into the genre, with dialogue so sharp you usually hear it only on HBO (some of the exchanges are worthy of Six Feet Under or, outside subscription channel territory, Desperate Housewives). And that dialogue works thanks to the actors who got the wonderful job of delivering it: Broderick, in particular, has an impeccable comic timing, making us laugh with no difficulty, even when he's being serious (I wonder what he will do replacing Gene Wilder in The Producers), but it's Witherspoon who grabs all the attention, giving us the performance of a lifetime. More than her most famous character, Elle Woods, Tracy Flick is the ultimate proof "blonde" doesn't equal "totally stupid".

Tired of conventional comedy? Watch Election, it's really worth it.

Fmovies: "Election" is a satire on our electoral system, set in an Omaha high school. Reese Witherspoon is overachiever Tracy Flick, trying as hard as possible to get elected. But teacher Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) will try as hard as possible to stop her, even if it means a few unethical actions.

Probably the best scene in the movie is the debates. After Tracy and Paul debate, Paul's sister Tammy says something to the effect of: "What's the deal with school elections? Class president is just something that people like to put on college applications. If I get elected, I think that I'll eliminate these positions altogether." As far as I'm concerned, that's a totally accurate statement. All in all, anyone who wants to really understand our electoral system need only watch "Election". Perfect.

For some reason, this film has always brought a laugh to the bottom of stomach. Some people may call it boring due to the fact its not some gross-out teen comedy, but this is really the antithesis of a great satire. One can't see the scaly nature of politics simply because its always drowned in newspeak and bad reporting. But to see it at this level of understanding, it proves to be quite entertaining. It also provides a precursor to our most recent (2000) election. We have the longtime politician, the incompetent who people like, and the iconoclast who wants to shake up government. And of course, there is the cheating regulator who gets the wrong person elected for his own slimy means. Who would have guessed life would imitate art. A great film for all to see. Matthew Broderick is at his best, Reese Witherspoon really sells her role, and I actually tolerated Chris Klein's role in this film.

Election fmovies. High-school comedies became popular because the milieu was familiar to a large proportion of the film-going audienceÂ… But the best examples of the genre in the 1980s and 1990s satirized not only the constant battle of the sexes, but other elements in American lifeÂ… The frequent struggles between jocks and nerds were a kind of microcosm of the class difference which is supposed not to exist in the United StatesÂ…

In "Election," one of the best examples of this popular genre, much of the humor is at the expense of the 'democratic' processÂ… The film's guiding insight is that in practice democracy reduces to a popularity contest, in which dirty tricks are the normÂ…

Tracy is a Nebraskan high-school blonde who is brilliant and hard-workingÂ… She is standing for election as student presidentÂ… Played by Reese Witherspoon, Tracy is bright and intolerant, eaten up by ambition and her ruthless determination to winÂ… She is regarded with disgust by a career teacher and student adviser, Jim McAllister, for her self-righteousness, and also for her role in the dismissal of his fellow teacher Dave after a sex scandalÂ… Jim encourages student football star Paul to stand against TracyÂ…

Ethics and Morals

I'm not generally a fan of excessive voice-over and quirky, stylised direction but here it's all done so well. It seems to suffer from that classic "this film didn't make sense" style of review, but it clearly does. A wonderful script with a great mix of slapstick and intelligent comedy and winning performances from Broderick, a brilliant Reese Witherspoon and the normally hapless Chris Klein.

And, yes, it has sex in it. It's hardly titillating and is always completely relevant to the plot. But if you simply hate seeing sex (not nudity, of which there is very little) in films then you won't like it.

It beats Rushmore to the 'best film set in a high school' award.

Election is easily my favorite comedy and one of my top ten favorite movies of all time. It brings out the best in most of it's cast and the stylistic quality of the film is both outrageous and subtle at the same time. However, the most amazing part of Election is that it makes an incredible movie and bases it around a subject so simple as a high school election.

But do not be fooled by it's simplicity in basic plot because hiding behind it's summary is a film that truly was underappreciated and very underrated. MTV has never and will never again get a movie as stunning as this.

Reese Witherspoon gives the performance of her career by playing Tracy Flick, a neurotic, self-obsessed go getter with a somewhat dark past that puts her on edge with Jim McCalister, a teacher who truly will stop at nothing to bring her down.

I will not say any more about Election except that those who have not seen this movie are truly missing out on an amazing film