"Pick Flick!"      

Election (R) 

Reviewed May 4, 1999 - Check out the Election Website.

It's offbeat, it's dark, it's strangely comical.  In Election, we're taken to Carver High School in Omaha, Nebraska and introduced to Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), a dedicated and popular History/Civics teacher at the small school.  McAllister loves teaching...he's wanted to be a teacher all his life...and he loves his students.  Ummm...wait, let me take that back...he loves most of his students, except for one over-eager, overly ambitious senior by the name of Tracy Flick. 

Tracy is one of those all-too-perfect students that people love to hate--straight A's in every class, chairman of every club or committee in school, spirited, spunky, and all too perfect.  Well, it's student body election time at Carver High, and when Tracy decides to run (unopposed, as it turns out) for class President, Mr. McAllister decides that enough is enough.  Determined to take Tracy down a notch, McAllister initiates a plot to give Tracy a little bit of competition in the form of Paul Metzler (Chris Klein), the school's recently injured but popular star quarterback.  Paul isn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he is a well-meaning, good-hearted oaf, and it's not long after Paul throws his name in the hat that Tracy finds she's got serious competition.  Needless to say, mayhem quickly ensues at Carver High.

I won't go into all the subplots and character details embedded in Election, as the unexpected twists are part of what makes this film an interesting ride.  Taking a very contorted view of the world, writer/director Alexander Payne has created a truly oddball collection of characters and circumstances, and weaved them into an often cynical, sometimes shocking, but surprisingly amusing battle between teacher and student.  With some very witty dialog, effective use of voice-overs, and the use of some hilariously strange camera angles, Election is a movie that, if nothing else, qualifies as truly "different."  Yes, this is a film I would recommend, but be prepared for the offbeat if you do decide to see it.  Broderick, Witherspoon, Klein all deserve credit for their excellent performances, as does Jessica Campbell, who play's Paul Metzler's lesbian sister Tammy.  Yikes...who knew a high school election could get this complicated... :-)

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

markabell@worldnet.att.net gives this movie  stars: "Morals and Ethics from MTV? A sharp serio-comedy that has the smartest script to date this year! Bravo to all involved by putting out a film that harkens back to the fine 1970's daring low budget studio releases! Be warned...Ferris Bueller grew up." (5/24/99)

melissa@everythingchanges.com gives this movie  stars: "This was the stupidest and most disgusting (as far as values) movie I have ever seen." (5/23/99)