Review of Election (1999) by Tommy 'See The Treasure' S — 19 Dec 2013

I haven't seen all that many Matthew Broderick movies but I suppose his most notable role must be as Ferris Bueller in that iconic and light-hearted John Hughes comedy from the 80's. Here he plays Jim McAllister, an enthusiastic high-school teacher who is a million miles away from the cool and cocky Ferris. Ferris was the type of character who seemed to get away with everything. Jim McAllister is the type of man who suffers the rare misfortune of getting stung in the eye by a bee. Needless to say, this is a very different type of movie.

The plot of Election revolves around a high school election for the school government, which Jim is in charge of organizing. Tracy Flick(Reese Witherspoon) is an overachieving yet lonely high school student who focuses all her energies on the election, for which she is running unopposed. Jim, who both admires and despises Tracy, tries to decrease her chances of victory by introducing a new candidate into the election, a good-natured and popular high school student named Paul Melzer(Chris Klein). Out of spite, Paul's nonconformist sister Tammy(Jessica Campbell) also decides to run for president, with a desire to introduce some anarchy into what she sees as a foolish charade.

Directed by Alexander Payne and based on a novel by Tom Perrotta, this is a very funny movie with a dark satirical edge. I have read somewhere before that the story is actually based on some specific political election. I had no idea about this when I was watching it and it's certainly not prerequisite information to enjoying the movie. In a way, the writers have found the perfect forum to mock the process of elections in general, blending the seedy world of politics with a preppy high-school setting and funny, recognizable characters.

The performances are very good all round. Broderick is great as the well-meaning but flawed teacher and Chris Klein is surprisingly hilarious as the innocent and dim-witted jock. The real star, however, is undoubtedly Reese Witherspoon who gives what might be the performance of her career as the obnoxious know-it-all Tracy Flick. Although Tracy is on the surface a good and ambitious student, she becomes increasingly vindictive in her desire to get ahead. Tracy is a very fine comic creation but the character stops short of becoming a grotesque caricature. Witherspoon's performance is effective enough to make us sympathize with the character's one-eyed determination and loneliness.