Review of Election (1999) by Cameron J — 11 Feb 2012

"Ferris Bueller: Back to School". It's a clever, but overly confident cool dude that's narrating everything, and he's played by Matthew Broderick, so that's pretty much what this is. Poor Matt Broderick, being typecast that... oddly specifically, and as if that's not bad enough, when you think about this being "Ferris Bueller 2", it lets you see just how miscast Jack Nicholson was in that certain other Alexander Payne film a few years later in 2002. I think that they could have picked a way more convincing old Matt Broderick for "About Bueller", or at least "About Schmidt" felt like that, seeing as it's also about an overly confident dude that's narrating everything and that's just about all Alexander Payne seems to be doing. Seriously, there's enough narrations in his films to almost match a Terrence Malick film, and I don't mean all of the Malick films put together, I mean just "one" of his films, because it's hard enough to have as much narration as the one. Okay, Payne isn't that repetative of a filmmaker, but he's certainly with his formula, and hey, I'm just fine with that, because it's a pretty sharp formula. Still, that doesn't mean that Payne's formula is spotless, because not even Ferris Bueller could get this film out of some of its sticky situations.

Now, I've heard of undeveloped and un[b]der[/b]developed, but you never truly understand "overdeveloped" until you see an Alexander Payne film, particularly this one, the first "35" minutes of which is consistent, unrelenting backstory, and I know that doesn't sound like much, but pacing is slow, and it gives you a chance to see just how overwhelmed with exposition everything is, and with under 7 total minutes of breaktime during that 35 minute backstory segment, you can bet that there's plenty of exposition to go around. Don't get me wrong, it's good to get to know these characters and all, but come on Alex, trim it up. Of course, that's not the only big chunk of loose editing plaguing the film, for although not a single moment in the film is as overlong as the immediate exposition segment, there are plenty moments in this film that overstay their welcome, making many shifts in scene or character focus feel very offputting and leaving the pacing to slow to a crawl. The film is not tedious, for although it runs much longer in feel than it does on the clock, there's little actual dullness in the atmosphere, and plus, were the film not overlong, it would be over...short, or something like that, because this storyline is a brief one. Still, as it stands, the film limps in its steps, and it's a challenge to watch a usual film with these flaws credits-to-credits. However, this is not your usual film, in general, let alone film with its flaws. Sure, those flaws bump things down quite a bit, but at the end of the day, what we're left with is an ultimately rewarding picture.

As I said, this script is a very unique one, maybe not terribly so, but enough so for you to be left totally unaware of the next step and invested in whatever that next step will be, and more often not, the next step is riddled with wit. Sure, a lot of your more vulgar jokes are absolutely ridiculous, and I'm not usually one to call out the vulgarity, but when your first vulgar line joke is, well, that certain first line said by Mark Harelik, it's not hard to tell that Mr. Payne is gunning for R. Of course, when the dialogue snaps - as it so often does -, it crackles and pops, being so fluid and quick, with wit and charm at its back pushing it through and through, which isn't to say that the dialogue is the only thing sharp about the script, because it's the satire that really stands out. Next to my obsession with family, film, music before the '90s and "How I Met Your Mother" (Come on, that show is legen-wait for it-dary), my trademark quality is my scorching, intense, burning, red-hot, blinding hatred of teenagers, because although there are some good ones, too many of these little punks are self-righteous, obnoxious, obsessive fiends that get worse and worse and stay adolescent longer and longer, making them precursors to the distant future generation that will - not could or may, but [b]"will"[/b] - destroy society as we know it, and Alex Payne has the good common sense to finally come out and tell it like it is by portraying these little monsters in a fashion that's not too over-the-top, in order to show us just how stupid they really are, but still with enough satire to feel like a much deserved look-down to kids like this, and it's satisfying to see that I'm not the only guy who knows how these plagues play their game. Okay, now that I've gotten my favorite part of the satire out of the way, it's time for me to come in, be honest and say that kids are not at all the only bad people living among the norms, and Payne realizes that, realistically satirizing everyone for us to get a good laugh and a lot to chew on as we watch this enjoyably harsh deconstruction of many different people, if of course you want to call teenagers people. Still, just because most everyone in this film is a jerk, at least they know how to be charming at it. Whether it be the always lovable Matt Broderick, or the sweet Chris Klein, or whoever, everyone's bringing charisma to the screen and it really grabs your attention, leaving every slow-down or dull spot to fade as a terrible problem and the audience genuinely enjoying themselves.

As the ballots close... very, very slowly, I dare you to try and not check a clock to see just how long you were watching this film, considering its slow pacing that opens a wound into which salt is poured by overlong sequences and subsequent offputting transitions in focus, but it's not like you'll regret that time spend, because with a refreshing script - complimented by mostly sharp dialogue and satire -, executed with wit and charm from its writer/director and wide, colorful cast of charismas, Alexander Payne's "Election" is left an ultimately rewarding and enjoyable charmer of a sharp deconstruction of usual subtle freaks you can find within school doors.

3/5 - Good.