Review of Election (1999) by Drlowdon — 06 Jun 2013

Having been involved in a scandal resulting in a high school teacher losing his job and family Tracy Flick (Witherspoon) is determined to win the election for student-body president. When her teacher, Mr. McAllister (Broderick), realises he may be forced to spend the next year working closely with a girl he can't stand he convinces the popular, but not particularly bright, Paul Meltzer to run against her.

A satirical comedy of the American electoral process Election has a dark sense of humor throughout with much of the comedy arising from the gradual unraveling of Mr. McAllister's life and it is largely thanks its more subtle nature that it managers to differentiate itself from the endless string of high-school movies of the late nineties. Resisting the temptation to utilise the usual cliched high school characters Election fully explores the motivations of each of the, very well cast, main characters with Reece Witherspoon in particular playing her role to perfection. As relevant now as it was when released Election would make an excellent addition to any movie collection.