Review of Election (2005) by Dave A — 22 Aug 2009
Everything might lead you to believe that this is a high school comedy: MTV Films is the producer, a pre-Oscar winning Reese Witherspoon is the star and it takes place in a high school.
But Election, which comes from director Alexander Payne is as much about high school as The Catcher in the Rye is about living in Europe: it ain't!
The story follows a teacher (Matthew Broderick) running a class election, which is boiled down between a sickeningly ambitious overachiever (Witherspoon, the ultimate nightmare of high school overachiever) and a nice jock of average intelligence (Chris Klein). The film itself is fairly amusing but it's a black comedy if there ever was one, sans anyone croaking. Broderick turns in a winning performance as a man stuck in a midlife crisis, which is worsened by his attraction to a colleague's ex-wife. Complimenting him is Reese Witherspoon's Tracy Flick, literally plays the girl we ALL know in high school that's a giant pain in the ass who knows it all. Witherspoon is frighteningly good in the role and plays against Broderick quite appropriately.
Payne directed Sideways and About Schmidt, which pretty much establishes the kind of razor sharp comedy.
This review of Election (2005) was written by Dave A on 22 Aug 2009.
Election has generally received positive reviews.
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