7.3/10
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442 user 175 critic

Election (1999)

R | | Comedy, Drama | 7 May 1999 (USA)
A high school teacher's personal life becomes complicated as he works with students during the school elections, particularly with an obsessive overachiever determined to become student body president.

Director:

Writers:

(novel), (screenplay) | 1 more credit »
Reviews
Popularity
4,246 ( 275)

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Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 16 wins & 33 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Loren Nelson ...
Custodian
Emily Martin ...
Girl in Crisis
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Storyline

Tracy Flick is running unopposed for this year's high school student election. But school civics teacher Jim McAllister has a different plan. Partly to establish a more democratic election, and partly to satisfy some deep personal anger toward Tracy, Jim talks popular varsity football player Paul Metzler to run for president as well. Chaos ensues. Written by R. P. Falvey <falvey@scf.usc.edu>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Reading, Writing, Revenge.

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, sex-related dialogue and language, and a scene of drug use | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

7 May 1999 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

L'arriviste  »

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$119,080 (USA) (23 April 1999)

Gross:

$14,879,556 (USA) (6 August 1999)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The apples on the tree in Mrs. Novotony's back yard were tied onto the branches. See more »

Goofs

The newspaper articles near the end contain spelling mistakes such as "deceipt" (ie "deceit" with an extra "p"), and "shoe-in" (which should be "shoo-in" as the expression refers to driving an animal, not footwear). See more »

Quotes

Tammy Metzler: [narrating] Sometimes when I'm sad, I sit and watch the power station. They say if you lie between two of the main wires, your body just evaporates, you become a gas. I wonder what that would feel like.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The end titles include four "The producers wish to thank the following:" cards, one "Very Special Thanks to:" card, and one "Extra Very Special Thanks to:" card. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.18 (2011) See more »

Soundtracks

If You'll Be the Teacher
Written by Sue Miller and Ned Miller
Performed by Mandy Barnett
Courtesy of Sire Records Group
See more »

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User Reviews

 
An outstanding satire
1 February 2005 | by (United Kingdom) – See all my reviews

Ethics and Morals

I'm not generally a fan of excessive voice-over and quirky, stylised direction but here it's all done so well. It seems to suffer from that classic "this film didn't make sense" style of review, but it clearly does. A wonderful script with a great mix of slapstick and intelligent comedy and winning performances from Broderick, a brilliant Reese Witherspoon and the normally hapless Chris Klein.

And, yes, it has sex in it. It's hardly titillating and is always completely relevant to the plot. But if you simply hate seeing sex (not nudity, of which there is very little) in films then you won't like it.

It beats Rushmore to the 'best film set in a high school' award.


61 of 102 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Those strange, horror movie-like sounds. lilcharmer
Why did Tracy sleep with the teacher? Swollenclip
Why Did McAllister Throw the Ballot Slips Into The Trash Can? stephanielaur92
Message? Mononoke-hime
Omaha Accent bauhausblack
Wouldn't the wife be mad at her friend? zeroyear27
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