Election (1999)

A high school teacher's personal life becomes complicated as he works with students during the school elections.

Director:

Alexander Payne

Writers:

Tom Perrotta (novel), Alexander Payne (screenplay),

Stars:

Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 21 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Broderick	...	Jim McAllister
Reese Witherspoon	...	Tracy Flick
Chris Klein	...	Paul Metzler
Jessica Campbell	...	Tammy Metzler
Mark Harelik	...	Dave Novotny
Phil Reeves	...	Walt Hendricks
Molly Hagan	...	Diane McAllister
Delaney Driscoll	...	Linda Novotny
Colleen Camp	...	Judith R. Flick
Frankie Ingrassia	...	Lisa Flanagan
Matt Malloy	...	Vice-Principal Ron Bell
Jeanine Jackson	...	Jo Metzler
Holmes Osborne	...	Dick Metzler
Loren Nelson	...	Custodian
Emily Martin	...	Girl in Crisis

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.

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Plot Keywords:

student | election | teacher | school | lesbian sister | 

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Taglines:

Reading, Writing, Revenge.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, sex-related dialogue and language, and a scene of drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

7 May 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eleição

Filming Locations:

16th St NW & H St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£65,113 (UK) (24 September 1999)

Gross:

£168,090 (UK) (1 October 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bona Fide Productions, MTV Films, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Melissa Joan Hart auditioned for the role of Tracy Flick.

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Goofs

Right before McAllister gets stung by the bee, while he is calling for Linda, a bug can be seen crawling on the camera. It is on the right side of the camera, where the tree is seen, and while it may appear to be flying or crawling on the tree it is obvious that the bug is clearly on the camera because of its proximity and crawling patterns.

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Quotes

Jim McAllister: [while counting the votes, he sees Tracy in the hall looking into the room] The sight of Tracy at that moment affected me in a way I can't fully explain. Part of it was that she was spying, but mostly it was her face. Who knew how high she would climb in life? How many people would suffer because of her? I had to stop her, now.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tracey Fragments (2007)

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Soundtracks

"This Road I'm Traveling"
Written by Neil Halstead
Performed by Mojave 3
Courtesy of Sire Records Records Group

User Reviews

Alexander Payne's uncompromising look at highschool politics. Foul-mouthed, sharp and funny

With me, Alexander Payne can do no wrong. Before he entered Hollywood's big league of directors with ABOUT SCHMIDT and SIDEWAYS, he made this remarkable film about a highschool election. But this is hardly your average highschool flick, this is an intelligently written, foul-mouthed film, filled with colorful characters and plenty of laughs in the process.

In a pitch-perfect role, Reese Witherspoon is Tracy Flick, one of those irritating girls that are always in the front row, always raise their hand and wanna do something for the sake of the school, read, for their own resume. Tracy Flick is one of those, a fiercely calculating careerist who will stop at nothing to get the main prize, the office of student body president at Carver High. Since she's running unopposed, nothing seems in her way at getting what she wants, again. History teacher and student government adviser Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick, Ferris Bueller reversed) seems content with his life, but is worn out by his love-less marriage, and by the plight of his best friend and colleague, sacked for sleeping with consenting but under age Tracy Flick. With the coming elections, McAllister is appalled by the prospect of working closely with this little nagging career bitch, and charged with overseeing the proceedings, discreetly sponsors a rival candidate, dumb but popular jock Paul Metzler (Chris Klein), to enter the election. But when Paul's sister Tammy (Jessica Campbell), an embittered and unpopular girl announces her candidacy, the election becomes a really back-biting and nasty affair, with Jim McAllister getting more than he bargained for.

I think this film might appeal even more to adults than teenagers. If you like Alexander Payne's uncompromising approach to his subjects, this will definitely be up your alley, with everything from lesbianism to adultery thrown in the mix. Ideally casted all the way, with Matthew Broderick, after a number of uninteresting roles in lame movies, really making his mark. He gives his role a sort of understatement that makes Mr. McAllister a hopelessly tragic, but utterly lovable loser.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10