"Election" is a terrific movie, one of the smartest comedies of the 1990s. As some other viewers have noted, it has certain similarities to "To Die For"; "Election" doesn't have quite as much technical and verbal brilliance, and its humor is more low-key, but on the other hand it doesn't caricature its characters quite as much and has a little more warmth. No belly laughs here, but plenty of understated humor that bristles with intelligence and psychological insight. (In one scene, an alienated, rebellious lesbian teenager is being lectured by her parents; her silent reactions to their comments are quietly hilarious.)
The fact that there are no real "good guys" in "Election," no one you can whole-heartedly root for, may be a turn-off to some viewers, but it's also what gives the film its complexity. To some extent, we identify with Jim McAllister's loathing of the grasping, humorless control freak Tracy Flick. But when Tracy says that "Mr. M." resented her so much because he felt stuck in an unsatisfying routine while watching many of his students go on to far more glamorous and successful lives ... well, she has a point, doesn't she. (Incidentally, I thought that using multiple narrators was a great touch!) And we also see that to some extent, his hatred of Tracy is driven by frustrated sexual desire. While Jim McAllister's plight elicits sympathy, to say that his actions aren't admirable is an understatement.
On the other hand, Tracy isn't just loathsome; her loneliness occasionally makes us feel sorry for her (though that side of her -- the yearning for human contact, which was obviously the primary motive behind her affair with the teacher -- isn't developed enough). We also see that her single-minded determination to succeed at all costs is to some extent born of desperation, coming as she does from a relatively disadvantaged background as the daughter of a lower-middle-class single mother. One can even understand her resentment of dumb (but nice) jock Paul Metzler's easy popularity.
At least one IMDB reviewer has complained that "Election" puts down the work ethic by turning Tracy -- the only character with ambition and determination to make something of herself -- into the closest it has to a villain. I disagree. I personally dislike the term "overachiever," which implies that too much achievement is a bad thing. However, true achievement is about following your dream and excelling at something you love to do and something you have talent for. The very fact that Tracy is involved in so many activities strongly suggests that she has no real passion for any of them, she just wants to get ahead in any way she can. She's not an achiever so much as a status-seeker, a politician in the worst sense of the word -- adept at using cliches like "I care about each and every one of you" and "when you vote for me, you vote for yourself," obsessed with things like perfect campaign posters, and sincerely convinced that her fellow students should be grateful to her for meaningless work like "cleaning up group photos" for the yearbook.
Some people have compared the Tracy Flick character to Bill Clinton. It's not a perfect analogy -- Bill is far more charismatic and much better at making people believe he actually cares about them. But I guess you could say that Bill drives his enemies crazy "in a way they can't fully explain," just as "Mr. M." says of Tracy!
In addition to a good script with crisp dialogue, "Election" is distinguished by excellent performances all-around. Matthew Broderick is at his best here, showing his range an actor (very refreshing, after execrable trash like "Godzilla" and "The Road to Wellville"). Reese Witherspoon is simply wonderful. I've enjoyed her performances even in movies I didn't care for, such as "Cruel Intentions" and "Fear." She is one of those actors who can convey a lot just with their body language and facial expressions, and she certainly shows it here, in a role that often requires her to shift from sunny perkiness to grim rage in the blink of an eye. Her facial expressions in the scene where she thinks she has been caught doing something that will cost her the election (I won't give it away), and her reaction when she realizes she can blame someone else, are priceless.
Chris Klein was touchingly goofy as Paul, and Jessica Campbell did an excellent job as his alienated adopted sister Tammy.
Another thing I liked about the film is that many of the characters are average-looking. In today's Hollywood, this kind of realism is refreshing.
Looking at the comments on IMDB, I noticed that a number of people complained either because the movie was too sexually graphic, or because the sex scenes weren't really sexy. Come on, folks. This movie is rated "R" so it's not exactly like you weren't warned! A lot of teen sex comedies are far more explicit (and far less intelligent). As for the sex not being very erotic, that was obviously on purpose. The movie, after all, is a satire. The dullness of the marital sex between Jim and his wife underscore the overall drabness of his life.
"Election" is not without flaws. The subplot involving Jim McAllister's extramarital affair dragged a bit, and was rather predictable (though hardly incidental to the main plot: the fact that his personal life is unraveling is part of the reason he allows his hatred of Tracy to goad him into taking a highly imprudent step). The scenes at the end showing Jim's new life were too long -- but I loved the finale!
The fact that there are no real "good guys" in "Election," no one you can whole-heartedly root for, may be a turn-off to some viewers, but it's also what gives the film its complexity. To some extent, we identify with Jim McAllister's loathing of the grasping, humorless control freak Tracy Flick. But when Tracy says that "Mr. M." resented her so much because he felt stuck in an unsatisfying routine while watching many of his students go on to far more glamorous and successful lives ... well, she has a point, doesn't she. (Incidentally, I thought that using multiple narrators was a great touch!) And we also see that to some extent, his hatred of Tracy is driven by frustrated sexual desire. While Jim McAllister's plight elicits sympathy, to say that his actions aren't admirable is an understatement.
On the other hand, Tracy isn't just loathsome; her loneliness occasionally makes us feel sorry for her (though that side of her -- the yearning for human contact, which was obviously the primary motive behind her affair with the teacher -- isn't developed enough). We also see that her single-minded determination to succeed at all costs is to some extent born of desperation, coming as she does from a relatively disadvantaged background as the daughter of a lower-middle-class single mother. One can even understand her resentment of dumb (but nice) jock Paul Metzler's easy popularity.
At least one IMDB reviewer has complained that "Election" puts down the work ethic by turning Tracy -- the only character with ambition and determination to make something of herself -- into the closest it has to a villain. I disagree. I personally dislike the term "overachiever," which implies that too much achievement is a bad thing. However, true achievement is about following your dream and excelling at something you love to do and something you have talent for. The very fact that Tracy is involved in so many activities strongly suggests that she has no real passion for any of them, she just wants to get ahead in any way she can. She's not an achiever so much as a status-seeker, a politician in the worst sense of the word -- adept at using cliches like "I care about each and every one of you" and "when you vote for me, you vote for yourself," obsessed with things like perfect campaign posters, and sincerely convinced that her fellow students should be grateful to her for meaningless work like "cleaning up group photos" for the yearbook.
Some people have compared the Tracy Flick character to Bill Clinton. It's not a perfect analogy -- Bill is far more charismatic and much better at making people believe he actually cares about them. But I guess you could say that Bill drives his enemies crazy "in a way they can't fully explain," just as "Mr. M." says of Tracy!
In addition to a good script with crisp dialogue, "Election" is distinguished by excellent performances all-around. Matthew Broderick is at his best here, showing his range an actor (very refreshing, after execrable trash like "Godzilla" and "The Road to Wellville"). Reese Witherspoon is simply wonderful. I've enjoyed her performances even in movies I didn't care for, such as "Cruel Intentions" and "Fear." She is one of those actors who can convey a lot just with their body language and facial expressions, and she certainly shows it here, in a role that often requires her to shift from sunny perkiness to grim rage in the blink of an eye. Her facial expressions in the scene where she thinks she has been caught doing something that will cost her the election (I won't give it away), and her reaction when she realizes she can blame someone else, are priceless.
Chris Klein was touchingly goofy as Paul, and Jessica Campbell did an excellent job as his alienated adopted sister Tammy.
Another thing I liked about the film is that many of the characters are average-looking. In today's Hollywood, this kind of realism is refreshing.
Looking at the comments on IMDB, I noticed that a number of people complained either because the movie was too sexually graphic, or because the sex scenes weren't really sexy. Come on, folks. This movie is rated "R" so it's not exactly like you weren't warned! A lot of teen sex comedies are far more explicit (and far less intelligent). As for the sex not being very erotic, that was obviously on purpose. The movie, after all, is a satire. The dullness of the marital sex between Jim and his wife underscore the overall drabness of his life.
"Election" is not without flaws. The subplot involving Jim McAllister's extramarital affair dragged a bit, and was rather predictable (though hardly incidental to the main plot: the fact that his personal life is unraveling is part of the reason he allows his hatred of Tracy to goad him into taking a highly imprudent step). The scenes at the end showing Jim's new life were too long -- but I loved the finale!