Election (1999)

Too much of everything

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The high school Class President election is approaching and it looks like Tracy Flick is going to win, unopposed. However, teacher Jim McAllister has other plans. He convinces jock Paul Metzler to run, sparking off an interesting chain of events.Brilliant movie from writer-director Alexander Payne. Darkly funny, with a cynical, subversive streak to it. This subversiveness extends beyond the comedy as the movie captures high school as a microcosm for the world we live in, especially the world of politics. Here Payne is particularly brilliant and brutal, showing us the kind of people who thrive in politics, and what happens to those that get in their way.

Enjoyed it, makes fun out of things we probably should frown upon now. But good comedy always takes on taboos, divisive issues. All the actors were great, not just the leads. If you want to have a giggle at morality and ethics, political process regarding presentation as opposed to actual policy, you'll have a good giggle at this.

a must watch before each political election, especially this year... Tracy flick represents every lying, over-achiever-sociopath, who are often presented to the society as a successful person. so if you hate overly ambitious people without any moral compass(which is pretty much most of them ha ha), than this movie is sooo for you. it also makes fun of the election process as a whole, so this movie is totally dedicated to this year's presidential election in the US. the trailer and the picture art however send a totally wrong vibe about this gem. it's a very thought provoking dark comedy about the society and how pathetic most of it really is. can be watched over and over probably even 20 years from now.

Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) is an overachieving Type A personality. Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) is the conscientious civics teacher. His best friend and fellow teacher Dave Novotny gets into serious trouble having an affair with Tracy. Dave loses his job and his marriage. Tracy is an only child and running unopposed in the class president election. Jim convinces rich popular football player Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) to run against her after his injury sidelines him. Paul's sister Tammy gets too obsessed with girlfriend Lisa. Lisa breaks up with her by having sex with Paul. That drives Tammy to run in the election against her older brother.This is a hilarious black comedy from Alexander Payne. Reese is so aggressively aggressive. She is absolutely brilliant. Chris Klein is also funny as the clueless jock. Broderick is sometimes on and off. He's not quite as funny in comparison. He's more in the pathetic area. I prefer the hilarity of the younger kids.