Election

MPAA Rating

Theatrical Release Date

May 06, 1999

Genre(s)

Comedy

Rating (Stars)

Description

Matthew Broderick makes up for years of wet-noodle performances with his low-key but unsparing characterization of Jim McAllister, a high school teacher at George Washington Carver High School in Omaha, Nebraska. Driven by a strange mixture of loathing and lust for pathologically overachieving student Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), McAllister encourages a dim but popular athlete, Paul (Chris Klein from American Pie), to run against her in the election for student-council president. Director-cowriter Alexander Payne (Citizen Ruth) turns this deceptively simple premise into a complex and scathing comedy of ambition, corruption, and desire, all at its most naked and petty. Every scene contains some painfully funny nuance that will make you wince in a mixture of astonishment and empathy. Witherspoon flips effortlessly back and forth from adolescent vulnerability to steely-eyed strength; she's becoming a contemporary Carole Lombard. The movie itself feels like a magnificent throwback to the richly layered comedies of the '30s, which drew their humor from sharply drawn characters and twisting plots instead of explosions of bodily fluids. With a wealth of smart, cutting details, Election rewards multiple viewing. --Bret Fetzer

Director

Alexander Payne

Stars

Matthew Broderick
Reese Witherspoon
Chris Klein
Jessica Campbell
Phil Reeves

Running Time

103 minutes

Original Price

$29.99

Current Value

$2.25

DVD Features

Anamorphic
Closed-captioned
Color
Dolby
DVD-Video
Widescreen
NTSC
2.35:1