by Curtis Edmonds -- blueduck@hsbr.org
"Were the world perfect, it would always be wrong to trespass, but as the world is not perfect, sometimes one must. And when you do, you live, you break free, you fly. I know this is true, and the reason it is true, I believe, is that the spark of transgression comes directly from the heart of God."
-- Mark Helprin, Memoir from Antproof Case
Superficially, Election is about a student council election in a small high school in Omaha, Nebraska. I say "superficially" because, really, little can be more superficial than a student council election. The biggest ovation (and the biggest laugh) is reserved for the one character who points out the foolishness of the exercise and promises to abolish the student government if elected school president. Much of the comedy is directed at the mounting silliness of the election and the grotesque awkwardness of the high school experience, making it easy to pigeonhole Election as a typical MTV Films coming-of-age movie. Do not make this mistake.
It would be a little more accurate to call Election a smart, snappy commentary on our electoral system, which it is. Election's top candidate is Pleasantville's Reese Witherspoon, playing consummate overachiever Tracy Flick. There's a scene early on that catalogues Tracy's accomplishments -- student council member, French Club, yearbook -- that's somewhat reminiscent of a similar scene in Rushmore. Both Jason Schwartzman's Max Fischer and Tracy Flick are involved in a plethora of high school activities as a creepy substitute for acceptance, but there are important differences. Tracy is bright, cheerful, and nauseatingly perky, where Max is confused, difficult, and hyperactive. Where Max is seeking to burrow to the heart of his school. Tracy's activity is directed towards the outside world. Bit by bit, we see her slowly building her resume on a path to leadership and eventual world domination. Every piece of gum she gives away, every poster she makes, every cupcake she bribes voters with is just one more step along her predetermined path.
Of course, with people like this, any deviation from that predetermined path is a problem. Very early on, a younger version of Jeff Spicoli swipes a double handful of Juicy Fruit from Tracy's hallway election headquarters. "ONE PIECE PER PERSON!" she yells, as though the world had ended. Anything that breaks her composure, anything that ruins her perfect plan, threatens to send Tracy into a violent, sobbing (and highly entertaining) rage.
What makes this political satire? Well, keep in mind that director/screenwriter Alexander Payne introduces Elizabeth Dole's name into the discussion. I'm not making any invidious comparisons here. Really. I'm not.
Anyway, one of the many things that disappointed me about Pleasantville was the way that Reese Witherspoon's character disappeared midway through. Here, she's given almost the whole movie as her personal private playground, and she turns in a sharp, funny performance that's right on the mark.
But that still isn't what the movie's about.
No, Election is about the divine spark of transgression, the message of temptation, the occasional powerful impulse to do something wrong. Mostly, we control that spark and keep our evildoing to a minimum. Some of us let that spark burn us up, others let it suffocate, but everyone knows its irresistible power.
It is the spark of transgression that powers Election and raises it from its unpromising lineage to become a genuinely good film. That spark is personified by Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), three-time teacher of the year at Carver High and all-around good guy, the sort who would never... ever... do anything bad or wrong or evil.
At first, it seemed cruel to me to cast Broderick in this role, and it is a little sad to see Ferris Bueller teaching government class, especially with graying temples that look for all the world to be applied with Liquid Paper. But the spark of transgression can light up even the dullest, grayest life. Broderick sees Witherspoon's character as a mortal threat. McAllister fears Tracy on a personal level (she's already slept with, and ruined the life of, his best friend) but he also fears the inevitability of her rise to power, or merely wants to teach her a lesson. Whatever the reason, McAllister is sitting in his basement, drinking a Pepsi, watching... well... let's just say he's watching TV... and the spark of transgression hits him. He decides to enlist football hero Paul Metzler (newcomer Chris Klein) as Tracy's opponent. And from there, the sparks start flying, and don't stop until the very last scene.
These are the high points of the movie, and they make Election worth seeing by themselves. But such a review leaves out a lot of the small, good touches that make Election special -- as well as the annoying little freeze-frame and flashback sequences that make it imperfect. If Election were a perfect movie, such criticisms would be superfluous. Election is not a perfect movie, but it lives, it breaks free, and every once in a while it even flies.
Rating: A-
-- Curtis D. Edmonds blueduck@hsbr.org
"First, you show up. Then you see what happens."
-- Napoleon Bonaparte
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