Election (1999) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Matthew Broderick, Chris Klein and Jessica Campbell.
One of the pleasures of movie reviewing is watching a film that arrives unannounced and charms you with its humor and originality.
Such "sleepers" as "Fargo" and "The Full Monty" fit snugly into this category. And now you can add "Election," an askewed look at the polemics of high school politics.
Everyone of us knows a Tracy Flick. That's the student who always raises his or her hand first, always knowing right answer; the one who cheerfully organizes the car wash to raise the money to fund the prom, the one who is destined to be student body president and lead the school to glory.
We all know a Tracy Flick - and most of us hated her - or him. OK, maybe hate is too strong. Jealous, envious. We admired that student's ease and self-confidence around others while cursing our own tongue-tied inadequacies.
You know who you, er, we, are.
At George Washington Carver High School, Tracy Flick is the classic overachiever, a bright, perky go-getter whose ambition is to be student government president. And it looks like she will succeed, since she is running unopposed.
Jim McAllister is a much beloved, veteran civics teacher at Carver. He has been on the faculty for 12 years and has been recognized three times as "Teacher of the Year."
And he decides that Tracy must be stopped. He sees her treating high school as the first step in a lifelong career strategy that could take her to unimaginable heights.
He also knows Tracy's dark secret. She had an affair with his best friend, a teacher who lost his job after their romance became public.
So McAllister recruits Paul Metzger, a dim-witted, but nice, popular football hero sidelined by an injury to run against her.
Paul is totally unfit for the job, completely in the dark about student government, but McAllister convinces him that it's his civic duty to run.
The situation gets even wilder when Paul's younger sister, Tammy - seeking revenge on the girlfriend who dumped her and began dating her brother - enters the race on a platform of abolishing student government.
Soon life in and out of school begin spinning out of control for McAllister as his plans go awry.
"Election" is a satirical joy, due mainly to the performances of Reese Witherspoon as Tracy, Matthew Broderick as McAllister, Chris Klein as Paul and, especially, Jessica Campbell as Tammy.
Witherspoon's Tracy is bubbly and gushing to the point of nausea. Her Tracy is one of those students who treats others as if they were her serfs. She may be all smiles and dimples on the outside, but underneath she rages and burns with ambition and intolerance for those who do not live up to her standards.
Broderick's deadpan performance is one of low-key desperation, as his various plots to thwart Tracy continue to be upended.
Klein is sincere as the friendly doofus who, unlike Tracy, does not see the election as a life-and-death struggle.
Campbell's Tammy is sarcastic and brutally honest. Her best moment comes during the assembly where the candidates give their campaign speeches. She rallies the students by pointing out the hyprocisy of the system and the ineffectual role of student government, calling for its abolition.
What really sets "Election" apart is the voice-over narrations by the various principals, especially when - at times - what they are saying is in counterpoint to the action on the screen.
The script by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, based on a novel by Tom Perrotta, could be seen as an allegory of our democratic process, but I'd rather not be that pretentious.
I look at "Election" like that blind date that turned out to be the most fabulous night of your life. It's a sharp, funny and entertaining movie that will keep you laughing from the opening reel to the closing credits.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.net.
cb
Carol Bloom of Bloom Ink Publishing Professionals 3312 Indian Rock Lane West Lafayette, IN 47906-1203 765-497-9320 fax 765-497-3112 cbloom@iquest.net
Committed to Lifelong Learning through Effective Communication
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