ELECTION by DeWyNGaLe Rating: A
http://members.aol.com/DeWyNGaLe
Every school has a student that is an overachiever. The student strives day and night to be better than everybody else, including their very own teachers. They are a part of every extra curricular activity you could ever imagine. Well, at Carver High School, Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) is that student.
At Carver High School, it is time to have the elections for the officers of the Student Council. Tracy Flick is running for president without anyone running against her. Mr. McAllister (Matthew Broderick), Tracy's wonderful teacher, cannot stand the thought of having Tracy as the President of the Student Council, so therefore he tries to find others to run against her. He finds injured football star Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) to run against her, only because he has nothing else to do with his life, although he doesn't have any idea what he is doing. Deciding to run as well is Paul's younger, unenthusiastic student Tammy, played by Jessica Campbell. Tracy is absolutely infuriated with the other nominees because they are reducing her chances to win.
The election is only one part of the actual film though. The second main plot of the film deals with Mr. McAllister and his confusing, troubled life. He has so many different emotions in his head about school, his wife, having children, cheating on his wife, and Tracy Flick. This plot is much like what John Cusack went through in the film Pushing Tin. It is pretty ugly, un-fun, and depressing material, but Broderick really shined in it. Matthew Broderick has almost completely annoyed me in every film he has ever been a part of, but in Election, he actually did a wonderful job. Hopefully, he will stay with the more serious kind of film from now on. It would do his career much good if he got into more films such as Election, rather than terrible films like 1998's Godzilla.
Reese Witherspoon brilliantly carries the entire weight of the film on her shoulders. She is absolutely perfect as Tracy Flick, creating the character in a three dimensional sense. This is the third film I have seen Reese in, and I have loved her performances in all three. In 1998's Pleasantville, she didn't get to go very many places with her character, and in 1999's Cruel Intentions, we didn't get to see her enough, but in Election, she gets to do exactly what she is capable of doing. Now I believe that Reese Witherspoon can play anyone she wants to be. Her characters are all so much different from each other, it is amazing that she can play each one of them in a very realistic sense.
When Reese Witherspoon or Matthew Broderick aren't present making the film great, we get outstanding supporting performances by newcomer Chris Klein and Jessica Campbell. Chris Klein's character is totally clueless and very funny, and his sister is a total sarcastic brat which reminded me of a character from a television show called "Daria." I wish that we could have seen more of these two hysterical characters rather than the depressing plot line of Mr. McAllister losing everything he has in life.
Election reminded me much of the 1998 surprise hit, Rushmore. Tracy and Max Fischer (played brilliantly by Jason Schwartzman in Rushmore) were both complete over achievers, and both made me laugh extremely hard. Tracy is a very likable and unlikable character at the same time. At times she can disgust you with her lowness, and at times she can make you crack up when she is the only one raising her hand in class all of the time.
Teen comedies have been the "big" thing lately, but I think that Election really broke through that barrier. Rather than using the same old jokes or the same old plots, Election goes with a much more smart, original theme. The type of humor in Election is starting to be used more widely, and I truly love it. The comedy isn't as immature, but in many cases is directed towards adults. Election is truly a movie for teens and adults. This factor may not seem too impressive, but considering the films that have been coming out lately, such as Ten Things I Hate About You or Jawbreaker, it would be considered a masterpiece.
The Bottom Line- I elect this the best, funniest comedy in years.
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