Election Review
by "Nathaniel R. Atcheson" (nate AT pyramid DOT net)May 9th, 1999
Election (1999)
A Capsule Review by Nathaniel R. Atcheson
Director: Alexander Payne
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein, Jessica Campbell, Mark Harelik, Phil reeves, Molly Hagan
Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Producers: Albert Berger, David Gale, Keith Samples, Ron Yerxa Runtime: 103 min.
US Distribution: Paramount
Rated R: Sex, language, drug use
Copyright 1999 Nathaniel R. Atcheson
It's hard to imagine a better political satire than Election, Alexander Payne's intelligent and genius follow-up to his 1996 film, Citizen Ruth. True, it's a story about a high school election, starring Reese Witherspoon presidential candidate Tracy Flick, and Matthew Broderick as Mr. McAllister, the teacher who hates her most. But Election serves not just as an acerbic attack on high school politics, but as an attack on politics in general (now I know what Hillary Clinton was like in high school). The film features four dead-on performances; Broderick and Witherspoon are both show masterful comic timing, but also give their characters depth. Chris Klein is wonderful as Paul Metzler, the big, stupid, lovable jock oaf who runs against Tracy; Jessica Campbell is also great as Paul's laconic, lesbian sister. But what really makes Election such a funny, touching, brilliant blast of a film is Payne's direction: he observes these people with such immaculate objectivity and seething irony that you can't help but like them all, even with their flaws. In short, Election is what satire is all about.
Psychosis Rating: 9/10
**********/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\************
Visit FILM PSYCHOSIS at
http://www.pyramid.net/natesmovies
Nathaniel R. Atcheson
**********/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\************
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
