Alexander Payne's film "Election" was loved by many critics (e- and other), and hated by some moviegoers (and epinionators). I saw it just before am about to visit my own whitebread hometown -- getting a ride there from a female former student council president even -- and wracked my brain trying to recall the campaigns in my high school for student council president after the first one (which my friend won against a seemingly more popular male candidate). I could not remember who was president of my class or of the student council when I was a junior or senior in high school (sic transit gloria mundi). Nonetheless, the relentless overachiever with the toxically perfect smile that Reese Witherspoon plays seems a typical white American politician: blonde, photogenic, ruthless, able to hide the duplicity and get others to take the falls.

Matthew Broderick's three-time teacher of the year, Mr. M., is no match for her. He is constitutionally incapable of getting away with anything (that is, the role is the antithesis of Ferris Bueller, the one for which Broderick is most remembered). Tracy (Witherspoon) quickly learns that Mr. M. pushed an opponent into the race for student council president she belileves that she deserves. When Mr. M. strays into adultery, he is not only caught, but bears a very visible stigmata. And when he takes matters into his own hands in deciding the election, he stupidly lets the evidence out of his hands.

Tracy says early on that you can't stop destiny: inevitability is what makes it destiny. Richard Nixon (who was about as sincere as Tracy, but not nearly as photogenic) was brought down. Liddy Dole, who was surely a model for Tracy, dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination early. In reel life, there are films such as "Chocolate Wars" and "All the King's Men," as well as "All the President's Men," in which the corrupt successful conniver is eventually taken on. Although he is maddeningly inept at stopping her, I agree with Mr. M that Tracy is a menace, but he fails with two legitimate attempts (finding a more popular alternate candidate and disqualifying the candidate who tore down the signs). He is "not himself" when he takes more drastic action.

Enough about those two, the two with their names above the title, the two pictured on the box. The characters I find more interesting are the other two with voice-overs: the sweet hobbled quarterback Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) and his baby dyke adopted sister Tammy (Jessica Campbell), both of whom eventually get into the electoral race. Paul is in some ways the "dumb jock" stereotype, but more innocent than stupid. He is the only thoroughly nice person in the film. He doesn't understand his sister (nor does anyone else, except, perhaps viewers), but accepts her unreservedly.

WARNING: Major plot developments are revealed in the next two paragraphs!

Tammy is frustrated and confused and lashing out in many directions. She is striking back at the girl who spurned her love and took up with her brother. After Tracy's vapid mock-humble speech (daring to build on a quotation from Thoreau!), and her brother's inaudible mumbling reading of a bland speech, she electrifies the audience by casting herself as the slacker candidate. It seems likely that she would have won the election if her name was not removed from the ballot. Her platform is to abolish student government and spare future students election campaign assemblies. She achieves her real goal. Although often sardonic, Jessica Campbell turns in the most multi-faceted performance in the film.

In fact all three candidates get what they want, and all the major characters experience significant pain and incomprehension. Even Mr. M. gets what he didn't know he wanted (to get out of Omaha, and out of his marriage). He fares better than his best friend, whose affair with Tracy ruins his life.

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Alexander Payne satirizes many features of American life (not just politics, but sit-coms, though the two have become alarmingly similar...). I think that he participates in rather than satirizes the (verbal) raunchiness endemic to "teen movies." Similarly, the only adult character whose perspectives are heard (in voice-overs) is Mr. M's. He's having a midlife crisis or a 30s crisis, though he's no more aware of that than Paul is aware of his privileges. It is unfortunate that we do not get to hear what his wife and his best friend's wife think about their relationships with him. I realize that there are two mostly clueless males (Paul and Mr. M.) and two savvy females (Tammy and Tracy) who talk directly to the audience, but I'd still like to know what the female adults think.

I thought that both "Election" and "American Beauty" were very funny. The two films have a lot in common (notably malaise in suburban marriages and longings for teenage girls, opening voice-overs from the adult male leads whose old lives have been vaporized), though "American Beauty" is strongly elegiac and tasteful, while "Election" is nearly nihilistic and frequently gratuitously raunchy. "American Beauty" has the better cinematography (the late, great Conrad Hall's), but both films have strong performances.

"Election"is, ultimately, more upbeat. All the main characters get what they really want. It is not clear that any of the characters do in "American Beauty." Anyone able to appreciate satire on American dreams should see both! (And for those interested in American politics, let me plug "A Face in the Crowd," "The Chocolate Wars," "Seven Days in May," along with  "Dr. Strangelove."

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older