"Election"
A Film Review by
Linda Lopez McAlister
on "The Women's Show"
WMNF-FM 88.5, Tampa, FL
May 8, 1999
Oh no, two high school movies in a row! I'm amazing even myself. But
what
pushed me over the edge was that this one, "Election" was made by
Alexander
Payne, the same filmmaker who made "Citizen Ruth," a film of which I'm
extremely fond. Like "Citizen Ruth," "Election" is an extremely telling
bit of postmodern social satire. It has an unerring instinct for finding
sacred cows of whatever variety and holding them up for all to see and
snicker at. There are no belly laughs here, but lots of chuckles, tinged
with some sadness and misgivings. Among the targets here are high school
overachievers, jocks, administrators, and teachers.
The "Election" in question is for student body president of George
Washington Carver High School in Omaha, Nebraska. That's already one of
writer Payne's barbed little jokes because I don't think there were any
Black students at this white middle class high school. Our "hero" is Jim
McAllister (Matthew Broderick) award-winning teacher and advisor to
student
government. His nemesis is Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), one of those
girls for whom the pursuit of perfection in every way is a passion. She's
the one with her hand up first, who always knows the right answer, who is
on
every committee, every activity, who dresses impeccably, who's the
acknowledged "Star" of the school (even though she doesn't have many
friends
because she's too busy being better than everybody else). My high school
had one. Didn't yours? Mr. McAllister can't stand her, in part because
as
a junior she had an affair with another teacher who lost his job as a
result
and Mr. McAllister definitely does not want to have to work closely with
her
for the coming year lest he, too, succumb to her charms. So Mr.
McAllister
recruits a sweet but dumb football hero, Paul Metzler (Chris Klein)
sidelined with a broken leg, to run against Tracy. To make matters worse,
to get back at her brother for stealing the girl that she's madly in love
with, Paul's alienated lesbian sister Tammy (Jessica Campbell) decides to
run too. All of which infuriates Tracy and makes her determined to win by
whatever means she can. Meanwhile, Mr. McAllister's personal life is
getting as complicated as his work life for his efforts to help the now
divorced wife of his fired colleague begin to take on a lustful tinge.
That
sets the scene. How the plot unfolds you'll have to see for yourself.
Seeing this film a week or so after the Littleton, CO bombing gives
it
added power and makes you think. Especially the election speech sequence:
Tracy gives her tight, perfect little speech to polite applause. Paul
reads
a few cliches in a monotone and is applauded for his jock-hero status.
Tammy, the unknown sophomore whom no one knows, gets up and says what most
of the kids are really thinking--this is stupid, who cares who wins, it's
a
farce, students have no real power, nothing will change, it's only
meaningful to the person who wins, and, if elected she promises to do one
thing--abolish student government. Her speech brings down the house. So
the apoplectic principal, rather than wondering why what she said sparked
this reaction, kicks her out of school and declares her ineligible to be a
candidate, proving, of course, that she was right on target. That moment
rang really true. The way high school is supposed to be and the way it
really is as perceived by the non stars, are worlds apart and there are
lots
of non stars out there. Tammy, by the way, is thrilled because now she
has
to go to Sacred Heart High School where she has her eye on a tall blonde
field hockey player named Jennifer.
Like "Citizen Ruth," this new Alexander Payne film will make you
laugh
while it makes you think. That's a rare combination and I recommend that
you see it. One note of caution, it has lots of sex and foul language.
There was a mass exodus of disgusted senior citizens about 20 minutes into
the film yesterday afternoon, so don't take your grandmother unless she's
cool.
For the WMNF Women's Show, this is Linda Lopez McAlister on Women and
Film.
Copyright 1999. All rights reserved. Please do not copy or reproduce
this
review without permission of the author:
mcaliste@chuma.cas.usf.edu
Posted 5/24/99