Election (1999) Movie Review

Election  stands out from all of the teen movies chronicling high school experiences  premiering in 1999, like Drive Me Crazy, 10 Things I Hate About You, and She’s All That because of the plot departure from the average romantic narrative. The film is an adaptation of a novel written by Tom Perrotta and Alexander Payne made his directorial debut in the high school niche. Payne's typical genre of film seems to be comedy-drama's marketed to adults like About Schmidt, which follows a man on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding and Citizen Ruth,which follows a pregnant drug addict seeking an abortion instead of high school movies with adolescent characters like Election. Alexander Payne's novelty to the high school film genre works to Election's advantage because Payne  rejects socio-economic boundaries (among other characteristics that are prevalent in many high school films) just enough to break the monotony of familiarity, giving the film a certain edge.

Payne's sense of humor in the film  emanates through the the characters themselves and their individual narration. The film explores the high school experience and its bizarre nuances perceived by a teacher, Mr. McAllister played brilliantly by Matthew Broderick and an overachieving student,Tracy Flick played by Reese Witherspoon over the duration of a student government election. Reese Witherspoon’s character in Election displays an uncanny foreshadowing to the kinds of roles Reese will be cast in subsequent years; in Legally Blonde , which premiered in 2001 she plays a similar prissy character. The film dares to briefly expose the taboo subject of an inappropriate teacher-student relationship; instead of the typical student crooning over a teacher, the relationship was  mutual.  Election is an engaging and fairly light-hearted watch for a film of it's genre. The audience intended for the film is surprisingly not exclusive to teenagers and young adults, Mr. McAllister’s issues in the film and the crude humor  appeal to a wider audience of adults.

Tracy Flick, the overachieving main character in the filmcomes from a middle class mother and an absentee father. Tracy's lack of a father figure is possibly one of the reasons for her illicit affair with a teacher, although Tracy denies this in the opening narration of the film. Mr. McAllister, also a main character mirrors Tracy's personality; he is wholly involved in his job as a history teacher and takes pride in his personal investment in his students lives and his self proclaimed knowledge of morals and ethics. Mr. McAllister becomes the catalyst of Tracy's disintegration because he spitefully pits her against a jock in the upcoming student government presidential race just as  Tracy represents the beginning of Mr. McAllister's disintegration when she inadvertently acts in a way that is perceived as sexually suggestive to him.
The supplementary characters in the film are all affected by the actions of Tracy Flick and Mr. McAllister. Tracy’s opponent for president, Paul Metzler falls victim to Tracy’s ambition and Mr. McAllister’s unethical  schemes. Diane McAllister, Mr. McAllister’s wife falls victim to Mr. McAllister’s deteriorating morals. Lastly, Tammy Metzler, Paul Metzler’s younger sister finds herself in the midst of a political battle plotting revenge  to spite her brother. 

One of the amusements of the film is the way humorless situations are made comical. When Mr. McAllister is discussing with Mr. Novotny the potential consequences of having an affair with a student, Mr. Novotny begins to talk about Tracy in an explicitly sexual manner, thus breaking the semi-dramatic aura of the scene. Payne frequently finds ways to shock the audience with explicit comedy embedded in ordinary conversation. Comedic breaks in dramatic moments are sprinkled throughout the whole film at opportune moments.This is one of the film’s greatest achievements. Through the salacious comedy and morally reprehensible actions that drive the plot, Election ends with the clear message that morals and ethics are important cornerstones of a  happy existence for both teenagers and adults.