Redundant and unnecessary.

Just perfect...

best movie i've ever seen.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Oh the great memories of those old high school days. Lots of friends,parties and winning the senior class presidency, NOT!This all comes to mind in this dark comedy about acceptance, relationships and power. The structure of this story is based from different characters points of view. Their feelings and perspectives on how they benefit or don't from their surroundings in the flat plains of Nebraska. This story takes place in present day Nebraska at a public high school with the two main characters, Award winning Social studies teacher Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) and over Sycophant Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon).Mr McaAllister is a teacher in his own little world who uses the amenities of his High School track and shower besides running the annual election for the School. His home life is also simple. He's married but the McAllister' have a problem procreating. The McAllister's have close friends the Novotny's Dave and Linda. Our other main character Tracy Flick is a go-getter power monger and wants that ultimate prize in her young life, the presidency of the High School.The early scenes depict her over achieving ways by raising her hand to all the questions asked by her teacher Mr. McAllister and the numerous clubs she runs in and around the school grounds.Besides running things our little Tracy is having an affair with Math teacher Dave Novotny (Mark Harelik). Dave is so much under Tracy's spell that he glues pictures in a self made book of Hawaii and tells her that he'll take her away to the island paradise. Dave forgets that he's married with a child and he also forgets that Tracy uses the book to get Dave fired from his Job at the school.You just can help but despise her enthusiasm. Mr. McAllister recognizes this girl must be stopped and comes up with a plan to have someone with enough popularity to give Tracy a run for her money.By the way Jim McAllister has a crush on Linda Novotny. Enter first time actor, the simpleton the likable dumb jock and star Quarterback Paul Metzler (Chris Klein). Despite starring on the football field Paul lacks two things, common sense and confidence. Paul also has a Lesbian Sister Tammy played to perfection by Jessica Campbell who is dating a girl Lisa (Frankie Ingrassia)who changes her feeling like the weather and dumps Tammy for her brother Paul. Infuriated and hurt Tammy in return runs for class president against her brother. Now we have a three team race for President with interesting returns in making of this dark comedy with all different aspirations from all the parties in question. Break out role for Reese Witherspoon which in my opinion was worthy of some type of an award. Chris Klein with a superb performance as the lovable jock. Just be wary of custodians in your school.

whew....finally i've watched a movie where there is not one main character that i wanted to root for, just like this years election. everybodies got an agenda, everybody is out for themselves...except jock chris klein...but i wouldn't root for him either. plenty of laughs in this movie and you will not guess when they're coming...it just sort of comes..the funny scenes and you'll just laugh or giggle. this is a comedy for intelligent adults...not everybody will get it or like this movie although it is a brilliant one. this has to be witherspoons best performance or in the top 3 in her long career. let me just say that her freeze frame expressions are priceless...there's like 4 or 5 of them and miss witherspoon herself will have a hoot looking back at them. very very intelligent and cynical and just down right nasty business...the election that is...even in high school...one can imagine how bad it can get in the real presidential elections.

I always liked Election back when it first came out, but haven't seen it in years. After watching on DVD last night and again a little bit today with the director's commentary turned on, I like it better than ever. Simple and realistic...and sinister. The director keeps viewers off-balance with his use of superimposed images ("Fill me up, Mr. M."), screen-wipes, real Mid-West locations and real students as extras, etc. And the main actors do a great job representing their unique personality-types: ambitious go-getter, laid back dude, love- smitten teen, comfortably happy teacher with passions that sometimes bubble over.I also like that after the main action of the story is complete, the movie goes on a little longer. Sometimes those appendages can be pointless, but in this case it's reassuring to see Mr. McCallister land on his feet elsewhere and see, too, that his passions are still bubbling.

"Who knew how high she would climb in life? How many people would suffer because of her? I had to stop her, now." This acerbic satire on American society and presidential politics viewed through the prism of a high-school election is an outstanding piece of work worthy of greater acclaim than it received in the box office. The director, Alexander Payne, has produced a humorous critique of the pursuit of naked ambition, and the general apathy of the electorate towards the democratic process. Rees Witherspoon gives an immaculate performance, mature beyond her years, of the zealous status-seeker, Tracey Flick. Fueled by her single mother's determination to have her succeed, Tracey's relentless and ruthless pursuit of the position of student president is unopposed until the intervention of Carver High's three times winner of 'Teacher of the Year', Jim McAllister. In his most noteworthy performance, Matthew Broderick shines as the civics teacher, charged with overseeing the school election process, whose determination to derail Flick's ambitions will have disastrous consequences. Payne and Jim Taylor's adapted screenplay, worthy of an Oscars nomination, provides an excruciating portrayal of the gradual downfall of McAllister in his struggle to balance moral rectitude with his own human frailties. Though believing his actions justified in defense of democratic ideals, McAllister is largely driven by not only his wish to have some retribution for his dismissed teaching colleague and best friend, in his opinion ensnared by Flick into an unethical and immoral relationship, but also his own fear of sharing a similar fate. Moreover, trapped in a loveless marriage and a career without scope to match the successes of his most promising students, Broderick's character is inexorably drawn into an affair with the wife of his dishonoured friend, and best friend to his own wife, which will have its own calamitous effect on both his personal and professional lives. The pitiful manner in which both he and his shamed friend skirt the depths of public indecency in pursuit of self-gratification, while believing that they do so out of love, make any belief that this film is imbued with misogynistic tendencies simply laughable. There are several truly uncomfortable yet 'laugh out loud' moments, such as that where McAllister's disgraced friend attempts to attest to his and Flick's love for each other while engulfed in floods of tears. Another is McAllister's own rushed and graphic preparation for his illicit assignation with the friend of the family. The film is infused with sardonic humour, embellished by the director's skillful use of editing techniques, such as the 'freeze frame' scenes wedded to McAllister's caustic narration of Flick's motivation. Further illustration of this concerns one of this reviewer's favourite scenes, where,post-coitus, McAllister's drab saloon car and suburban landscape is exchanged for a stylish two-seater sports car and Italian scenic strada, and back again, to reflect his new-found, yet flawed sense of male prowess. In addition, the use of multiple narrators allows the viewer to share and be immersed into the misguided views and interpretations of the film's core protagonists. The supporting cast give creditable performances, none more so than Jessica Campbell as the rebellious unconventional sister to the school heartthrob and sports star played by Chris Klein. Brought in after Thora Birch was sacked for creative differences with the director, Campbell received numerous nominations from different critical organisations for the best breakthrough performance of that year. This makes her self-imposed disappearance from our screens just over twelve months later such a loss to the industry. As for Chris Klein, having been discovered by the director while searching suitable school locations to shoot, he shows great potential, despite offering here a sort of pastiche of Keanu Reeves. Klein's naive but lovable school jock serves as McAllister's instrument to deny Flick victory. When this proves fruitless, he reverts to vote-tampering, almost divining the events of the forthcoming US presidential elections after the film's release. The viewer accompanies Broderick's hapless descent into transgressing core aspects of ethical and moral behaviour, half cheering on his crusade against the self-serving and self-righteous Flick, and half offended by McAllister's hypocrisy - the allegorical bee-sting injury serving as a visual marker of McAllister's tainted reputation. The ending serves as the perfect rib-tickling illustration of this character's ongoing struggles to rid Flick from his demons. A cult classic.