Election (1999) Movie Review

Election (1999) Movie Review

Director Alexander Payne has continued to be one of Hollywood’s best filmmakers for almost 30 years. His stellar resume includes, Citizen ruth (1996), Election (1999), About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004), The Descendants (2011), Nebraska (2013), Downsizing (2017) and The Holdovers (2023). Payne successfully creates character drama using limited settings, and allowing the talented casts that he assembles to really carry these stories, bringing relatable characters to life in a way that not too many can. This is exemplified in the recently re-released ‘Election’.

‘Election’ released in 1999 to great reviews with a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, but unfortunately these great reviews didn’t transfer into box office receipts, grossing just shy of $15 million at the worldwide box office. The film, however, has developed a cult following since its original release, with fans coming around to this unique, hilarious and relatable high school comedy. ‘Election’ stars Reece Witherspoon as young go-getter, Tracy Flick, who runs for class president. Tracy finds a few obstacles in her road, as Mr McAlister, played by Matthew Broderick holds some biases toward Tracy and doesn’t want her to succeed in her campaign. He convinces, jock and all-round nice guy Paul Metzler played by Chris Klein. Craziness ensues, and the two duke it out as Mr McAlister’s life starts to unravel and Tracy battles for her position as class president. The film has the set-up of a lot of generic, high school-based comedies, but when you throw in Alexander Payne’s sensibilities as a director, you get a far more grounded and entertaining film.

The real strengths of the film lie in its leads. Broderick is really playing against type here, a man who by all accounts and self-admission is just an average guy, living an average life. He has to do some things here that make him quite unlikeable, but Broderick does a great job of allowing the audience to see his side of things, and really understand why he is making these decisions. You may not agree with his decisions, but at least you understand them. Reece Witherspoon makes for the perfect foil to Broderick’s Mr McAllister. She’s conniving and calculated with her actions, making her quite unlikable, but also relatable. The audience no doubt has met a Tracy Flick in their life, and the escalation of the events and overall outcome probably ring true to a lot of people. 

The film also perfectly captures the feeling of high school. We have the typical cliches we’ve come to expect from the genre, but Election manages to capture the essence of high school, without ever feeling like a re-tread of a lot of the films that came before it. It turns out, Election was a pioneer for films like American Pie, Road Trip, Mean Girls and many, MANY more. Its setting is perfectly realised and is treated in a way that helps elevated its tory and punctuate many of its set pieces. 

‘Election’ was a great re-visit. I had fond memories of this one in my teens and seeing it in a modern light, I found my appreciation for the film to grow. As a younger audience member, you connect more with Tracy, but as an adult, I find myself more in the Mr McAlister camp. The film is still culturally relevant, and its humour hasn’t dated, with it clearly being a catalyst for so many high school comedies that came thereafter. Alexander Payne has gone onto bigger, and some would argue better things, with the critically acclaimed Holdovers showing where the filmmaker is currently at in his career, but his earlier works like ‘Election’ and ‘Sideways’ will always hold a special place in my heart. ‘Election’ is now available on 4K Ultra HD for the first time! Be sure to secure your copy of the 4K UHD and Blu-Ray pack from Sanity today, you won’t want to miss the opportunity to add this one to your collection!

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Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here