Preamble: Raise your hand if you ever felt like you been personally victimized by a teacher. In my "short" life I've lived all over, especially when I was growing up. I lived in four different country during my school age years and let me tell I know what a good teacher looks like and I know what a bad teacher looks like. Now don't get me wrong, I love teachers. Some of my closest friends are teachers. They really are unsung heroes, especially American teachers. But you have to admit, in every profession there's always bound to be a few bad apples.

As a young woman who also happens to be a POC who was on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) track during my high school years I ran into a really bad apple, I'll spare you the gory details but needless to say, something didn't add up when I had near perfect SAT and ACT scores overall and aced both standardized tests' math sections. In my first college math course (3D Geometry), I got an A+ without really even trying and I actually enjoyed going to class instead of dreading it. But then again my professor was a young woman and new to teaching and very enthusiastic about numbers. I did so well, always asked the right questions and was so helpful to my study group that she guaranteed me a place in one her classes the following semester. We became friends and still talk to this day.

When Election came out, I was 12. Something that caught my attention (other than the fact the lead was Reese Witherspoon, whom I loved then and still love now) was that the backdrop was set against the 1992 presidential election. I'm quite the American history and political buff and that election along with the 2000 presidential election are definitely really interesting to look at and analyze especially since they both occurred during my life time and actually remember a lot of it. I went through a phase where I wanted to be journalist so I watched the news every chance I got. While most kids my age were staying up late to watch Conan O'Brien, I was staying up late to watch Politically Incorrect and Nightline.

Another bonus? It was actually based on a book (the same guy who also wrote The Leftovers, btw). Something a lot of my favorite movies have in common (as you will or have noticed already). I don't know what that says about me but I know what it says about Hollywood (they've been lazy and lacking original intellectual properties for most of my life).

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Year: 1999

Rated: R

Summary - Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), a well-liked high school government teacher, can't help but notice that successful student Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) uses less than ethical tactics to get what she wants. When Tracy runs for school president, Jim feels that she will be a poor influence on the student body and convinces Paul, a dim-witted but popular student athlete, to run against Tracy. When she becomes aware of Jim's secret involvement in the race, a bitter feud is sparked.

Directed by: Alexander Payne

Written by: Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor

Based on: Election by Tom Perrotta

Starring:

• Matthew Broderick as Jim McAllister
• Reese Witherspoon as Tracy Enid Flick
• Chris Klein as Paul Metzler
• Jessica Campbell as Tammy Metzler
• Phil Reeves as Principal Walt Hendricks
• Molly Hagan as Diane McAllister
• Colleen Camp as Judith Flick
• Nicholas D'Agosto as Larry Fouch
• Jeanine Jackson as Jo Metzler
• Holmes Osborne as Dick Metzler
• Mark Harelik as Dave Novotny
• Delaney Driscoll as Linda Novotny
• Matt Malloy as Vice Principal Ron Ball
• Frankie Ingrassia as Lisa Flanagan
• Pegi Georgeson as Ballot Lady

Top Picks from the Soundtrack
This Road I'm Travelling - Mojave 3
Born To Be With You - The Damnations TX
Drown In Small Cowgirl Boots - Jolene
Find A Way To Win - Tim Carroll

The Review
In my personal opinion, it's very rare for a movie's script and directorial execution to demand equal attention but somehow, Election practically demands it.

In "Election," Payne uses a high school class presidential election as an opportunity to lampoon everything that's goofy about the American political system. Just as in our national elections for president, the winner is not necessarily the person with the most integrity, and honesty is a liability, not a virtue. The person who is willing to play dirtiest comes out on top, and elections aren't about who is most qualified but rather about who is most popular. And, the best part about the movie is its acknowledgement of voter apathy. Most Americans don't really give a damn, something that makes them not so different from the majority of high schoolers who don't even understand the point of having a class president to begin with

Reese Witherspoon gives a wonderful performance as Tracy Flick, the school's most likely to succeed, whose goodie-goodie exterior hides the fact that she's willing to do just about anything to get ahead. Matthew Broderick is refreshingly unlikable as a social studies teacher who would like to see Tracy fail just once, until the fact that his own life is falling apart turns this wish into an obsession. And Chris Klein has some fun as the dopey, Jesus-following popular guy who becomes Tracy's arch rival, but never really even knows it.

The film is clever for the most part and takes the over used genre and clichés of high school movies and makes them into a quite good little political satire. The comedy is not laugh out loud funny and maybe that's a problem, but I enjoyed the parallels with modern politics and found it to make some good points in a funny way.

If you love politics, satire and/or Reese Witherspoon, you should definitely give this movie a try.

But be warned,it has sex in it. It might be an exgaggeration to say that there's a sex scene every two minutes but I don't think it falls into hyperbole territory. It's not very graphic (no actually nudity at all) and completely relevant to the plot.

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Grade: A

Aces for Acting

• Jessica Campbell

MVP

• Reese Witherspoon

Favorite Character

• Vice Principal Ron Ball

Best Character Interactions

• Tammy and Tracy

Best Scene

• The 'Fill Me Up' Scene

Notable Quotable

• Tammy Metzler: [narrating] Being suspended is like getting a paid vacation. Why do they think it's a punishment? It's like your dog pees on the carpet and you give him a treat. Then you get in trouble for skipping school, it's so stupid! Hendricks told me, "One more time" and I'd be expelled. Sounded good to me.

Most Memorable Moment

[Jim McAllister watches porn in his basement]

Adult Video Actor: Crystal! What are you doing here in the boy's locker room?

Adult Video Actress: Come to see the star quarterback before the big game.

Adult Video Actor: But what if Coach Henderson walks in?

Adult Video Actress: Oh, that's okay, I took care of him. So, uh, whatya reading?

Adult Video Actor: Oh, I'm just reviewing my playbook.

Adult Video Actress: I know a play we can practice: You be quarterback, I'll be tight-end.

Fun Facts

• The film was originally shot with an ending close to the one found in the novel, with Jim McCallister working in a car dealership, where Tracy visits him before leaving for college. After testing poorly with audiences, the ending was eventually reshot. The original ending was unseen until the accidental discovery of an early VHS workprint of the film at a flea market in 2011
• The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, a Golden Globe nomination for Witherspoon in the Best Actress category, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film in 1999.
• The film uses a number of stylized techniques in its storytelling, particularly through the use of freeze frames, flashbacks and voice-overs, which allow sections of the narrative to be delivered from the points of view of the four main characters

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Did I whet your appetite to watch Election for the first time or maybe just the first time in a long time?

Be sure to come back tomorrow when I discuss Fight Club.

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