Since Ferris Bueller took a day off in 1986, Middle school improv and Matthew Broderick, the two words have become virtually inseparable. Still, it's been 35 years, and today we review a high school rom-com, Election. The educational atmosphere in Ferris Bueller's Day Off was close to a mountain of marshmallows. It was light, soft, delicious, and spotless. Election, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. This is a grim, frighteningly, realistic production that does more than impress the 103 minutes it lasts; it also scares.
Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) is the kind of high school teacher that makes America proud. He is a younger man who has built his life around Carver High School and is kind and compassionate. Carver High School, in exchange, has supported him with a family. Jim has won teacher of the year three times in his 12 years as a social sciences teacher, and he is well-liked by his peers.
Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) is a smart, outgoing, and "super sweet" young lady, as the film puts it. She participates in various extracurricular events, often raises her hand first in class, and is well-liked by the majority of the students. As a result, her decision to run for school president is a logical development.
The Metzler family is one of the richest in the world. Dick (Holmes Osborne), the parent, owns a cement business. Jo (Jeanine Jackson), the girlfriend, is the perfect housewife. Paul (Chris Klein) and Tammy (Jessica Campbell), the two twins, are Carver High School students. Paul was the football team's quarterback before sustaining an injury, and he is a strong contender for the most famous person in school. Tammy is a lesbian who is, to put it mildly, undergoing a time of self-discovery.
Jim persuades Paul to run for school president against Tracy out of vengeance, hate, and sexual jealousy. He argues that in a democracy, there must be alternatives and that Tracy running unopposed establishes a dictatorship. As a result, Paul decides, and the race starts. Tammy then declares her candidacy in an attempt to smear the other two contestants. People race and place it on their college forms, then do nothing, according to her campaign. She says, "I don't want to go to work."
There are no "clean guys" in Election. Almost everybody has an agenda of their own. The movie digs it up and exploits it for the viewer, no matter how tightly buried it is. Tracy is one of the people you know from high school. All secretly envied her that she was the person who would be named "Most likely to accomplish whatever she likes" in the yearbook. Jim is a teacher who views the confidence that students place in him as a right that he exploits for his amoral gain. Everyone is a two-sided character, including the principal, a former teacher, all candidates, and even Paul's girlfriend. That is a big part of the film's appeal; it doesn't include the traditional good boys that Hollywood loves; instead, it's a gritty depiction of the modern world, specializing in exposing the kinds of sexual perversions that people usually keep hidden.
Matthew Broderick was the best choice for this. His character is often compared to Bill Murray's award-winning appearance in Rushmore from 1998. Broderick's performance is much superior to that of the other two actors. And he, though, is dominated by Reese Witherspoon. The disdain that she instils in the crowd for her is indescribable. When Broderick and Witherspoon play off each other in different sequences, they are simply at their finest. One such instance happens as she joins him in his car as he drives home from school. When she approaches him with a list of signatures proving her eligibility, you can see her confidence in her eyes. And his underlying disdain for her is palpable, through his best efforts to hide it between the lines by putting on a happier face.
The supporting cast was largely inexperienced in Hollywood at the time. However, when everyone takes care of their part, this is far from obvious. Jessica Campbell, in her befuddled role as a young teen, is the real show-stealer. This is none more evident than when she gives her speech unveiling her so-called presidential platform. She's fantastic as she expresses her disdain for what she perceives to be an unfair structure. The movie worked if Ferris Buehler made you feel good about American high schools and gave you an innocent laugh or two. But don't be fooled into thinking the Election's objectives are the same. It portrays high school as realistically as its protagonists do in the real world.