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flick pick | Election 1999
Directed by: Alexander Payne
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon
Language: English
Look for it at the video store under: New Arrivals, Comedy
Watch it when you’re in the mood for something: darkly-comic

Plot synopsis Preternaturally perky and obnoxiously over-achieving high-school student Tracy Flick has, to no one’s surprise, begun her campaign for president of the student body with her usual tireless enthusiasm. The aggressive go-getter stands unopposed, until her civics teacher Mr. McAllister, fueled by an intense personal dislike for Tracy, decides that Tracy must be stopped. To this end, he persuades popular football jock Paul Metzler, dumb but sweet, to run in the election. Then Paul’s sister Tammy, bitter at her brother for unknowingly stealing her ex-girlfriend, decides to get revenge by running herself. Tracy, furious that anyone might even entertain the notion of snagging the presidency she deserves, wages all out war on Paul, Tammy and her real nemesis, Mr. McAllister, in her refusal to let anyone stand in the way of her ambition.

Review Election came out in the midst of a movie theatre deluge of thoroughly insipid teen comedies, so it’s likely that most of us post-adolescents opted to skip this one when it was out on the big screen. Don’t make the same mistake now that it’s out on video – this movie may be centered around a teenager, but it’s a very smart, very adult satire. Reese Witherspoon as Tracy Flick is truly a frightening force, and casting Matthew Broderick, who most of us probably still think of as Ferris Bueller, as a pathetic, middle-aged high school teacher is, in itself, hilarious.

o

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