Election (1999 film)

Election is a 1999 American satirical black comedy film directed by Alexander Payne from a screenplay by Payne and Jim Taylor, based on Tom Perrotta's 1998 novel.

The plot revolves around a student body election and satirizes politics and high school life. The film stars Matthew Broderick as Jim McAllister, a popular high school social studies teacher, and Reese Witherspoon as Tracy Flick, an overachieving student whom he dislikes. When Tracy runs for student government president, McAllister attempts to sabotage her candidacy by encouraging a rival candidate.

Although not a commercial success, Election received widespread critical acclaim, along with an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, a Golden Globe nomination for Witherspoon for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, and three Independent Spirit Awards including Best Feature Film in 1999.

Plot

Jim McAllister is a U.S. history and civics teacher at George Washington Carver High School in Omaha, Nebraska. One of his students is Tracy Flick, an overachieving junior whose single mother Judith encourages her to strive for success. Earlier in the year, Jim's colleague and best friend, geometry teacher Dave Novotny, was fired from his job and divorced by his wife Linda after engaging in a sexual relationship with Tracy. Though Jim believes that Dave needed to suffer consequences for his actions, he resents the lack of repercussions for Tracy, as well as her overenthusiastic nature and Judith's coddling of her.

Jim struggles to conceive a child with his wife Diane, and subsequently begins to have sexual fantasies of both Linda and Tracy, the latter of which disturb him. Appalled by Tracy's unopposed run for student government president and dreading further proximity to her, Jim persuades Paul Metzler, a popular and good-natured but dimwitted football player, to enter the race. Sidelined from football with a broken leg sustained in a skiing accident, Paul finds that his candidacy gives him purpose. It also infuriates Tracy, who had expected to run unchallenged.

Tammy Metzler, Paul's adopted younger sister, is dumped by her girlfriend Lisa Flanagan, who becomes Paul's girlfriend and campaign manager. Tammy exacts revenge by running for president herself. In her speech at a school assembly, she denounces student government as a sham and vows to dissolve it if she wins, rallying the students to a rowdy standing ovation. The principal, Walt Hendricks, retaliates by suspending her.

Late one Sunday night while working on the school yearbook, Tracy sees that one of her campaign posters has come unstuck from the wall. While trying to reattach it, she accidentally rips the poster apart, then furiously destroys the other candidates' campaign posters and discards them in a dumpster, unaware that Tammy is watching. The next day, Jim confronts Tracy about the posters. She feigns innocence and trades threats with Jim, but Tammy rescues her by appearing with the torn posters and falsely claiming responsibility. The school gleefully expels Tammy and her name is removed from the ballot.

Jim has a tryst with Linda the day before the election. She asks him to rent a motel room for an after-school rendezvous, but fails to attend. When Jim drives to Linda's house to find her, he is stung by a bee on his eyelid. He returns home to find Linda and Diane talking. Knowing Linda has told Diane the truth about their encounter, he spends the night in his car.

Jim oversees the tally of the ballots, which finds Tracy winning by a single vote (cast by Paul). Seeing Tracy peering in on the vote count and preemptively celebrating, he spitefully disposes of two of Tracy's ballots, throwing the election to Paul. The discarded ballots are later discovered by a janitor who dislikes Jim, and Tracy becomes class president. Jim is forced to resign, and the election rigging makes headlines. Diane divorces him, taking the house and most of their joint assets.

Publicly humiliated, Jim leaves Nebraska and fulfills his dream of moving to New York City. He becomes a tour guide at the American Museum of Natural History and begins dating his co-worker Jillian. Paul develops an active social life at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, though without Lisa, who dumps him. Tammy finds a new girlfriend at her all-girls Catholic school. Tracy attends Georgetown University, where she similarly isolates herself from her peers due to her work-centric nature.

On a visit to Washington, D.C., McAllister spots Tracy getting into a limousine with a Republican congressman. Infuriated that she will go through life as she did at Carver, he impulsively hurls a cup of soda at the limousine before fleeing. Later, while giving a museum tour to a group of elementary school children, a young girl enthusiastically raises her hand to answer a question in a manner that reminds Jim of Tracy; he ignores her.

Production

Producers Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa sent director Alexander Payne an unpublished manuscript from novelist Tom Perrotta called "Election" in 1996. Payne was initially uninterested in directing a high school movie but changed his mind after he read the manuscript. "It was set in a high school, but it wasn’t a high school story, per se. Also what attracted me was the formal exercise of doing a movie with multiple points of view and multiple voice-overs," said Payne.<ref name="huff-oral" /> The novel's rights were sold to Payne in January 1997. It was officially published in March 1998.

The novel was inspired by the following two key events: the 1992 United States presidential election, in which Ross Perot entered as a third-party candidate (a move echoed by Tammy Metzler), and a 1992 incident at Memorial High School in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in which a pregnant student was elected homecoming queen, but staff announced a different winner and burned the ballots to cover it up.<ref name="New York Times">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="The Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref>

The film uses several stylized techniques in its storytelling, particularly through the use of freeze frames, flashbacks, and voiceovers, which allow sections of the narrative to be delivered from the points of view of the four main characters (Mr. McAllister, Tracy, Paul, and Tammy).<ref name="variety-review" />

The film was primarily shot on location around the Omaha metro area in late 1997,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> most notably in Papillion, Bellevue and the Dundee neighborhood. Papillion-La Vista Senior High School portrayed the fictitious Carver High School with many of the background extras being actual enrolled students at the time. Minor scenes were filmed at Younkers in Westroads Mall, the Old Market, and the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. In Paramount's 1997 fiscal report, the film was planned for release in 1998, but was delayed for a year.<ref>https://ir.paramount.com/node/58671/html</ref>

Alternate ending

The film's original ending, received poorly by test audiences, was not known until a rough workprint was found in a box of VHS tapes at a yard sale in 2011.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> This ending also appears in the third draft of the script, which can be read online.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is faithful to the book: McAllister stays in Omaha and is hired as a used car salesman by one of his former students instead of moving to New York City. Tracy encounters McAllister while looking to buy a car and the two settle their differences before she has him sign her yearbook.

Release

Election was not a box office success as it grossed only $17.2 million against a budget of $8.5-25 million.<ref name="numbers">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Reception

Election received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 92%, based on 116 reviews, with an average rating of 7.90/10. The critical consensus reads, "Election successfully combines dark humor and intelligent writing in this very witty and enjoyable film."<ref>Template:Rotten tomatoes</ref> On Metacritic, the film has a score of 83 out of 100, based on 33 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>Template:Metacritic film</ref> Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B−" on a scale of A to F.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It later placed at #5 in the first annual Village Voice Film Poll.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half out of four stars, praising Witherspoon and Payne: Template:Cquote

Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "Brandishes the sort of intelligent wit and bracing nastiness that will make it more appealing to discerning adults than to teens who just want to have fun."<ref name="variety-review">Template:Cite news</ref>

Desson Howe from The Washington Post recommended the film, saying it was "the satire of the season, a hilarious, razor-sharp indictment of the American Dream," also praising Payne for finding "a perfect fulcrum between humor and tragedy, between black comedy and poignancy."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

According to Payne, it is also President Barack Obama's favorite political film.<ref name="huff-oral">Template:Cite news</ref>

Accolades

Election is ranked #61 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies",<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> #389 on Empire's "500 Greatest Movies of All Time"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and #9 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the "50 Best High School Movies",<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> while Witherspoon's performance was ranked at #45 on the list of the "100 Greatest Film Performances of All Time" by Premiere.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Template:Abbreviation
1999	Academy Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1999	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Motion Picture Comedy or Musical	Reese Witherspoon	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1999	Golden Satellite Awards	Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical	Reese Witherspoon	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1999	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Feature	Election	Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
		Best Direction	Alexander Payne	Template:Won
		Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor	Template:Won
		Best Female Lead	Reese Witherspoon	Template:Nom
		Best Debut Performance	Jessica Campbell	Template:Nom
1999	Los Angeles Film Critics Association	Best Actress	Reese Witherspoon	Template:Draw	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
		Next Generation Award	Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor	Template:Won
1999	New York Film Critics Circle	Best Screenplay		Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1999	National Society of Film Critics	Best Film	Election	Template:Draw	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
		Best Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor	Template:Draw
		Best Actress	Reese Witherspoon	Template:Won
1999	National Board of Review	Excellence in filmmaking	Election	Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1999	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay	Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor	Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Home media

Election was released on DVD on October 19, 1999, and Blu-ray on January 20, 2009. A special edition Blu-ray was released by The Criterion Collection on December 16, 2017, with a 4K restoration of the film.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Sequel

In December 2022, it was announced that a film adaptation of the novel's 2022 sequel, Tracy Flick Can't Win, was being developed for Paramount+. Witherspoon is slated to reprise her role as Tracy Flick and co-produce under her Hello Sunshine banner, while Payne would return to direct and co-write with Jim Taylor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A year later, while promoting The Holdovers (2023), Payne reiterated interest in the project, but would like to pursue other projects first.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Payne said that he wants to make a loose adaptation of the novel with Taylor that included Broderick's Jim McAllister character, as well as divert from the high school setting of the novel, attributing to his averseness to "making another high school movie," saying: Template:Cquote

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0126886

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• Template:Rotten tomatoes
• Template:Metacritic film
• Template:Mojo title
• Election: That’s Why It’s Destiny an essay by Dana Stevens at the Criterion Collection
• Ann Hornaday, "The 34 best political movies ever made" The Washington Post (Jan. 23, 2020), ranked #16