Election (1999)

Election (1999) is a sharp, darkly comic satire set in a suburban high school where a seemingly simple student body election spirals into personal vendettas and moral compromise. When obsessive overachiever Tracy Flick decides to run unopposed for class president, steady-but-restless civics teacher Jim McAllister — irritated by Tracy and wrestling with his own midlife problems — recruits popular jock Paul Metzler to oppose her. What begins as a prank to disrupt Tracy’s inevitability quickly escalates as students manipulate campaigns, alliances shift (including Paul’s sister Tammy entering the race), and each character’s flaws and secrets are exposed. What a viewer will experience: - Dry, witty, and often uncomfortable humor that satirizes small-town politics, ambition, and hypocrisy. - A tense, character-driven narrative where well-meaning intentions collide with personal resentments, producing escalating chaos and moral ambiguity. - Strong performances and sharp dialogue that make even petty high-school drama feel consequential and painfully relatable. - A mix of laughter and unease — entertaining yet thought-provoking, with darker undercurrents beneath the comedy. Overall, Election is both a biting comedy about the absurdities of power and competition and a character study of people whose petty decisions have outsized consequences.

Actors: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein

Director: Alexander Payne

Runtime: 103 min

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance

6.5 /10 83 /100 7.2 /10 7.3 /10