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Election (1999)

post #1 of 16
2/1/10 at 8:16am
Thread Starter 
Tried looking for an older thread on this. No luck.

In my mind, this is definitely Alexander Payne's best film. A hilarious dark comedy that shows you that age means nothing when it comes to petty, childish behavior.

Aside from the fantastic script, I appreciate that Payne avoids Hollywood's vision of high school. Everything in the movie looks so delightfully humdrum and real. Because the locations were real, obviously.

Not only that, I love Payne's use of tried and true film techniques. Techniques that only ended up making the film feel so fresh. Old-fashioned wipes, montages shot on 16mm, split screens, freeze frames, rear-projection driving scenes, Ennio Morricone, analogue-y compositing...

Fantastic performances, obviously. Witherspoon pretty much stopped doing work like this and went the Legally Blonde route for the most part (some obvious prestige projects notwithstanding).
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post #2 of 16
2/1/10 at 8:30am
I always like to think Broderick's character is an older version of Ferris Bueller, he never grew up and became the thing he so feared. He does some really shitty things in this film.
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post #3 of 16
2/1/10 at 12:13pm
Haven't seen this in a stretch, but it's Broderick's best performance ever, and the last gasp for Witherspoon as an interesting actress. Shit, even Chris Klein is kind of awesome in this, if only because Payne pulls the right things out of him in the right role.
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post #4 of 16
2/1/10 at 12:18pm
The cut to stock footage of a 1973-era black guy working in an NYC office nearly made my head explode. Need to check this out again; I'm pretty sure it was tied with Kingpin as my favorite comedy of the 90s.
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post #5 of 16
2/1/10 at 12:46pm
Thread Starter 
(slaps forehead)

Damn! Forgot to mention the stock footage of NY!

I remember seeing this in the theater as a lark and seeing an elder couple leave the moment the words, "Her pussy gets SO wet, you can't believe it!" were uttered.
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post #6 of 16
2/1/10 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post
(slaps forehead)

Damn! Forgot to mention the stock footage of NY!

I remember seeing this in the theater as a lark and seeing an elder couple leave the moment the words, "Her pussy gets SO wet, you can't believe it!" were uttered.
Were they leaving in outrage, or for a romp in the Buick Century in the parking lot?
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post #7 of 16
2/1/10 at 1:41pm
I liked Election a lot, there's almost nothing about it that isn't great. As mentioned above, even Klein works. However, it's one of those movies I just have zero desire to revisit simply because every single person in the movie is so unlikable. That's simply a reflection on my personal tastes, and in no way changes what a fantastic, uncomfortable movie it is.
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post #8 of 16
2/1/10 at 1:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrTyres View Post
Were they leaving in outrage, or for a romp in the Buick Century in the parking lot?
"Her pussy gets SO wet, you can't believe it! (nod nod)"

"Hey, whaddaya know!? Mine is too!"

"Let's boogie!"

(rocking the Buick Century)


May the world never know...
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post #9 of 16
2/1/10 at 1:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post
I remember seeing this in the theater as a lark and seeing an elder couple leave the moment the words, "Her pussy gets SO wet, you can't believe it!" were uttered.
The EXACT same thing happened when I saw it. This and the very first scene in Eyes Wide Shut (Kidman dropping her dress) couldn't get the oldies out of their seats fast enough. Good times.
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post #10 of 16
2/1/10 at 1:51pm
I love the boundless, doomed-to-disappointment optimism of the elderly.
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post #11 of 16
2/1/10 at 3:10pm
Thread Starter 
Mmm... I think they go to movies so that they can walk out of them in a huff.
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post #12 of 16
2/2/10 at 1:16pm
People get stuck on Sideways, and I understand why-- it's a great movie. That said it's got nothing on Election, which I feel has come to be criminally underappreciated in light of Payne's 2004 hit. Maybe my love for Election stems from some strain of nostalgia; it's the last good thing Broderick has done (that comes to mind, maybe there's something in the last ten years that I'm missing), and the only thing I've ever liked Witherspoon in.

It's more than that of course; a decade later it still feels fresh and it never fails to make me bust a gut laughing. This thread is making me want to go back to it again; as much as I recognize that it's a well constructed film, I've never watched it and let myself appreciate the technique that Payne shows. (Sue me. I've been too busy laughing.) I think this calls for a revisit.
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post #13 of 16
2/2/10 at 2:39pm
Whatever happened to Jessica Campbell? She killed as the younger sister. Apart from a couple episodes of Freaks & Geeks, she's kind of dropped off the radar.

"WHO CARES? DON'T VOTE AT ALL!"
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post #14 of 16
2/2/10 at 3:19pm
Thread Starter 
And she was a major supporting character that had braces! BRACES! The whole movie just feels so uncomfortably honest!
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post #15 of 16
10/10/10 at 1:20pm
'And everyday after school Lisa and I would go over to her house to fuck and have a hot tub.' Casting director deserves a medal for Chris Klein in this.

I love how it plays with your sympathies, Broderick generally brings a decency which is totally undercut by the shitty things he does, whereas objectively Flick's transgression is pretty minor. There's a strange morality to the universe of this movie as well- every character ends up pretty much where they deserve.

'Maybe you needed more posters honey. or if you'd just taken my suggestions...' - the brief conversation with her mum is a great subtle moment that tells you why Flick is like she is.

Such a brilliant movie.
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post #16 of 16
10/10/10 at 1:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AdrianDyka View Post
There's a strange morality to the universe of this movie as well- every character ends up pretty much where they deserve.
You're absolutely right about that. But what I love is that the film doesn't play it up as a morality in which every character realizes the error of their ways. They, like real people, accept their circumstances and make the best of it while harboring a storm of pettiness on the inside.

"Who the FUUUUCK does she think she is!?"
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