No 389 - Election
Director - Alexander Payne
It must be hard to be Christopher Mintz-Plasse. It will probably be a very very long time before he out lives McLovin'. I mean, even Matthew Vaughn admits that Red Mist will fall to the Superbad shadow.
The reason I begin like this is because of Matthew Broderick. Election begins with Broderick in the shower and I immediately thought of one thing, one character. I don't think it helps that Broderick is one of those people that ages very well and still looks really quite young....
However, in this film Broderick plays Jim McAllister, a teacher who sets a vendetta against one of his students. The whole film is told as a flashback, with voice overs indicating that something bad will happen to him. So as you watch the events unfold you end up waiting for it all to go tits up. The student in question is Tracey Flick, she had an affair with a teacher (one of McAllister's friends) and subsequently got him fired. For that reason (and many other smaller ones) McAllister doesn't like her. When she runs for Student President, he decides to sabotage it. Voila the plot in a nut shell - but this film is more about the characters and how McAllister manages to slowly fuck himself over.
But, let us begin by exploring the characters. The shining star in this film is Tracey Flick, she is so single minded she is scary. She is determined and passionate and borderline insane. She will sacrifice everything and stop at nothing to be the highest achieving student in her school. What is most interesting is that she is Reese Witherspoon. Witherspoon has a bit of a reputation of being a good girl. Even in Cruel Intentions she was the target, the sweet and innocent woman waiting to be corrupted. The vast strew of fairly saccharine rom-coms haven't helped either. So it is really interesting to see her in this kind of role. Where she plays a borderline psychopath.
It is important to note that she doesn't really do much to sexualise herself. Instead she appears in the fantasies of teachers firstly with Mr Novotny and then with Mr McAllister as he gets more and more obsessed with her. She isn't a manipulative person but she is a petty, grudge holding, over emotional student with serious mood swings. It is quite scary to watch her break down (and throughout the film she breaks down several times) - she is clearly an overstressed individual. I blame the mother, a figure we see only a couple of times but who is clearly a tad domineering.
She is up against Paul, played by Chris Klein, who is probably the most genuinely nice person in the film. He worries about the other characters including his annoyingly stereotype rebel-teen sister (also running for president) and for Tracey. Yet, she can only see him as the enemy. He kind of wanders through the film like an over-eager puppy happy to let things pass.
But all of this - the obsession with Tracey, the election itself - is unimportant. It is just a series of catalysts for the main focus of the film. McAllister's breakdown. Here Broderick is excellent, watching him get more pent up and violent. Watching his sexual frustration and fantasies begin to spill into other areas of his life, watching his delusions crash into reality. It shows a fascinating side of what is, essentially, a very violent mid life crisis. His character morphs from being this wonderful friendly human being who loves teaching to being a twisted and bitter figure. It is even reflected (for a while) physically as a bee sting leaves him swollen and disfigured.
The film's end shows that you're never too old for reinvention and to see the fun side of life. That whilst some people may change and adapt others will constantly chase the better position in life. But you find yourself asking if McAllister wouldn't have been better off if he had just never gotten involved with the election.
It is not your average happy ending.
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