Election poster & wallpaper

Chris Klein, Jeanine Jackson, Jessica Campbell

A high school teacher's personal life becomes complicated as he works with students during the school elections.

Flixster Users

72% liked it

22,577 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

85 critics

R, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Alexander Payne

Release Date: May 3, 1999

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: October 19, 1999

Get It:

Stats: 2,491 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites
report incorrect info

Photos

Election Reese Witherspoon in 'Election' (1999) Election movie Election Election
Upload a Photo |

View All Election Photos (5)

Your Rating


clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (2,491)

  • SirPant
    September 28, 2009
    SirPant
    My least favourite Alexander Payne movie , maybe because of all the hype it got, hype I?m not sure it deserves. Still enjoyable enough though.
  • DrZeek
    February 22, 2009
    DrZeek
    Jim McAllister: Paul, what is your favorite fruit?
    Paul Metzler: Pears.
    Jim McAllister: Okay, now...
    Paul Metzler: No wait! Apples.
    Jim McAllister: Great, now say that everyday you had an apple. An apple, an apple and more apples. You probably thought that apples were pretty good...( read more), even if you got a rotten one every once in awhile. Then one day there was an orange. Now you can choose, do you want an apple or do you want an orange? That's democracy.
    Paul Metzler: I also like bananas.
    Jim McAllister: ...Exactly.

    Easily one of my favorite high school comedies. A very funny film about a high school election and the small war between a teacher and one of his brown nosing students.

    Matthew Broderick stars as Mr. McAllister, a popular teacher at the school he works at. He's a good man who unfortunately crosses a line due to one of his students. This student is Tracy Flick, played by Reese Witherspoon. Tracy is a brain, focused purely on succeeding in life, by being better than everyone. As smart as she may be however, she's not exactly well liked and even had a part in getting one of McAllister's colleagues fired.

    With the election approaching and Tracy running opposed, McAllister decides to get another student to also run in the election. This is Paul, a popular jock who has recently broken his leg. He is played to be wonderfully naive and likable by Chris Klein in his best role.

    A final candidate is Paul's adopted and bitchy sister Tammy, who has just been dumped by her "girlfriend" for Paul.

    Jim McAllister: Larry, we're not electing the fucking Pope here. Just tell me who won.

    The film has all these characters serve as narrators, which works wonderfully, particularly from the students who are hilarious. The movie is very much about how strong the screenplay is. The dialog is very funny and very quotable. This includes the school's principal who gets a number of great moments.

    The movie does a great job at standing out from other high school based movies, complete with its quirky style and various character moments that make it very fun to watch.

    Tracy Flick: None of this would have happened if Mr. McAllister hadn't meddled the way he did. He should have just accepted things as they are instead of trying to interfere with destiny. You see, you can't interfere with destiny. That's why it's destiny. And if you try to interfere, the same thing's going to happen anyway, and you'll just suffer.
  • nannalauren
    February 1, 2009
    nannalauren
    Reese Witherspoon was brilliant in this.
  • lewiskendell
    November 28, 2008
    lewiskendell
    Election was ok, but it doesn't measure up to Rushmore, Mean Girls, or any of my other favorite movies that are set in high school.

    All the main characters are selfish and unlikeable, with the lone exception being so dumb that he is almost as annoying as the others. My high sch...( read more)ool was so dissimilar to the one shown here, and I (thankfully) never knew anyone like these particularly unpleasant people. Maybe that's why Election didn't strike a chord with me like it has with many others. It's worth watching, but in the end it just makes me want to watch Mean Girls again.
  • ceWEBrity
    November 10, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    The first of three comedies I watched this weekend, and easily the best. Alexander Payne and his cast are at the top of their game here, except for Chris Klein (who absolutely CANNOT ACT and has slipped into obscurity for good reason). Reese Witherspoon was the big breakout from ...( read more)this movie for a reason. She flawlessly channels that girl in high school that were dying to kick the shit out of. Matthew Broderick is good too, but constructing a career around being smarmy really sucks (ask Hayden Christensen!).

    The script feels a little re-written for mass audiences (to no real success, since it fell ten million dollars short of recouping its production budget), what with its tireless voiceover narration. It's obviously there to pick up the slack for the subtleties, but Payne does a great job dressing it up so that it's enjoyable to listen to and not obtrusive. An excellent dissertation on both modern politics and student government, Election excels on many levels.
  • xxltmoney
    October 31, 2009
    xxltmoney
    This movie was really entertaining and even though some parts piss you off, it was a good movie.
  • SageSlowdive
    October 21, 2009
    SageSlowdive
    Good in parts, and stupid in others.
  • lanba
    September 30, 2009
    lanba
    i saw this years ago
  • ElCochran90
    September 18, 2009
    ElCochran90
    Exactly the kind of intelligent comedies I enjoy. Good and random story, but it's about its development now, gentlemen.

    57/100
  • jscottcorley
    September 13, 2009
    jscottcorley
    The scene where Broderick gives his undercarriage a bit of a "How's your father?' is totally sick.

View All Election Reviews

Critic Reviews

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Reese Witherspoon hits her full stride in Election! full review

View more Election reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • soadrocks125
    September 9, 2007
    soadrocks125
    "Election" is a very funny, very witty film with great performances from Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon and Chris Klein.
Post A Comment | View All Comments

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

All Rotten Tomatoes content is used under license from Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, Certified Fresh, and the Tomatometer are the trademarks of Incfusion Corporation, d/b/a Rotten Tomatoes, a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Official Trailer

View Larger Election Trailer

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Billy Madison
    Billy Madison (34%)
  • Rushmore
    Rushmore (66%)
  • The Opposite of Sex
    The Opposite of Sex (100%)
  • Superbad
    Superbad (18%)

More Movies like Election

Theater Showtimes & TV Listings

Election Trivia

  • Which actress is in the following movies? Legally Blonde Walk the Line Election Fear Cruel Intentions Vanity Fair Sweet Home Alabama  Answer »
  • in The Man of the Year,Does Tom Dobbs(Robin Williams)win the election?  Answer »
  • what makes the teacher get fired in the movie election?  Answer »
  • Name the actor who has been in Godzilla (1998), The Cable Guy, The Stepford Wives, Election, and voiced a character in The Lion King.  Answer »
More Election Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Election to favorites

Recent News

Submit a Story |

View Election News

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?