A sharp, mean, and very funny high-school political satire that uses a student election to expose adult pettiness, ambition, and self-deception. It’s especially rewarding if you like dark comedy with a nasty edge and characters who are both ridiculous and painfully recognizable.
78% ★★★★☆ (309,804)
Election
Where to watch: Paramount
Movie · Comedy · Drama · R
1999 · 1h 43m · ★ 78% (309.8K)
Reading. Writing. Revenge.
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein
Overview
Tracy Flick is running unopposed for this year’s high school student election. But Jim McAllister has a different plan. Partly to establish a more democratic election, and partly to satisfy some deep personal anger toward Tracy, Jim talks football player Paul Metzler to run for president as well.
Director
Alexander Payne
Production
Paramount Pictures, MTV Films, Bona Fide Productions
Cast
Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein, Jessica Campbell, Mark Harelik, Phil Reeves, Molly Hagan, Delaney Driscoll, Colleen Camp, Frankie Ingrassia, Matt Malloy, Jeanine Jackson, Holmes Osborne, Loren Nelson, Nicholas D'Agosto, Emily Martin, Jonathan Marion, Amy Falcone, Matt Justesen, Nick Kenny
Where to watch
fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, mean, and very funny high-school political satire that uses a student election to expose adult pettiness, ambition, and self-deception. It’s especially rewarding if you like dark comedy with a nasty edge and characters who are both ridiculous and painfully recognizable.
Best for
fans of dark comedy and satire
viewers who like morally messy characters
people interested in school politics and power games
audiences who enjoy cringe comedy with bite
Skip if
you want warm, feel-good teen comedy
you dislike cynical or abrasive humor
you prefer plots with clearly likable characters
you’re looking for a straightforward coming-of-age story
Overview
Election is one of those comedies that keeps getting sharper the older it gets. What begins as a petty student-council race quickly becomes a study in resentment, vanity, and the tiny abuses of power that make ordinary people act absurdly self-important. The film’s joke is that everyone thinks they’re being reasonable, even when they’re clearly spiraling.
Worth noting
Reese Witherspoon is ferocious as Tracy Flick, but the movie is just as interested in the sad, compromised adult who decides to sabotage her. That imbalance gives the film its sting: it’s not really about a school election, it’s about how people justify their worst impulses with the language of fairness and principle. The comedy is dry, precise, and often cruel, but it never feels random.
Bottom line
What makes it endure is how cleanly it observes ambition as both admirable and embarrassing. The movie is funny because it understands status anxiety, favoritism, and the way “doing the right thing” can be a disguise for revenge. It’s a smart, uncomfortable satire that still feels current.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Karsten (5★) · 5813 likes
I don’t have a list of my favorite movie characters. Why would I? But if I DID, Paul would be at the top.
Laura (4.5★) · 4848 likes
my thoughts throughout this movie: 1. reese witherspoon plays unhinged, ambitious characters better than anyone else 2. i would vote for the himbo why lie 3. wait maybe i would vote for the himbo’s lesbian sister 4. what do i have to do to become a part of the himbo and lesbian sister’s family bc i love them both so much 5. tammy being happy about getting sent to immaculate heart bc she’s going to be surrounded by hot girls,… more
andrea🌹 (4★) · 4709 likes
left side of the brain: matthew broderick is a good actor and he has range. the character he plays here is nothing like any other character he has portrayed, and he plays it well. besides, an actor is more than the movie characters he plays, and one role shouldn't define him, especially with his amount of skill. right side of the brain: look at that ferris bueller man go
megan (4★) · 4488 likes
Dear God, thank you for all your blessings. You've given me so many things, like good health, nice parents, a nice truck, and what I'm told is a large penis.
Karsten (5★) · 4160 likes
love this movie just as much as paul loves pears (and apples (and bananas))