Election 4K UHD [Blu-ray] [Region A & B & C]

I don't really like the movie.

You've probably seen the snippet on YouTube that proclaims "Hillary Clinton IS Tracy Flick!" Well, my friends, it's true. If you enjoyed that little scene, you must revisit Alexander Payne's darkly comic 1999 gem and see for yourself how oddly prescient it was in depicting the precise dynamic going on now in American presidential politics. Reese Witherspoon is Tracy, a rabidly ambitious high school student in Omaha, Nebraska (Director Payne's hometown, which he also lovingly lampooned in "About Schmidt"), who is determined, by sheer grit, to win the election for student body president. Tracy is the ideal of college selection boards everywhere: bright, perky, neat, organized, always prepared for class, and single-mindedly involved in more school activities than there are hours in the day. On paper, she's a educator's dream . . . but she represents an uneasy nightmare for her social studies teacher, Mr. McAllister (Matthew Broderick). Mr. McAllister has his own reasons for disliking Tracy. She is the kind of grating apple polisher that has her hand up with the answer to every question he poses. She's at school every morning an hour before everyone else, and works late evenings and weekends on all her various extracurricular responsibilies. And she had an affair with Mr. McAllister's best friend and colleague that resulted in him losing both his job and his marriage. Tracy herself seems blithely oblivious to all the havoc she has caused. Is this wide-eyed naivete genuine or is at all an elaborate act? Mr. McAllister is inclined to believe the latter. The spectre of having to spend lots and lots of quality time alone with Tracy in his capacity as student government advisor looms large, and he persuades popular-but-dim quarterback Paul(Chris Klein) to run against Tracy. Despite having her picture splashed on every page of the yearbook (which she also edits), Tracy is a lonely figure. Her ruthless ambition and complete lack of humor about herself make friendships impossible. Tracy's robotic efficiency makes her best-suited to the government wonk job, but the engaging and likeable Paul threatens to steal the election right from under Tracy's pert and entitlist nose, making the campaign increasingly contentious.In one of her earliest starring roles, Reese Witherspoon displays the acting chops that would later garner her an Oscar. Ms. Witherspoon plays against her naturally sunny and likeable persona to create Tracy and she is so successful, it is frightening. She gives Tracy flashes of vulnerability when we almost want to hug her for trying so hard . . .and then hardens that into a steely Machiavellian drive that repulses. It is one of the most subtle yet devastating performances ever by an actress, and given Ms. Witherspoon's youth at the time, all the more amazing. Broderick has an equally challenging role as Tracy's foil, a man so bent on engineering her downfall, he fails to recognize his own less admirable qualities until it's too late. Fans of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" have perhaps matured sufficiently to recognize the deep irony in having Ferris himself become a schlubby member of the Establishment. Broderick has in some ways the trickier role, yet he succeeds in navigating the fine line between pathos and humor and makes McAllister a low-rent Everyman that we can root for.The last time McAllister, and the audience see Tracy, several years after the events of the movie, she is a congressional aide getting into a limo with her congressman, with the White House in the background behind her. Hmm. The obvious similarity to Monica Lewinsky aside, Tracy reminds us of someone else we have gotten to know very well these last 10 or so years, who has her sights firmly fixed on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue . . .again. Were Payne and novelist Tom Perotta on whose book the screenplay is based eerily psychic, or are the glaring similarities to HRC's rise just a cosmic chuckle? We may have months yet before the outcome of 'our' election is decided . . . while you are killing time before November, watch this and have a a rueful laugh. Was Tracy Flick inspired by Hillary Clinton, or are Tracy and HRC just two examples of a feminine archtype that's as old as the human race itself? We may never know!

Thirteen years after "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," Matthew Broderick plays a respected high school teacher; two years before her break-out performance in "Legally Blonde," Reese Witherspoon (at age 22) nails the part of an overachieving high-school senior. Though these are the movie's leads, it's filled with convincing performances by a host of fine actors, whose characters are interwoven into a black-comic tapestry that, no matter what your age, will transport you back to high school and how petty, screwed-up, and generally miserable those years could be. You'll be reintroduced to the various types you remember, or perhaps were, in that environment; yet the actors are so good that they transcend the types and embody real people. The atmosphere is realistic: most of the exteriors and interiors were shot at a real high school in Omaha.Broderick and Witherspoon walk the highest tightrope. Their characters are neither paragons nor criminals, but they are so deeply flawed that, if the actors' personas were not so amiable, the movie would flop. Instead, despite their faults and unsavory traits, these actors keep us watching. Director Alexander Payne tells a simple story creatively, using freeze-frames and voice-overs by the characters, revealing to us more than they themselves realize.The story ends truthfully. In this movie's world that truth is cheerfully cynical. Within a few years' space the characters have changed little. Cycles repeat themselves, without tragedy or uplift. These folk are who they are, little better or worse for their rueful journeys.

I had the misfortune to see Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing” on TV the other week, and what a misguided misfire of a steaming heap that movie is. A cute premise betrayed for a need to get all Woke and ecological and dour, when what we really wanted to see was miniature Matt Damon facing off with a housecat or maybe having to clamber about full size furniture. Matt shaved his head. It was not a good look. Neither was heading to Norway for a gloom-fest.So, as a palate cleanser, I re-watched “Election”. And it’s still great! What a fun, dark, over-the-top and true-to-life comedy. The plot pieces fit together like a machine oiled by corruption in the lowest-stakes election imaginable, a scheme driven by the human weaknesses we all share: ambition, resentment, sex, carelessness and more sex.Reese Witherspoon has done a lot of excellent work since “Election” but it’s hard to think of a role I enjoyed more. She’s adorable and relentless, showing single-minded determination that should’ve warned the other characters to just get out of her way.Matthew Broderick, an actor who I respect without much caring about, is fine as the teacher who’s bored beyond endurance by his own life and yet too proud of his “teacher of the year” status not to resent the sheer unstoppable drive of his star pupil. He’s not going anywhere. Why should Tracy Flick be the one who’ll inevitably grasp the golden ticket out of Omaha? His put-upon demeanor works very well indeed here, all the more so with a wasp-stung eye.And Chris Klein as the dumb jock with a heart of pure gold? How can you not love him? The one character without guile or agenda, all he really wants (and gets) is an epic graduation party and for his sister to be happy.The small roles are equally well cast. Special shout-out for Phil Reeves, who’ll you recognize as “that guy who was in that thing.” Because he does pop up everywhere, and he’s always fun to see. Here as the “what fresh hell is this?” Principal, he’s great.From the enjoyable if overrated “Sideways” to the beautiful and deeply human “Nebraska”, Alexander Payne has a list any director could be proud of. We can skip over “Downsizing” easily enough for the guy who made “The Descendants”. With “Election” he was hitting on all cylinders.I remember the first time I saw “Election” back in the dear old video store rental days. Picked up on a whim, the moment I saw Chekov’s Chinese food hit the faculty lounge floor, I knew we were in good hands. Definitely recommended!

This film - like the original “Arthur” and “Ghostbusters I” - is a perfect comedy.

Le DVD était bien livré mais il est défectueux : au lieu de la version anglaise dans le choix des langues du film c'est du Russe (ou semblable). Je l'ai jeté à la poubelle.

Bra film.

Película muy curiosa y que por fin encontré en dvd. Mezcla humor y crítica. Buenas actuaciones

This is a great film. Reese Witherspoon is brilliant in her role as a model student. Matthew Broderick's descent into misery is entertaining to watch as is Flick's meteoric rise into politics. It has some really humorous moments and is really worth a watch.

Funny, chamming underrated film.