A funny and engaging high school dramedy featuring Broderick and Witherspoon. The story centers on a bright student (Reese Witherspoon) who campaigns for student body president at her Omaha high school. One of her teachers (Matthew Broderick) encourages a friendly athlete to challenge her, simply because he finds her presence bothersome. “Election” (1999) feels like a quirky take on the high school movie, similar to “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982), but it has its own story about a student election. It doesn’t have the same crude humor as something like “American Pie,” although there's one line from a teacher early in the film, and it deals with mature themes because there are some scenes depicting sexual activity—without nudity. These moments are noticeable, yet oddly entertaining and seem important to what happens. This is essential viewing for high school teachers since it subtly mocks the environment. The movie demonstrates how easily an experienced, dedicated educator can make a careless error and lose their standing. It also explores the possibility of regaining favor. Naturally, the film makes fun of the election process and the competition between candidates. There are a couple of moments that genuinely made me laugh, accompanied by Spaghetti Western music—specifically Ennio Morricone’s score from 1966's "Navajo Joe." Witherspoon is well-cast as the main female character (even though she resembles Drew Barrymore on the promotional poster), but I didn’t find her particularly attractive. Frankie Ingrassia (Lisa) and Jessica Campbell (Tammy) do help to balance things out, despite a somewhat superficial depiction of a lesbian relationship. The film has a running time of 1 hour, 43 minutes and was filmed in the Omaha, Nebraska area—including Papillion, Bellevue, and LaVista—and concludes with scenes set in Washington DC. GRADE: B-

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