every now and then a movie comes along from a suspect studio , with every indication that it will be a stinker , and to everybody 's surprise ( perhaps even the studio ) the film becomes a critical darling .
mtv films ' _ election , a high school comedy starring matthew broderick and reese witherspoon , is a current example .
did anybody know this film existed a week before it opened ?
the plot is deceptively simple .
george washington carver high school is having student elections .
tracy flick ( reese witherspoon ) is an over - achiever with her hand raised at nearly every question , way , way , high .
mr .
" m " ( matthew broderick ) , sick of the megalomaniac student , encourages paul , a popular - but - slow jock to run .
and paul 's nihilistic sister jumps in the race as well , for personal reasons .
the dark side of such sleeper success is that , because expectations were so low going in , the fact that this was quality stuff made the reviews even more enthusiastic than they have any right to be .
you ca n't help going in with the baggage of glowing reviews , which is in contrast to the negative baggage that the reviewers were likely to have .
_ election ,
a good film , does not live up to its hype .
what makes _ election _
so disappointing is that it contains significant plot details lifted directly from _ rushmore _ , released a few months earlier .
the similarities are staggering : tracy flick ( _ election _ ) is the president of an extraordinary number of clubs , and is involved with the school play .
max fischer ( _ rushmore _ ) is the president of an extraordinary number of clubs , and is involved with the school play .
the most significant tension of _ election _ is the potential relationship between a teacher and his student .
the most significant tension of _ rushmore _ is the potential relationship between a teacher and his student .
tracy flick is from a single parent home , which has contributed to her drive .
max fischer is from a single parent home , which has contributed to his drive .
the male bumbling adult in _ election _ ( matthew broderick ) pursues an extramarital affair , gets caught , and his whole life is ruined .
he even gets a bee sting .
the male bumbling adult in _ rushmore _ ( bill murray ) pursues an extramarital affair , gets caught , and his whole life is ruined .
he gets several bee stings .
and so on .
what happened ?
how is it that an individual screenplay ( _ rushmore _ ) and a novel ( _ election _ ) contain so many significant plot points , and yet both films were probably not even aware of each other , made from two different studios , from a genre ( the high school geeks revenge movie ) that had n't been fully formed yet ?
even so , the strengths of _ election _ rely upon its fantastic performances from broderick , witherspoon , and newcomer jessica campbell , as paul 's anti - social sister , tammy .
broderick here is playing the mr .
rooney role from _ ferris bueller _ , and
he seems to be having the most fun he 's had since then .
witherspoon is a revelation .
it 's early in the year , it 's a comedy , and teenagers have little clout , but for my money , witherspoon deserves an oscar nomination .
and once campbell 's character gets going , like in her fantastic speech in the gymnasium , then you 're won over .
one thing that 's been bothering me since i 've seen it .
there is an extraordinary amount of sexuality in this film .
i suppose that , coming from mtv films , i should expect no less . . .
but the film starts off light and airy , like a sitcom .
as the screws tighten , and the tensions mount , alexander payne decides to add elements that , frankly , distract from the story .
it is bad enough that mr .
m does n't like tracy 's determination to win at all costs , but did they have to throw in the student / teacher relationship ?
even so , there 's no logical reason why mr .
m has an affair when he does .
there 's a lot to like in _ election _ , but the plot similarities to _ rushmore _ , and the tonal nosedive it takes as it gets explicitly sex - driven , mark this as a disappointment .
witherspoon deserves an oscar nomination this was quality stuff a good film he seems to be having the most fun he 's had since then witherspoon is a revelation fantastic performances