Election (1999)

She has intentions fuelled only by ambition and narciscissm she's no heroine

xxxp it's not clear cut but Tracy is absolutely the hero- emerging out of a broken home, a fucked up relationship, and serious ratfucking by a vengeful middle-aged man. not to mention the entire student body aligned against her. again, the last scene makes it obvious imo

Camaraderie @ AL, that's a good description of why I feel no need to see this again despite loving it. Just like dozens of other movies I loved in the theater on first viewing and they're really important to me and I'll never, ever need to watch them again because so much of everyday life and us assholes who populate it are reminders of the themes, scenes and feelings from the film.

flappy bird your reading of Tracy's character is bonkers

She has intentions fuelled only by ambition and narciscissm she's no heroine

― rum dmc (darraghmac), Monday, February 19, 2018 12:59 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this describes 99% of politicians, and while i don't necessarily disagree, she at least focuses her ambition toward a more noble goal than everyone else in the film.

49% of the student body != the entire student body, your argument sucks

(xposts) I like that guy! I don't think he was self-righteous, he just knew he'd counted the votes correctly and was perplexed as to why the numbers didn't add up. (Spitting on the car was just kind of flourish to punctuate McAlister's abject downfall--maybe didn't need to be there.)

Tracy really doesn't need to have any sympathy for Dave, but her reaction is more interesting as she views the relationship through this prism of individual responsibility rather than personal feelings of animosity for having taken advantage of her.

yea it's actually very reminiscent of Monica Lewinsky's view of her relationship with Bill Clinton, which is coincidental because her interview with Barbara Walters aired the same month Election came out.

@tombot - good point, tho tbf we never hear from any Tracy stans. but you're right

and actually i'd argue that that is another analogue to HRC- the disinterest and derision crowds out the considerable support

Tracy's politics are never explicitly stated, but it's clear she is going to be a callous Randian type, this film is sympathetic with her as a person but clearly she is going to be a normal, horrible career politician.

The movie does not presuppose that we the audience consider 99% of politicians as heroes cmon man down if this horse before you throw a fit

perhaps, but considering Tracy's circumstances, her goals & her path are aspirational if not inspirational. every character has major trauma, Tracy and Tammy are the only ones that don't let it curdle their souls

The vote counting kid is a good example of people trusting rules and procedures to an almost pathological level, this seems to be a plague on the UK right now.

The other thing is--and you have to step back a bit from Tracy herself--is that she's obviously right: the idea that anyone would vote for Paul before her to run anything is ludicrous.

That's the funny thing about the film -- this is about high school students! I know there are student councils in rare schools that have a voice, but the stakes are so incredibly low, even when you listen to Tracy's campaign platform. Outside of organizing some student events, the most they do is make some recommendations to the administration. It's so incredibly low-stakes, and in a lot of schools it plays out as a popularity contest with a few students genuinely wanting to affect change (or pad their pre-college resumes).

This is one of the movies I've seen a number of times over the years where my life experience really colors my perception. The juxtaposition of each character's inner monologue and their actions on screen, along with how they appear to the audience, is where it really shines.

Paul's inner monologue is the best, obviously

I think the challenge the film and the novel took on is how to make Tracy not the obvious hero of the story - there are no good people or winners in Tom Perrotta novels afaict - despite all of the traditionally unassailable attributes of the responsible, hard working underdog accruing in her favor. IMHO they pulled it off by making her as narcissistic and unabashedly ambitious as Jim is needy and feckless.

I think Senator Flick would be Nebraska's own Susan Collins fwiw

always lol at "then we'd go to my house to fuck and have a hot tub"

I graduated from high school the year Election was released and, at the time, Tracy reminded me of one of my classmates. There was an incident where, related to an extracurricular group I was involved in, the teacher running it got angry at her lack of attention and snapped, "If you were actually interested in this instead of having to be in every group and making it about you, you'd pay attention!" and she was in tears. I only heard about it when she showed up to the next class and couldn't regain her composure.

I mean, in retrospect, he wasn't wrong, but it wasn't something to snap at a kid about. At the time, I definitely didn't see that.

NB, I ran for student prez on Tammy's platform (dissolve the SGA) as a junior in college, one year before this movie came out, and even got a referendum on the ballot to that effect (we only got something like 47% of the vote for the referendum so it didn't even get put before the senate). All the kids I ran against were variations on Paul and Tracy.

Election is like bueller in that ppl always inform you that you shouldn't sympathise with Matthew Broderick like they're imparting the secret of the fucking universe when it's like no duh

Tracy is obv way more compelling but being asked to find her inspirational reminds me a bit of the "hire more women guards" gag

well yeah exactly. i said that she's HRC

She's not compelling at all rly

Election is like bueller in that ppl always inform you that you shouldn't sympathise with Matthew Broderick like they're imparting the secret of the fucking universe when it's like no duh

As a person who was a kid when Ferris Beuller came out and saw it in theaters, let me assure you that millions of people around the world need to have it explained to them why you shouldn't sympathize with Matthew Broderick, and I was one of them

Ferris is an entitled little shit, yes, but if you take Roger Ebert's reading of the film--that his motivation for the day off was help his friend gain some self-respect--he becomes a lot more bearable.

I thought netflix’s American Vandal had a character that was pretty reminiscent of Dave, although younger

That is a misreading xp

How so?

Because that is not his motivation

As a person who was a kid when Ferris Beuller came out and saw it in theaters, let me assure you that millions of people around the world need to have it explained to them why you shouldn't sympathize with Matthew Broderick, and I was one of them

― Guayaquil (eephus!),

and still do.

Because that is not his motivation

Not only is it not his motivation, it's exactly the story Bueller tells himself about himself in order to avoid having to understand and accept who he really is

Tammy is the hero, duh.

Ferris Bueller is about wish fulfillment for teens, thinking you can break the rules and do magic and be celebrated for it

Election is not quite the opposite, but it does make you wonder why people think their actions are ever truly in the service of their goals

Tammy isn't a hero she's the easy popularity of the opt out slacker

she gets the girl, though

90s chicks loved opt-out slackers

New Sequel Novel: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Tracy-Flick-Cant-Win/Tom-Perrotta/9781501144066?

Tracy Flick is a hardworking assistant principal at a public high school in suburban New Jersey. Still ambitious but feeling a little stuck and underappreciated in midlife, Tracy gets a jolt of good news when the longtime principal, Jack Weede, abruptly announces his retirement, creating a rare opportunity for Tracy to ascend to the top job.

Energized by the prospect of her long-overdue promotion, Tracy throws herself into her work with renewed zeal, determined to prove her worth to the students, faculty, and School Board, while also managing her personal life—a ten-year-old daughter, a needy doctor boyfriend, and a burgeoning meditation practice. But nothing ever comes easily to Tracy Flick, no matter how diligent or qualified she happens to be.

Among her many other responsibilities, Tracy is enlisted to serve on the Selection Committee for the brand-new Green Meadow High School Hall of Fame. Her male colleagues’ determination to honor Vito Falcone—a star quarterback of dubious character who had a brief, undistinguished career in the NFL—triggers bad memories for Tracy, and leads her to troubling reflections about the trajectory of her own life and the forces that have left her feeling thwarted and disappointed, unable to fulfill her true potential.

As she broods on the past, Tracy becomes aware of storm clouds brewing in the present. Is she really a shoo-in for the Principal job? Is the Superintendent plotting against her? Why is the School Board President’s wife trying so hard to be her friend? And why can’t she ever get what she deserves?

Would have thought she'd end up at Fox.

...or married to Ted Cruz

https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/jacMx0hZvy7S7E0Ul9HikzknMnM=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/02/26/Heidi-5.jpg

https://theplaylist.net/tracy-flick-cant-win-an-election-sequel-is-in-the-works-at-paramount-with-reese-witherspoon-director-alexander-payne-returning-20221208/

I felt this movie was pretty perfect and felt quietly happy that the book sequel didn't make much of a splash but, well, I guess there's gonna be another movie. With Payne and Witherspoon involved I guess it's likely to be as good as it can be, but -- I sort of don't want it.

(checks Alexander Payne filmography, confirms suspicion that Alexander Payne peaked with Election 23 years ago) Yeah, I don't think I need this.

I've liked a couple of Payne films since then, but an Election sequel seems quite unnecessary (and will interfere with the fun of trying to imagine where Tracy ended up).

Y’all seen this? It’s pretty obscure and was allegedly discovered at a flea market in 2011. Even the Criterion didn’t have it..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhezOPupmj4