Saturday, July 21, 2012

114 - Election

    A high school teacher, played by Matthew Broderick, manipulates a high school election between an overachiever (Reese Witherspoon) a dumb jock (Chris Klein) and the dumb jock's sister (Jessica Campbell, who showed up toward the end of Freaks & Geeks).
    That summary doesn't make sound nearly as interesting as it is.  It's much more complicated, it has some very serious questions about what constitutes moral or ethical behavior in these situations, and how much the results of these actions justify them.  The direction is first-rate.  Alexander Payne is perfectly solid with his work, and does some pretty flashy work, but it all serves a sense of humor that runs under everything.
    This movie doesn't make me laugh as much as it used to, but that may be because I burned out on it by watching it way too many times.  But I admire how simple the story feels.  The actions that the characters take all feel completely natural, and this makes them feel fully realized.
    If you haven't seen this, I'd advise watching it.  Probably a few times.
    Also, Paul Metzler is the role the Chris Klein was born to play.  And this is this best I've seen Reese Witherspoon in anything.

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