Election (1999)

Director:

Alexander Payne

Writers (WGA):

Tom Perrotta (novel)
Alexander Payne (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

7 May 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Reading, Writing, Revenge.

Plot:

A high school teacher's personal life becomes complicated as he works with students during the school elections.

Plot Keywords:

Election | School | Lesbian | High School | Jock

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 16 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Matthew Broderick	...	Jim McAllister
Reese Witherspoon	...	Tracy Flick
Chris Klein	...	Paul Metzler
Jessica Campbell	...	Tammy Metzler
Phil Reeves	...	Walt Hendricks
Molly Hagan	...	Diane McAllister
Delaney Driscoll	...	Linda Novotny
Mark Harelik	...	Dave Novotny
Colleen Camp	...	Judith R. Flick
Frankie Ingrassia	...	Lisa Flanagan
Joel Parks	...	Jerry Slavin
Matt Malloy	...	Vice-Principal Ron Bell
Holmes Osborne	...	Dick Metzler
Jeanine Jackson	...	Jo Metzler
Loren Nelson	...	Custodian
Emily Martin	...	Girl in Crisis
Jonathan Marion	...	Classroom Student Eric
Amy Falcone	...	Classroom Student Michele
Matt Justesen	...	'Eat Me' Boy
Nick Kenny	...	'Eat Me' Boy's Buddy
B.J. Tobin	...	Adult Video Actor (as Brian Tobin)
Christa Young	...	Adult Video Actress
David Wenzel	...	Tracy's Friend Eric
Larry Kaiser	...	Chemistry Teacher
Marilyn Tipp	...	Carver Office Lady
Jeannie Brayman	...	Faculty Ballot-Giver
Nicholas D'Agosto	...	Larry Fouch (as Nick D'Agosto)
James Devney	...	Motel Clerk
L. Carmen Novoa	...	Spanish Teacher
Jason Paige	...	Kid in Georgetown Hall
Matt Golden	...	Kid in Georgetown Hall
Heather Koenig	...	Kid in Georgetown Hall
Jillian Crane	...	Jillian
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kaitlin Ferrell	...	Jennifer (uncredited)
Rob Kunkel	...	Bob the Mechanic (uncredited)
John Ponzio	...	Georgetown Student (uncredited)
Rohan Quine	...	Village Guy (uncredited)

Directed by
Alexander Payne

Writing credits (WGA)
Tom Perrotta		(novel)
Alexander Payne		(screenplay) &
Jim Taylor		(screenplay)

Produced by
Albert Berger	....	producer
Jim Burke	....	co-producer
David Gale	....	producer
Jacobus Rose	....	co-producer
Keith Samples	....	producer
Van Toffler	....	executive producer
Ron Yerxa	....	producer

Original Music by
Rolfe Kent

Cinematography by
James Glennon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Kevin Tent

Casting by
Lisa Beach

Production Design by
Jane Ann Stewart

Art Direction by
T.K. Kirkpatrick		(as Tim Kirkpatrick)

Set Decoration by
Renee Davenport

Costume Design by
Wendy Chuck

Makeup Department
Denise Fischer	....	hair stylist
Nicki Ledermann	....	makeup artist: New York and Washington
Emjay Olson	....	assistant hair stylist
Emjay Olson	....	assistant makeup artist
Kyra Panchenko	....	hair stylist: New York/Washington
James Ryder	....	makeup department head
Cass McClure	....	prosthetics technician (uncredited)

Production Management
Alysse Bezahler	....	unit production manager: New York and Washington
Victor Ho	....	unit production manager
Pamela Winn-Barnett	....	post-production supervisor (as Pamela Winn Barnett)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Randy N. Barbee	....	first assistant director: New York and Washington (as Randy Barbee)
Lucia Burns	....	second assistant director: New York and Washington
Marc Garland	....	second assistant director: New York and Washington
Sean McCarron	....	first assistant director: second unit (as Sean McCarren)
Sean McCarron	....	second assistant director
Shari Nicotero	....	second assistant director: second unit (as Shari Hanger)
Shari Nicotero	....	second second assistant director (as Shari Hanger)
George Parra	....	first assistant director
George Parra	....	second unit director

Art Department
Tyndall Arrasmith	....	set decorator: New York and Washington
Brian Beacom	....	paint foreperson
Nathan Carlson	....	graphic artist
Jack Clowers	....	lead person
Wes Clowers	....	construction coordinator
Denise Davenport	....	set dresser
Al Griggs	....	set intern
Linda Krantz	....	property master: New York and Washington
Jeremy Lerman	....	set intern
Victoria Marin	....	assistant art director: second unit
Cee Moravec	....	assistant props
Jeffrey M. O'Brien	....	property master (as Jeffrey O'Brien)
Dave Peterson	....	set dresser
Trish Place	....	set dresser
Kelly A. Smith	....	art department coordinator: second unit
Debra Sugarman	....	on-set dresser (as Debra Sugerman)
Tracy Thies	....	assistant art director
Francis Maiorino	....	additional dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jon Ailetcher	....	sound mixer
Antonio L. Arroyo	....	sound mixer: New York and Washington (as Antonio Arroyo)
Dana Austin	....	adr recordist (as Dana Porter)
Ron Bedrosian	....	adr mixer
Gary Boatner	....	boom operator
Mark Choi	....	sound effects editor (as Mark Hunshik Choi)
Patricia Conaway Lamberti	....	dialogue assistant (as Patty Lamberti)
Patrick Cyccone Jr.	....	sound re-recording mixer
Rickley W. Dumm	....	first assistant sound editor (as Rickly Dumm)
Paul Eichler	....	utility sound
Eric Flickinger	....	sound recordist
Frank Gaeta	....	supervising sound editor
Nerses Gezalyan	....	foley mixer
Laura R. Harris	....	adr editor
Laura R. Harris	....	dialogue editor
Daniel S. Irwin	....	adr editor (as Daniel Irwin)
Daniel S. Irwin	....	dialogue editor (as Daniel Irwin)
Craig S. Jaeger	....	sound effects editor (as Craig Jaeger)
William B. Johnston	....	technical supervision (as Bill Johnston)
Michael Keller	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kimaree Long	....	adr editor
Kimaree Long	....	dialogue editor
James Moriana	....	foley artist (as Jim Moriana)
Hugh Murphy	....	dialogue assistant
Scott Sanders	....	sound effects editor
Branden Spencer	....	dialogue assistant
Frederick H. Stahly	....	adr editor (as Fred Stahly)
Frederick H. Stahly	....	dialogue editor (as Fred Stahly)
Lauren Stephens	....	adr editor (as Lauren Stevens)
Lauren Stephens	....	dialogue editor (as Lauren Stevens)
Patrick Stoltz	....	technical supervision
Rich Toenes	....	technical supervision
Drew Webster	....	sound recordist
Jeffrey Wilhoit	....	foley artist (as Jeff Wilhoit)
Scott Wolf	....	supervising sound editor
A.J. Woodley	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Greg Zimmerman	....	foley recordist (as Gregg Zimmerman)
David W. Alstadter	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
Randolph Saucedo	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Damian Fisher	....	mold maker (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Bruce Cardozo	....	optical supervisor
Mark Breakspear	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Gary J. Wayton	....	stunt coordinator (as Gary Wayton)

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Abariotes	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Bob Akester	....	still photographer (as Bob Akaster)
Dana Altman	....	grip
Andy Anderson	....	camera operator: second unit
Yoram Astrakhan	....	chief lighting technician
Mitch Bennett	....	grip
Tobin Bennett	....	grip
Dennis Buffman	....	electrician
Nicolas L. Charuet	....	second company grip: New York and Washington (as Nicholas Charuet)
Hector Corona	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Dave Dunaway	....	grip
Milo Durben	....	dolly grip
Preston Fisher	....	electrician
Melissa Freeman	....	camera intern
Casey Hotchkiss	....	camera operator
Casey Hotchkiss	....	director of photography: second unit
Seth Kotok	....	film loader
Ariane Lemay	....	second assistant camera: New York and Washington
Stephen B. Martinez	....	first company grip
Mike Mastre	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Charles McEntee	....	grip: New York and Washington (as Chuck Mcentee)
Alex 'Shark' Michel	....	second company grip
Martin Nowlan	....	chief lighting technician: New York and Washington
Radan Popovic	....	director of photography: second unit
Steve Ramsey	....	chief lighting technician: New York and Washington (as Steven Ramsey)
Damon Salerno	....	first company grip: New York and Washington
Joe Sanchez	....	first assistant camera
Jim Taylor	....	camera operator: 16 mm footage second unit
Kenny K. Tong	....	second assistant camera (as Kenny Tong)
James Weyerman	....	electrician (as James 'Buck' Weyerman)
Paul Wiley	....	electrician
Aurelia Winborn	....	first assistant camera: New York and Washington
Steve Wolpa	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Kyle T. MacDowell	....	grip (uncredited)
John Pycha	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	voice casting
Carrie Houk	....	additional casting
John Jackson	....	casting: Omaha
Sarah Katzman	....	casting assistant: Los Angeles
Ellen Parks	....	casting: New York and Washington
B.J. Tobin	....	extras casting
Stacy White	....	casting assistant: Omaha
Heather Laird	....	casting: Kansas City (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charlotte Corday	....	costume supervisor: New York and Washington
Deborah Fiscus	....	costumer
Rikke Rosbaek	....	costume supervisor
Reese Spensley	....	costumer (as Reese 'Spence' Spensley)
Jill Tarlow	....	set costumer: New York and Washington

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Tom Dailey	....	assistant editor
Denise Winn Davis	....	post-production assistant
Mike Mertens	....	color timer
Cynthia Ranjbar	....	editorial intern
Tom Scully	....	assistant editor
Cynthia Conel	....	apprentice film editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Dondi Bastone	....	music supervisor
Tony Blondal	....	orchestrator
Bruce Dukov	....	concert master
Richard Ford	....	music editor
Tom Kramer	....	preview music editor
Dwight Mikkelsen	....	music preparation
William T. Stromberg	....	conductor (as Bill Stromberg)
John Vigran	....	music recording mixer
Kerry Wikstrom	....	additional orchestrator
Patti Zimmitti	....	orchestra contractor
Vicki Arkoff	....	music consultant (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Al Burton	....	transportation captain
Ken Kaplan	....	transportation coordinator
Paul Vecchio	....	picture car captain
Lewis Burnette	....	driver: honeywagon (uncredited)
Darrell Dubovsky	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Matt Adler	....	adr loop group
Linda Alexander	....	unit publicist
Steve Alterman	....	adr loop group
Andrea Baker	....	adr loop group (as Andrea Taylor)
Holly Balbinder	....	production coordinator
Charles Bazaldua	....	adr loop group
Doug Benson	....	post-production accountant
Helen Blume	....	set teacher
Kate Carlin	....	adr loop group
Kaylene Carlson	....	travel coordinator
Cathy Cavadini	....	adr loop group (as Catherine Cavadini)
Holly Dorff	....	adr loop group
Katherine Dorrer	....	location manager: Washington D.C.
Kai Ephron	....	additional locations
Mark Everson	....	assistant: Mr. Rose
Jeff Fischer	....	adr loop group
Jim Foyt	....	location projectionist
Pamela Garrett	....	payroll accountant
Anneliese Goldman	....	adr loop group
James L. Gowdy	....	first assistant accountant (as Jim Gowdy)
Barbara Harris	....	adr loop group (as Barbara Iely)
Sara Hunt	....	craft service
Daamen J. Krall	....	adr loop group (as Daamen Krall)
David Allen Kramer	....	adr loop group (as David Kramer)
Mike Latenser	....	assistant location manager
John Latenser V	....	location manager (as John Latenser)
Douglas Moe	....	production coordinator: New York and Washington
Kevin O'Leary	....	set medic
Todd Phillips	....	publicist
David Randolph	....	adr loop group
Noreen Reardon	....	adr loop group
Brad Rivers	....	assistant: Mr. Samples
Karen Roberts	....	production accountant
Rebecca Robertson	....	script supervisor
Hillary Schwartz	....	key set production assistant
Vernon Scott	....	adr loop group
Momita Sengupta	....	production liaison
Kaile Shilling	....	assistant: Mr. Payne
Hector Solano	....	catering: Hollywood Caterers
Raoul Solano	....	catering: Hollywood Caterers
Peggy Sutton	....	script supervisor: New York and Washington
Thuy Tham	....	assistant: Mr. Rose
Victoria Vaus	....	title designer
Rayshelle Willis	....	accounting clerk
Ann Yamamoto	....	location manager: New York
Kathleen Beall	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)
Ellen Burke	....	production assistant: second unit (uncredited)
Lora Davis	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Justin Eveloff	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Brice Liesveld	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Dan Riley	....	assistant: Irwin M. Rappaport (uncredited)
Michael A. Spearman	....	runner (uncredited)
Tony Swartz	....	location scout (uncredited)

Thanks
David Azzoto	....	thanks (as Dave Azzoto)
Karen Carstensen	....	thanks
Joann Cissell	....	extra very special thanks
Hal Daub	....	very special thanks
Mike Deselm	....	very special thanks
Julie Ginsburg	....	very special thanks
Thomas S. Gulotta	....	thanks
Robert Harvey	....	thanks (as Bob Harvey)
Lori Killam	....	thanks
George Laughery	....	thanks
Liz Lyon	....	thanks
Debra Markowitz	....	thanks
Mele Masoon	....	thanks
Laurie Richards	....	very special thanks
Albert G. Ruben	....	thanks
Janice Shapiro	....	thanks
Kathy Sheppard	....	very special thanks
Dennis Smith	....	extra very special thanks
Frank Sunderman	....	extra very special thanks
Jodi Becker Vinci	....	thanks
E. Bennett Walsh	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Bona Fide Productions
• MTV Films
• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1999) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Finnkino (2000) (Finland) (VHS)
• Finnkino (2002) (Finland) (DVD)
• Fox Network (2002) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Nelonen (2004) (Finland) (TV)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• MTV Productions
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (Brazil) (DVD)
• United International Pictures (UIP)

Special Effects

• Digiscope (digital visual effects)
• Steve Johnson's XFX (bee sting prosthetics)

Other Companies

• Atumusica  music preparation
• Avalon Production Services  production payroll services
• Axium Payroll Services  production payroll services
• Cinema Research  titles and opticals
• Hollywood Caterers  catering
• O'Henry Sound Studios  score recorded and mixed at
• Signet Soundelux Studios  editorial sound services
• Sire Records Company  soundtrack
• Soundelux Vine Street Studios  re-recording services

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, sex-related dialogue and language, and a scene of drug use.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36129) | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere)

Filming Locations:

Adelphi University, Garden City, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Bona Fide Productions

Trivia:

'Matthew Broderick' actually urinated against the tree in the scene outside Linda's house.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Paul Metzler is falling down the mountain the outfit he is wearing changes colors from blue to red and back again.

Quotes:

Tracy Flick: I don't know what you're referring to, but maybe if certain older, wiser people hadn't acted like such little babies, and gotten so mushy, then everything would be ok... and I think certain older people, like you, and your colleague, shouldn't be leching after their students, especially when some of them can't even get their own wives pregnant...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Best! Movies! Ever!: Hot for Teacher (#1.21)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

AI Grandota

Not totally convincing but an enjoyable dark comedy that swipes at politics and sexual relations

James McAllister is a contented high school teacher who is presiding over the elections for school president this year. However, the only student running for the position is the overly keen Tracey Flick – a driven student who he feels is callous and blames for his best friend being fired for falling in love with her. Desperate to prevent her becoming president, James convinces injured jock Paul to run, prompting Paul's love-scorned sister to also stand. Where once the presidency was a good clean-cut race, Tracey takes the competition badly, and it descends into something a lot more sinister.

I wasn't totally sure about this film but I had heard good things about it and, even though the fact that it was an MTV Production put me off a bit, I decided to give it a try. The film is quite clever for the most part and takes the worn genre and clichés of high school movies and makes them into a quite good little political satire of sorts – albeit one that is rather downbeat at times. The comedy is not laugh out loud funny and maybe that's a problem, but I enjoyed the parallels with modern politics (and sexual issues) and found it to make some good points in a funny way. Of course the end is rather downbeat but only because it is sadly believable.

I must say that I was rather put off by a couple of different things. The first was the amount of sexual material in the film – not a real problem but I was a little put off by how graphically the subject of underage sex was dealt with. This was a minor problem (if you can pardon the pun!) but what I found a little worrying was Payne's apparent misogynistic touch on the film – all the men were hapless saps and the women held the real power all the way; I'm not saying this is not true but Payne has little sympathy for his female characters and they may come off better overall but there is no love lost for them.

The cast opens with an amusing bit of role reversal that sees everyone's favourite high school student become a teacher in the shape of Matthew Broderick. Hardly having the best run of roles for a while, he is actually pretty good here even if some of what happens to his character doesn't seem to fit very well. Witherspoon is annoying but the difference here is that it is intentional! She easily fits into the character and her role has a great touch to it – I'm not saying it is easy to enjoy her performance but she is good. Klein does his usual dumb jock thing but is fortunate that he has the material to support (this time) but I felt Campbell was left with a sympathetic character that was placed on the sidelines too much.

Overall I enjoyed this film but it had its limitations. It isn't hilariously funny as many coming to this genre may expect but it is quite cleverly written. The story struggles a bit as it goes along, with threads left hanging that stop it being as tight as it maybe could have been but generally I enjoyed it but can see why some others have problems with it.