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Election (1999 film)
Encyclopedia
Election is a 1999 American comedy film
adapted from a 1998 novel
of the same title
by Tom Perrotta
. The plot revolves around a three-way election
race in high school
, and satirizes both suburban high school life
and politics
. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay
, a Golden Globe
nomination for Witherspoon in the Best Actress category, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film
in 1999.
It stars Matthew Broderick
, Reese Witherspoon
, and Chris Klein
and tells the story of Jim McAllister (Broderick), a popular high school history
and civics
teacher in suburban Omaha, Nebraska
and one of his students, Tracy Flick
(Witherspoon), around the time of the school's student body
election
s. McAllister's involvement with various school-related functions masks his frustration with other aspects of his life; Tracy is an overachiever whose obsession with getting into a good college masks a vindictive and manipulative
personality. When Tracy obtains a nomination for class president in the school election, McAllister believes she does not deserve the title, and tries his best to stop her from winning.
While it failed to become a major box office success, home video and DVD releases were more lucrative. Following its release, the movie has received various rankings; Election is ranked #61 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies and #9 on Entertainment Weekly's
list of the 50 Best High School Movies, while Witherspoon's performance as Flick was ranked at #45 on the list of the 100 Greatest Film Performances of All Time by Premiere Magazine
. The film was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America
for strong sexuality
, sex-related dialogue and language
, and a scene of drug use
and was rated '15' by the BBFC for "some moderate sex and references".
) is a high school teacher in the suburbs of Omaha, Nebraska whose enthusiastic involvement at school masks his frustration with other aspects of his life. Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon
) is an overachieving senior with a secret vindictive and sexual side. Earlier in the year, Tracy had an affair with another teacher, McAllister's best friend Dave (Mark Harelik
). As a result, Dave was fired and divorced by his wife Linda (Delaney Driscoll); Tracy, however, walked away without reprisal or punishment.
One day, Tracy announces that she is running for student body president, which horrifies McAllister, who is in charge of organizing the school's student government and truly despises Tracy. Set to run unopposed, McAllister decides to teach Tracy a lesson in humility by introducing another candidate. Paul Metzler (Chris Klein
) is a polite and popular football player at the school. However, Paul is unable to play football his final year due to a broken leg, leaving him depressed. McAllister convinces him to register for the election, giving him new purpose. This serves to bring out Tracy's vindictiveness, as she is jealous of Paul’s ease at being successful and popular.
Meanwhile, Paul's younger sister Tammy (Jessica Campbell
) is dumped by her sweetheart
, Lisa (Frankie Ingrassia), who says that she is heterosexual
and was just "experimenting". Lisa doesn't waste time in "getting over" Tammy, giving Paul a blowjob having asked him to drop her home from school one day. The two become an item (Paul claiming that they would "go to her house [after school] to fuck" and swim in the hot tub) and election partners, in part to anger Tammy. In retaliation, Tammy decides to run for president as well, with a platform that student government is a sham. During a school assembly to hear their speeches, after Tracy draws only polite applause and Paul gets a strong reaction, Tammy delivers a defiant speech in which she denounces the election and that she will dissolve the student government if elected. This rallies the student body to a standing ovation
. Fearing the student body will vote for Tammy and thus the dissolution of the student government, Tammy is suspended and kicked out of the election.
While at school one night over the weekend, Tracy tries to fix one of her posters, but accidentally tears it. In a fit of uncharacteristic rage, she destroys all of Paul's campaign posters
. She tries to dispose of them at the power plant, but is observed doing so by Tammy. The next day, when confronted by McAllister, Tracy claims innocence and threatens legal action against the school. However, Tammy "confesses" to Tracy's crime after witnessing her disposing of the refuse by the town factory. She is then transferred to a private parochial school
for girls, which was the original objective of her false confession.
Later, McAllister, who is secretly attracted to Linda while helping around her house, kisses her spontaneously the day before the election. Linda asks Jim to rent a motel room for a later rendezvous and he leaves school during a class to prepare the room, but when he arrives later to pick her up, she isn't there. He returns home to find Linda and his wife talking together. Knowing he's been caught, he spends the night in his car outside Linda's house.
The next morning, McAllister oversees the counting of the election ballots at school. During this, he calls Linda several times, professing his love for her, after a bee sting. Jim's wife kicks him out of the house when he tries to apologize. After all the ballots are counted, Tracy has won by one vote (Paul voted for Tracy, feeling she was more qualified and viewing it was too arrogant to vote for oneself). After seeing Tracy dancing around excitedly in the hall, McAllister deduces that she found out that she won before it was announced. McAllister secretly disposes of two of Tracy’s ballots then demands a recount, naming Paul as the winner. When a janitor discovers the two discarded ballots and presents them to the principal, McAllister resigns from his job.
Divorced and humiliated, McAllister leaves Nebraska, ultimately choosing to fulfill a longtime dream of moving to New York City
, becoming a tour guide at the American Museum of Natural History
, where he meets a new woman. Tracy gets accepted into Georgetown University
, while Paul gets into the University of Nebraska. Tammy loves her new school, where she has met her new girlfriend. Jim ends recounting the one final time he saw Tracy. After witnessing her get into a limousine with a politician, McAllister is reminded of his friend Dave and what Tracy has done to get where she is. Jim hurls a soda cup at the limousine, then makes a quick getaway. The final scene of the film shows Jim asking questions to some children he's giving a tour to at the Museum, all the while deliberately ignoring an overeager girl, the only one of the group who could answer, as she reminds him of Tracy.
(including the college scene, which was actually filmed at Adelphi University
in Long Island) and Washington D.C. Production shut down for about a month when a freak fall snowstorm
hit Omaha in October 1997, knocking down trees and power lines.
Omaha locations used during production include:
, in which Ross Perot
entered as a third party candidate (a move echoed by Tammy Metzler). The second was an incident at Memorial High School
in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
, in which a pregnant student was elected homecoming queen, but staff announced a different winner and burned the ballots to cover it up.
Within the text of a newspaper article in the film, the following can be read: "If you've paused the film in order to read this entire article, your time would be better spent renting Citizen Ruth
from your local video store, which was another Payne film. Do you know how hard it is to write these fake few stories for newspaper movie props? I've got better things to do."
For the school assembly scenes, Payne had to use special effects to make the gym look full. As Payne said on the commentary, some students learned that being an extra wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and that left the assembly scene lacking in students. Payne filmed a select group of students sitting in different spots for multiple takes, and then (using digital editing) filled in the blanks to make it look like a packed gym.
The film uses a number of stylized techniques in its storytelling, particularly through the use of freeze frames, flashbacks and voiceovers, which allow sections of the narrative to be delivered from the points of view of the four main characters.
According to commentary by Alexander Payne, in the scene where Jim watches pornography in the basement, the basement was left unaltered.
The film was originally shot with an ending close to the one found in the novel, with Jim McCallister working in a car dealership, where Tracy visits him before leaving for college. After testing poorly with audiences, the ending was eventually reshot. The original ending was unseen until the accidental discovery of an early VHS workprint
of the film at a flea market
in 2011.
was cast as Tammy Metzler, but left due to creative differences with Alexander Payne. Many of the remaining cast members were scouted on location, including the janitor that appears at the beginning and end of the movie. He is an actual janitor that works for the director's offices in Omaha, Nebraska
. He was formerly a janitor at Duchesne Academy. He has since retired.
Also, the casting director of the movie is the football player that appears in the adult movie that McAllister watches. Many local Omaha students and teachers were used in the film for the roles of students and teachers. One in particular was Chris Klein
, who would end up becoming a mainstay in Hollywood
and star in other movies. Payne found him when he was scouting schools for locations to shoot and a teacher at one of the schools introduced him to Klein. Witherspoon had been acting in moderately well-received films in the early 1990s. Nicholas D'Agosto
, who appeared towards the end of the film as committee chairman Larry Fouch, was just a student at Creighton Preparatory School
in Omaha, the same high school Payne attended, when he did this movie. He would go on to college at Marquette University in Milwaukee before moving out to Los Angeles
to pursue an acting career.
earned the nickname "Tracy Flick" within the New York Congressional delegation before her January 2009 appointment by NY Gov. David Paterson
to fill Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate
seat, according to The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd
.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
adapted from a 1998 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
of the same title
Election (1998 novel)
Election is a 1998 novel by Tom Perrotta. It is a black comedy about a high school history teacher who attempts to sabotage a manipulative, overly-ambitious girl's campaign to become school president...
by Tom Perrotta
Tom Perrotta
Thomas R. Perrotta is an Albanian-American/ Italian-American novelist and screenwriter best known for his novels Election and Little Children , both of which were made into critically acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated films...
. The plot revolves around a three-way election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
race in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, and satirizes both suburban high school life
Youth subculture
A youth subculture is a youth-based subculture with distinct styles, behaviors, and interests. Youth subcultures offer participants an identity outside of that ascribed by social institutions such as family, work, home and school...
and politics
Student activism
Student activism is work done by students to effect political, environmental, economic, or social change. It has often focused on making changes in schools, such as increasing student influence over curriculum or improving educational funding...
. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
, a Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nomination for Witherspoon in the Best Actress category, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film
Independent Spirit Award for Best Film
The Independent Spirit Award for Best Film is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards.-1980s:* 1985: After Hours - Martin Scorsese** Blood Simple - Joel and Ethan Coen** Smooth Talk...
in 1999.
It stars Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
, Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
, and Chris Klein
Chris Klein (actor)
Frederick Christopher "Chris" Klein is an American movie actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in the 1999 film American Pie and its sequel American Pie 2.-Early life:...
and tells the story of Jim McAllister (Broderick), a popular high school history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and civics
Civics
Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....
teacher in suburban Omaha, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and one of his students, Tracy Flick
Tracy Flick
Tracy Enid Flick is a fictional character, originating in the 1998 novel Election by Tom Perrotta and portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in the 1999 film adaptation of the same title. Tracy is a smart, ambitious high school student, whose quest to win a school election is nearly derailed by her own...
(Witherspoon), around the time of the school's student body
Student governments in the United States
In the United States, these groups are often known as student government, associated students, student senate, or less commonly a student's union...
election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
s. McAllister's involvement with various school-related functions masks his frustration with other aspects of his life; Tracy is an overachiever whose obsession with getting into a good college masks a vindictive and manipulative
Psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
personality. When Tracy obtains a nomination for class president in the school election, McAllister believes she does not deserve the title, and tries his best to stop her from winning.
While it failed to become a major box office success, home video and DVD releases were more lucrative. Following its release, the movie has received various rankings; Election is ranked #61 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies and #9 on Entertainment Weekly's
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
list of the 50 Best High School Movies, while Witherspoon's performance as Flick was ranked at #45 on the list of the 100 Greatest Film Performances of All Time by Premiere Magazine
Premiere (magazine)
Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
. The film was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
for strong sexuality
Human sexual behavior
Human sexual activities or human sexual practices or human sexual behavior refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts from time to time, and for a wide variety of reasons...
, sex-related dialogue and language
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
, and a scene of drug use
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
and was rated '15' by the BBFC for "some moderate sex and references".
Plot
Jim McAllister (Matthew BroderickMatthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
) is a high school teacher in the suburbs of Omaha, Nebraska whose enthusiastic involvement at school masks his frustration with other aspects of his life. Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
) is an overachieving senior with a secret vindictive and sexual side. Earlier in the year, Tracy had an affair with another teacher, McAllister's best friend Dave (Mark Harelik
Mark Harelik
Mark Harelik is an American television, film, and stage actor, as well as a playwright.-Career:Harelik has appeared in the films Election, Jurassic Park III and For Your Consideration; He was the voice of Rogers in The Swan Princess, and he has played parts on the television sitcoms Seinfeld,...
). As a result, Dave was fired and divorced by his wife Linda (Delaney Driscoll); Tracy, however, walked away without reprisal or punishment.
One day, Tracy announces that she is running for student body president, which horrifies McAllister, who is in charge of organizing the school's student government and truly despises Tracy. Set to run unopposed, McAllister decides to teach Tracy a lesson in humility by introducing another candidate. Paul Metzler (Chris Klein
Chris Klein (actor)
Frederick Christopher "Chris" Klein is an American movie actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in the 1999 film American Pie and its sequel American Pie 2.-Early life:...
) is a polite and popular football player at the school. However, Paul is unable to play football his final year due to a broken leg, leaving him depressed. McAllister convinces him to register for the election, giving him new purpose. This serves to bring out Tracy's vindictiveness, as she is jealous of Paul’s ease at being successful and popular.
Meanwhile, Paul's younger sister Tammy (Jessica Campbell
Jessica Campbell
Jessica Campbell is a film and television actress. Her appearances include the roles of Tammy Metzler in the 1999 film Election, Julie Gold in the 2001 film The Safety of Objects and the two episode guest role of Amy Andrews in the TV series Freaks and Geeks.-External links:...
) is dumped by her sweetheart
Romantic love
Romance is the pleasurable feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.In the context of romantic love relationships, romance usually implies an expression of one's love, or one's deep emotional desires to connect with another person....
, Lisa (Frankie Ingrassia), who says that she is heterosexual
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
and was just "experimenting". Lisa doesn't waste time in "getting over" Tammy, giving Paul a blowjob having asked him to drop her home from school one day. The two become an item (Paul claiming that they would "go to her house [after school] to fuck" and swim in the hot tub) and election partners, in part to anger Tammy. In retaliation, Tammy decides to run for president as well, with a platform that student government is a sham. During a school assembly to hear their speeches, after Tracy draws only polite applause and Paul gets a strong reaction, Tammy delivers a defiant speech in which she denounces the election and that she will dissolve the student government if elected. This rallies the student body to a standing ovation
Standing ovation
A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim...
. Fearing the student body will vote for Tammy and thus the dissolution of the student government, Tammy is suspended and kicked out of the election.
While at school one night over the weekend, Tracy tries to fix one of her posters, but accidentally tears it. In a fit of uncharacteristic rage, she destroys all of Paul's campaign posters
Campaign advertising
'In politics, campaign advertising is the use of an advertising campaign through newspapers, radio commercials, television commercials, etc.) to influence the decisions made for and by groups. These ads are designed by political consultants and the political campaign staff...
. She tries to dispose of them at the power plant, but is observed doing so by Tammy. The next day, when confronted by McAllister, Tracy claims innocence and threatens legal action against the school. However, Tammy "confesses" to Tracy's crime after witnessing her disposing of the refuse by the town factory. She is then transferred to a private parochial school
Parochial school
A parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
for girls, which was the original objective of her false confession.
Later, McAllister, who is secretly attracted to Linda while helping around her house, kisses her spontaneously the day before the election. Linda asks Jim to rent a motel room for a later rendezvous and he leaves school during a class to prepare the room, but when he arrives later to pick her up, she isn't there. He returns home to find Linda and his wife talking together. Knowing he's been caught, he spends the night in his car outside Linda's house.
The next morning, McAllister oversees the counting of the election ballots at school. During this, he calls Linda several times, professing his love for her, after a bee sting. Jim's wife kicks him out of the house when he tries to apologize. After all the ballots are counted, Tracy has won by one vote (Paul voted for Tracy, feeling she was more qualified and viewing it was too arrogant to vote for oneself). After seeing Tracy dancing around excitedly in the hall, McAllister deduces that she found out that she won before it was announced. McAllister secretly disposes of two of Tracy’s ballots then demands a recount, naming Paul as the winner. When a janitor discovers the two discarded ballots and presents them to the principal, McAllister resigns from his job.
Divorced and humiliated, McAllister leaves Nebraska, ultimately choosing to fulfill a longtime dream of moving to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, becoming a tour guide at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, where he meets a new woman. Tracy gets accepted into Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, while Paul gets into the University of Nebraska. Tammy loves her new school, where she has met her new girlfriend. Jim ends recounting the one final time he saw Tracy. After witnessing her get into a limousine with a politician, McAllister is reminded of his friend Dave and what Tracy has done to get where she is. Jim hurls a soda cup at the limousine, then makes a quick getaway. The final scene of the film shows Jim asking questions to some children he's giving a tour to at the Museum, all the while deliberately ignoring an overeager girl, the only one of the group who could answer, as she reminds him of Tracy.
Cast
- Matthew BroderickMatthew BroderickMatthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
as Jim McAllister - Reese WitherspoonReese WitherspoonLaura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
as Tracy Enid FlickTracy FlickTracy Enid Flick is a fictional character, originating in the 1998 novel Election by Tom Perrotta and portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in the 1999 film adaptation of the same title. Tracy is a smart, ambitious high school student, whose quest to win a school election is nearly derailed by her own... - Chris KleinChris Klein (actor)Frederick Christopher "Chris" Klein is an American movie actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in the 1999 film American Pie and its sequel American Pie 2.-Early life:...
as Paul Metzler - Jessica CampbellJessica CampbellJessica Campbell is a film and television actress. Her appearances include the roles of Tammy Metzler in the 1999 film Election, Julie Gold in the 2001 film The Safety of Objects and the two episode guest role of Amy Andrews in the TV series Freaks and Geeks.-External links:...
as Tammy Metzler - Phil ReevesPhil ReevesPhillip Reeves is an American film and television actor and screenwriter. His major roles so far is that of Charles Swedelson on the sitcom Girlfriends, as General Krieger in Commander in Chief and as the doctor in My Wife and Kids.So far he has written the script for one movie - Happy, Texas,...
as Walt Hendricks - Molly HaganMolly Hagan-Youth:Hagan was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Mary Elizabeth and John Robert Hagan. She was raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana.-Career:She featured in the series Herman's Head which ran on Fox from 1991 to 1994...
as Diane McAllister - Colleen CampColleen CampColleen Celeste Camp is an American actress and film producer, known for her performances in two installments of the Police Academy series and as Yvette the Maid in the 1985 black comedy Clue. She was also the first actress to play Kristin Shepard in U.S. prime time soap opera Dallas in 1979.Camp...
as Judith Flick - Nicholas D'AgostoNicholas D'Agosto- Early life :D'Agosto was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Deanna Rae and Alen D'Agosto, who own several Arby's in Omaha. His father is Italian and his mother is of Dutch and English descent. He was raised Catholic and selected Genesius of Rome, the patron saint of actors, as his confirmation...
as Larry Fouch - Mark HarelikMark HarelikMark Harelik is an American television, film, and stage actor, as well as a playwright.-Career:Harelik has appeared in the films Election, Jurassic Park III and For Your Consideration; He was the voice of Rogers in The Swan Princess, and he has played parts on the television sitcoms Seinfeld,...
as Dave Novotny - Delaney Driscoll as Linda Novotny
- Frankie IngrassiaFrankie IngrassiaFrancesca "Frankie" Ingrassia is an American actress of Sicilian-Italian origin, better known for her appearances on series Secret Adventures and Undressed and film Election. She had acting hiatuses between 1995 and 1999 and between 2000 and 2006....
as Lisa Flanagan
Pre-production and direction
Much of the film was shot in and around the Omaha area including Dundee, Elkhorn, Bellevue, Carter Lake, and Papillion. Other scenes were filmed in New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(including the college scene, which was actually filmed at Adelphi University
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
in Long Island) and Washington D.C. Production shut down for about a month when a freak fall snowstorm
1997 Western Plains winter storms
The 1997 Western Plains winter storms comprised a system of extreme snowfall and wind from October 24 - October 26, 1997. The storms resulted in 13 deaths , and caused power outages and school closings lasting up to a week in affected areas...
hit Omaha in October 1997, knocking down trees and power lines.
Omaha locations used during production include:
- Papillion La Vista Senior High SchoolPapillion La Vista Senior High School-Papillion La Vista Senior High School, often referred to as Papio, PLHS, North or "Old School", is located in Papillion, Nebraska, and is operated by the Papillion-La Vista Public School District....
serves as the setting for George Washington Carver High School. Payne had initially aimed to use Millard North High SchoolMillard North High SchoolMillard North High School is a high school in the Millard Public Schools district. Opened in 1981, Millard North is the second largest school in Nebraska behind Omaha Central High School. Millard North partially opened in 1978 for 9th and 10th grade students...
in Omaha, but the School Board of MillardMillard, NebraskaMillard is a former town and current neighborhood in southwest Omaha, Nebraska; the original downtown area is near 132nd St. and L St. After lengthy legal fights, the city of Millard was annexed by the city of Omaha in 1971...
found the script too obscene and inappropriate. The setting was then moved to Papillion-La Vista High School which explains why the background noise from the school can be heard during much of the film, by actual teachers and students, because filming took place during school terms. - The Godfather's PizzaGodfather's PizzaGodfather's Pizza is a privately owned restaurant chain headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska that operates fast casual Italian franchises. -History:...
where Dave visits with Tracy is located at 7920 S. 84th St. in LaVista. - The parking lot where Jim throws away Tracy's nomination signatures in a dumpster was filmed on the corner of N. 50th St. and Underwood Ave. The Carl S. Baum Druggists building in the scene is currently a SubwaySubway (restaurant)Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
restaurant. - Linda's house is located at 683 Parkwood Ln.
- The Metzler house is located on S. 187 Cir. along the Shadow Ridge Country Club south of Elkhorn.
- YounkersYounkersYounkers is an American department store chain founded as a family-run dry goods business in 1856 in Keokuk, Iowa. The retailer has since evolved over more than 150 years to include a presence in locations throughout Iowa and surrounding states in the Midwest region of the United States...
is located in the Westroads MallWestroads MallWestroads Mall is an enclosed shopping mall with over 135 stores located in Omaha, Nebraska at the intersection of 100th and Dodge Streets. It is the largest mall in the state of Nebraska, with 14.5 million customer visits annually....
. - The soccer field at Brownell-Talbot SchoolBrownell-Talbot SchoolBrownell-Talbot School is Nebraska's only private, independent, co-educational, college preparatory day school. It is located in Omaha, Nebraska...
was used for the Immaculate Heart soccer game. - The American Family Inn (also credited as Rodeway Inn) is located at 1110 Fort Crook Road in Bellevue.
Direction
The novel's rights were sold to director Alexander Payne in January 1997. Payne had become a fan of the novel by Tom Perrotta on which the film is based. The novel was inspired by two key events. The first was the 1992 Bush vs. Clinton election campaignUnited States presidential election, 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
, in which Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
entered as a third party candidate (a move echoed by Tammy Metzler). The second was an incident at Memorial High School
Memorial High School (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)
Memorial High School is one of two public high schools in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the other being North High School. Built on a three-block campus, its enrollment is 1737, with a staff of over 150. AP classes are offered in English, science, social sciences, math, and foreign language...
in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Eau Claire is a city located in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 65,883 as of the 2010 census, making it the largest municipality in the northwestern portion of the state, and the 9th largest in the state overall. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County,...
, in which a pregnant student was elected homecoming queen, but staff announced a different winner and burned the ballots to cover it up.
Within the text of a newspaper article in the film, the following can be read: "If you've paused the film in order to read this entire article, your time would be better spent renting Citizen Ruth
Citizen Ruth
Citizen Ruth is a 1996 film that tells a story of a poor, irresponsible and pregnant woman who unexpectedly attracts attention from those involved in the debate about the morality and legality of abortion. The film stars Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Mary Kay Place, Kurtwood Smith and Kelly Preston,...
from your local video store, which was another Payne film. Do you know how hard it is to write these fake few stories for newspaper movie props? I've got better things to do."
For the school assembly scenes, Payne had to use special effects to make the gym look full. As Payne said on the commentary, some students learned that being an extra wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and that left the assembly scene lacking in students. Payne filmed a select group of students sitting in different spots for multiple takes, and then (using digital editing) filled in the blanks to make it look like a packed gym.
The film uses a number of stylized techniques in its storytelling, particularly through the use of freeze frames, flashbacks and voiceovers, which allow sections of the narrative to be delivered from the points of view of the four main characters.
According to commentary by Alexander Payne, in the scene where Jim watches pornography in the basement, the basement was left unaltered.
The film was originally shot with an ending close to the one found in the novel, with Jim McCallister working in a car dealership, where Tracy visits him before leaving for college. After testing poorly with audiences, the ending was eventually reshot. The original ending was unseen until the accidental discovery of an early VHS workprint
Workprint
A workprint is a rough version of a motion picture, used by the film editor during the editing process. Such copies generally contain original recorded sound that will later be re-dubbed, stock footage as placeholders for missing shots or special effects, and animation tests for in-production...
of the film at a flea market
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
in 2011.
Casting
Several actors were cast in place of Broderick, Witherspoon, Klein, and Campbell and turned it down because of the high-risk content and creative differences. Thora BirchThora Birch
Thora Birch is an American actress. She was a child actor in the 1990s, starring in movies such as All I Want for Christmas , Patriot Games , Hocus Pocus , Now and Then , and Alaska . She came to prominence in 1999 after earning worldwide attention and praise for her performance in American Beauty...
was cast as Tammy Metzler, but left due to creative differences with Alexander Payne. Many of the remaining cast members were scouted on location, including the janitor that appears at the beginning and end of the movie. He is an actual janitor that works for the director's offices in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. He was formerly a janitor at Duchesne Academy. He has since retired.
Also, the casting director of the movie is the football player that appears in the adult movie that McAllister watches. Many local Omaha students and teachers were used in the film for the roles of students and teachers. One in particular was Chris Klein
Chris Klein (actor)
Frederick Christopher "Chris" Klein is an American movie actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Chris "Oz" Ostreicher in the 1999 film American Pie and its sequel American Pie 2.-Early life:...
, who would end up becoming a mainstay in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
and star in other movies. Payne found him when he was scouting schools for locations to shoot and a teacher at one of the schools introduced him to Klein. Witherspoon had been acting in moderately well-received films in the early 1990s. Nicholas D'Agosto
Nicholas D'Agosto
- Early life :D'Agosto was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Deanna Rae and Alen D'Agosto, who own several Arby's in Omaha. His father is Italian and his mother is of Dutch and English descent. He was raised Catholic and selected Genesius of Rome, the patron saint of actors, as his confirmation...
, who appeared towards the end of the film as committee chairman Larry Fouch, was just a student at Creighton Preparatory School
Creighton Preparatory School
Creighton Preparatory School , is a private, Jesuit college prep school founded in 1878 for young men. Centrally located in Omaha, Nebraska at 7400 Western Avenue, Prep is the largest Catholic high school in the state of Nebraska, USA with an enrollment of 1,038 young men...
in Omaha, the same high school Payne attended, when he did this movie. He would go on to college at Marquette University in Milwaukee before moving out to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to pursue an acting career.
Outside references
Sen. Kirsten GillibrandKirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand is an attorney and the junior United States Senator from the state of New York and a member of the Democratic Party...
earned the nickname "Tracy Flick" within the New York Congressional delegation before her January 2009 appointment by NY Gov. David Paterson
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...
to fill Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat, according to The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd
Maureen Dowd
Maureen Bridgid Dowd is a Washington D.C.-based columnist for The New York Times and best-selling author. During the 1970s and the early 1980s, she worked for Time magazine and the Washington Star, where she covered news as well as sports and wrote feature articles...
.