( note : there are spoilers regarding the film’s climax ; the election , of course )
we see matthew broderick , a man torn to a primal state ; he’s been unfaithful to his wife , lied to and manipulated his students , and by the same token they’ve demeaned his masculinity , his self-respect , his desperate attempt at changing the world .
and yet , he equates the cause of his pain , his torment , with tracy flick ( reese witherspoon ) .
no matter how many students have come and gone , and disappointed him as an educator , she’s the real threat .
about to give in , and divulge that she’s won by only a lone vote , broderick’s mccalister turns in defeat , sees tracy’s euphoric celebration in the outside corridor and says , ‘no’ .
the fact that he simultaneously lusts after her ideologically further illustrates that freudian foundation of entitlement which all men , no matter how obscure , have in their relationships ; a traditional expectation of success , to usurp and surpass women as a proverbial industry .
she can’t go higher than him .
he won’t allow it .
and what’s amazing about ” election ” is that every word of that criticism is drawn from a rather opaque metaphor .
early in the film we learn that tracy was romantically , and then sexually , involved with a now departed teacher .
it’s like payne and taylor , his co-screenwriter , have taken tracy , a girl desperate for friendship , loyalty , and almost perversely drawn the mythological pattern of kids who were so utterly rejected by their peers , that they found sitting at the teachers’ lunch table more fitting , to an unlikely extreme with her as the protagonist .
and it’s amazing the compassion that we have ; it seems so real to us , and not merely because it’s happened before , splashed all over the front pages , but , because of the all around ” nice ” persona of these people , we easily dismiss the truly wayward deeds of the characters .
it’s with mandy barnett’s ” if you’ll be the teacher ” playing winsomely over the closing credits that payne skewers the tenets of his detractors most ; a final , viscous injection of bittersweet irony .
sexuality , though , is not the only basis for payne’s satire , or its success .
it also makes a telling point about politics , friendship , and class boundaries .
satire is required ( or ought to be , anyway ) to take itself seriously , or act so , while the audience does not .
it’s a fine line to straddle , but some films ignore it altogether ( ” drop dead gorgeous ” leaps infuriatingly to mind ) .
payne and taylor hit the right chord ; their characters are real people : neither is perfect , but rather both of the leads are flawed , misguided individuals who retain , somewhat , noble intentions at heart .
we sympathize with them , but still , as a satire , their idiosyncratic behavior , and their wrongdoing , is taken to an extreme for the audience to knowingly chuckle , but also reflect and meditate , about .
minus half a point , though , for payne admitting not to having seen ” ferris bueller’s day off ” .
whatever .