Election
(1999/Paramount/MTV Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C+ Film: C+
Alexander
Payne is a good filmmaker and keeps getting better, but I was not as big a fan
of breakthrough film Election (1999)
about a battle that happens between a spoiled-brat overachiever (Reese
Witherspoon in an easy to underrate performance) Tracy Flick. She is a part of everything, has most of what
she should have, intends not to peak in High Scholl and God forbid anyone
questions her or how wonderful she is. Also, no one would ever run against her for
class president.
Enter Jim
McAllister (Matthew Broderick) who thinks it is unhealthy for her to not to be
challenged in any way. He recruits
another student (Chris Klein) to run against her, but the real battle breaks
out between them, driving her crazy and bringing out the unfulfilled teen in
him. It is a good idea often realized,
and yet, there is more comedy than character study, which is where the film
comes up somewhat short. I think its
eccentric style is a mixed blessing and the result is some missed
opportunities, but it holds up well on what is now its 10th
Anniversary (already!) and is a film people still rightly talk about.
The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image has good
color, yet is still a bit soft throughout along with a slight paleness and
grain that seems to be more pronounced than at anytime that I have seen any
clip of this film or 35mm footage of the film since its initial release. It looks good, but as I watched, I wondered
if Director of Photography James Glennon, A.S.C., would have approved of this
transfer. The Dolby TrueHD 5.0 mix is
not bad for its age, but this is a low-budget, dialogue-based film, so only
expect so much. The only extra is a feature-length
audio commentary by Payne, which is good, but I was expecting more.
- Nicholas Sheffo
