A satire of electoral and scholastic politics, Election may have been set in high school but it was not just another teen movie. Directed and co-scripted by Alexander Payne with the same even-handed sharpness as his comically incendiary debut Citizen Ruth (1996), Election's contest between Type-A student overachiever Tracy Flick and resentful civics teacher Jim McCallister delves into the behavioral minutiae ruling the ultimate popularity contest, presaging the deviousness and inertia that define national politics. Superbly cast as the anti-Ferris Bueller, Matthew Broderick is deceptively nice as the schlub teacher who hates the student destined to power herself out of Omaha (even as he finds her attractive). Reese Witherspoon's Tracy may be a monster, but Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor wisely reveal how the balance of power against the less privileged (and female) fuels her sociopathic drive. Jessica Campbell's astutely anarchic teen lesbian, however, provides the electoral coup de grace. Hailed for its excellent performances, expert pacing, and humor both broad and subtle, Election received several critics' prizes and an Oscar nomination for Payne and Taylor's screenplay, but failed to convert some of the best reviews of the year into equally outstanding box office popularity.