Okay, so the reality of the 2000 Presidential election proved more farcical than you'd expect of any fiction, but swap the race for the White House with the struggle to become student president, and Election provides a strangely prescient take on the decay of American idealism. Reese Witherspoon is surprisingly good as the overachieving schoolgirl, but the stand-out has to be Matthew Broderick, as the pathetic teacher who tries to cull her ambition. You could almost forgive him for Inspector Gadget...
DVD Extras:
Director's commentary. Rather than enriching the viewing experience with a closer look at what's wriggling beneath the surface of American endeavour, director Alexander Payne's uninspiring commentary overdoes the location information and picks up on far too many unimportant details. So if you're looking for much more than a disc on a film, cast your vote elsewhere.
