Tracy Enid Flick (Witherspoon), a seemingly perfect, dutiful but ruthless high school student, runs for class president, never really doubting the outcome. It appears no one's prepared to even compete with Enid, much less beat her. Inwardly resentful of her unchecked ambition and cloying “goody two shoes” personality, teacher Jim McAllister (Broderick) works to undermine her, exhorting other students to challenge her candidacy. Will Tracy still prevail?

Nominated for Best Screenplay at the Oscars, this engaging, often hilarious satire proves that contemporary comedies can be both smart and funny. Witherspoon is priceless as the perfect schoolgirl everyone loves to hate, and Broderick also scores as a faculty member trying mightily to control his antipathy... and failing. (There is a sort of grudging respect there though; at least Tracy's no slouch). In the all-important contest for laughs, “Election” definitely wins our vote.