Honestly, Tracy Flick wouldn't be markedly different from most modern day presidents.
Dave: Given the cult status of Election, this might be an incredibly unpopular opinion, but here it is: I don’t entirely get the appeal. Sure, Reese Witherspoon is great, if one-note as Tracy Flick, and Matthew Broderick is a delightful sad sack as her meddling teacher, Mr. McAllister. Maybe the satire and bitingly comedic sex scenes were more gripping in 1999 and my “meh” reaction is a product of me watching the movie with 2024 glasses on. Still, though, the movie lampoons everything and nothing all at once and with no real payoff, but also without the “everything is pointless” super-bleak ending it could have had. The movie is mostly just watching people make one horrible decision after another for an hour and a half with a fairly unceremonious ending. (️️️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)
I hear you bellowing now, gentle reader, that it’s a fair bit too late for a Christmas popcorn. Well, this is also a “clean out the pantry before we move across town” recipe. If you know me, you know I make fruitcake every year. If you live with me, you know that I always buy more fruitcake materials than I use* over Christmas and there are little plastic tubs of glacé cherries, candied peel, and mixed fruit peeking out from behind our canned goods in springtime. Well this year, friends, I’ve used them up in this surprisingly good little recipe, along with a bit of molasses and the rest of our pecans. It did miss some of the earthy, moist sweetness of a good fruitcake but it really hit the spot on a (kind of) cold winter night. (️️️️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)
Joe: Even though we typically don't watch films we've seen before, I last saw Election in 1999 and remembered only that I liked it. Reader, I still like it. What I most certainly didn't remember was how very dark it is - unsurprising, given that it's based on a novel by Tom Perrotta (they guy who wrote Little Children). Despite being 25 years old, the film has aged remarkably well; some may take issue with how Tammy is portrayed as a lesbian, but I think it was super-progressive for the time period. Reese Witherspoon is the sun around which everything orbits: she imbues so much pathos into Tracy Flick that it's hard not to like her even when she's at her most obnoxious. No wonder it turned her into a mega-star. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Before meeting Dave, I had never eaten fruitcake. Why? Because of the bad rap it's gotten. If you, too, find yourself poo-pooing fruitcake, I guarantee it's because you've never had a really good one. And Dave makes extraordinary fruitcake. Turns out, that skill also transfers to fruitcake popcorn. He spent a lot of time making the concoction, and his work paid off: It hit all the flavor notes of an actual fruitcake and we were both greedily reaching for more. Truly delicious. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)
Popcorn recipe from: Dave Lewis 💅🏻
Election on IMDB.
* can attest - Joe
Such a great movie!