I think this might be the time to quote the old Van Hallgren on Alexander Payne (FS #166): “Great writer but like in so many of his other films I felt like he really does take pleasure out of people’s pain and misery”
I never cared much for Election. I found everyone in it to be terribly unlikeable and ultimately I didn't care what happened to any of the characters. Both bracket movies that I find completely joyless have moved through now: Election and Happiness.
When it comes to Payne, I generally agree with these statements. I didn't really like
About Schmidt or
Sideways, but
Election has always been the one Payne film that worked for me. I think his characters in
Election are definitely pathetic (best word I can come up with) but I don't know if they're really unlikable, and more importantly
Election seems to be the one instance where Payne doesn't hate his characters. He shows them as flawed and a lot of humor comes from that, but I really think this film has a lot more heart than people give it credit for. I actually think Election is a really great film. Does it have any other supporters around here?