Chris Klein shines as a sincere but simple jock, and Jessica Campbell is killer as his tormented lesbian sister.

The failure to even NOMINATE this film for best picture shows just how screwed up the Academy is. I can understand overlooking great films that are extremely weird, like BARTON FINK or NAKED LUNCH or HAPPINESS or FEARLESS. But ELECTION is super accessible and is obviously a great film, fully on par with Preston Sturges at his best. (Come to think of it, I doubt any Preston Sturges movies were nominated for best picture either, though they are considered masterpieces today.)

It seems natural to lump former MTV director Payne in with Todd Solondz and Paul Thomas Anderson. They're all good, and Solondz is a genius, but Payne is the most disciplined of the three.