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Initial Thought: I have been fairly curious about this one lately. I have seen it on a few lists even. I do adore some Reese Witherspoon. That's pretty much the main reason I'm going to go ahead and check this out now.
Characters/Acting: Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon in one movie! I've always liked both of them. So to see them together here is pretty neat. I guess it should have been obvious that Matthew Broderick plays the teacher, but before watching this I thought he was a student against Reese's character. Reese Witherspoon plays sociopathic so well. It also kind of makes her even more adorable here. Chris Klein is a goofball and usually I don't care for him too much. I did like his character her though. Matthew Broderick gives a pretty good performance as expected. All the characters here are quite eccentric.
Story: A high school teacher's personal life becomes complicated as he works with students during the school elections. I find it hilarious how some of the scenes pause on some really goofy faces. It's obviously intentional and it works. This is a dark comedy so at times you life and sort of feel uncomfortable for doing so. I liked all the fourth wall breaking stuff. That always amuses me for some reason. The ending was amusing.
Directing/Writing: I wasn't aware this was based off of a novel. I guess it makes sense though. Tom Perrotta also wrote the book Little Children is based off of. I've never watched it, but I have heard of it. Alexander Payne takes on the role of director and co-writer here. As a director I haven't seen his work until this. As a writer I have seen I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry as well as Jurassic Park III (both of which I enjoyed). Jim Taylor seems to work with him often as the same credits apply for him as a writer too.
Final Thought: I thought it was a fun little movie dealing with school politics. It has one of my now favorite Reese Witherspoon performances so far. It was worth a one time look. Beyond that though I probably wouldn't watch it again.
