Party For One: Election’s Powerful Pariah

Pick Flick.  She’s got the smarts. She’s got the tenacity. And she’s got the sweater vests.  Alexander Payne’s Election (1999) charts the gloves-off race for student body president at Carver High in Omaha, Nebraska. It’s a vicious and corrupt campaign, marred by personal vendettas, shameless electoral fraud, and even more shameless hissy fits. Leading the […]

Don Jon’s Meaningless Meanings

One of Don Jon‘s (2013) early pornographic montages ends with a tame—yet significant—money shot. A lip-glossed blonde bends over in a thong and bra, then looks directly into the camera and asks, “You want a meaningful relationship?” The question is not so much about what kind of relationship the viewer wants as what kind of […]