This is pretty great, a smart comedy that lovingly pokes fun at democratic elections and the fatal flaws with it (lowest common denominator thinking being rewarded; popularity > substance; irrational bitterness; the most competent person being required to play dirty, etc.). It really needs to be mentioned how good the filmmaking is here, especially compared to other comedies of its time. Purposeful cinematography and editing, a score that compliments the scenes, interesting visual choices, etc. The writing’s also pretty excellent: it’s consistently funny (both in subtle and obvious ways), the dialogue is sharp, the main characters are all flawed in an interesting way and the story continuously surprised me all the way through. Every actor is perfectly cast and does a great job in their role, this might still be Reese Witherspoon’s best work to date. I honestly think it’s near perfect, the only major flaw being its use of excessive narration as an exposition tool.

8/10