When Hip Becomes Cynical

Director Alexander Payne has stumbled upon a wonderful conceit - a young, prissy busybody whose attempt to win the school election is hijacked by her fearful teacher - but his obsession with hip characters and surreal dialogue has caused him to forget the basic craft of film-making: story and characters.

Payne does not seem confident in his own storyline and so introduces a number of completely unnecessary and distracting subplots involving infidelity, rape and lesbianism. These are annoying, painful to watch in their clichéd melodrama and at times just plain boring. And the characters, with the exception of the excellent Jessica Campbell, are not sympathetic. Witherspoon in particular, while giving a consummate performance, gathers no sympathy and all our support is behind Matthew Broderick's Mr. McCallister, in a neat role-reversal from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".

Payne's determination to deliver a hip, new-age, movie brat indie picture has resulted in this cynical exercise that ruins a lovely idea and leaves a sour taste in the viewer's mouth.