Tracy Flick - Witherspoon's Portrayal

Witherspoon's Portrayal

In the late 1990s, following her starring roles in the 1996 dramas Fear and Freeway, Witherspoon found herself in an unexpected career slump that led her towards a change in direction. "All my serious dramatic performances suddenly weren't getting me the jobs or opportunities that I really wanted," she said in a 2005 interview. "I have stacks and stacks of letters from great directors saying I can't cast you because you don't mean anything to the studios. That's why I turned the boat toward comedy."

Election's director Alexander Payne was anxious to cast Witherspoon as Tracy, based on her performances in Freeway and the 1991 film The Man in the Moon, and Witherspoon was equally eager to sign on to the project—but not to play Tracy. Witherspoon was drawn to the part of Tammy Metzler, the cynical outcast who becomes the election's dark horse presidential candidate. Referring to the scene in which Tammy delivers a shocking campaign speech denouncing the school's administration and the entire concept of elected student government, Witherspoon said, "That speech alone made me want to play Tammy! So I was terribly conflicted." (Tammy was eventually portrayed by Jessica Campbell.)

To play Tracy, Witherspoon developed a distinct speech pattern combining strident intonations with a chipper Midwestern accent. She also worked on clenching her facial muscles and maintaining a clipped walking pace. "That was just Tracy, it so escapes me how it came out!" she said. "I just imagined how uptight people carry themselves, and they grind their teeth at night and they clench their jaw because everything has to be just perfect." Praising her performance, her co-star Matthew Broderick said, "From the first she knew exactly what she wanted--a very aggressive person in a small and cute package... she comes out very funny and very scary at the same time."

Witherspoon's performance as Tracy Flick received widespread critical acclaim, as well as her first Golden Globe Award nomination and several other accolades (see below). However, she later said that her career struggles continued after Election due to public confusion between the character and the actress. "I'm not Tracy Flick. I couldn't get jobs for a year after that because people thought I was that crazy and angry and controlling and strange. But yeah, um, I'm not."