The 18 Best Election Movies

18. ‘Betty Boop for President’ (1932)

America has yet to elect a single woman to the highest office in the country, but Fleischer Studios envisioned a better world for us in 1932 when iconic cartoon vamp Betty Boop made her heroic landslide run for president against the downer Mr. Nobody. A musical six-minute short, ‘Betty Boop for President’ was released four days before the actual election in which Franklin D. Roosevelt won against incumbent Herbert Hoover, and playfully satirizes election campaigning through Boop and Mr. Nobody’s musical pleas for their constituents’ vote. While Mr. Nobody offers that “nobody” will solve problems from taxes to protecting voter rights, Boop offers some pie-in-the-sky reforms, like door-to-door trolley stops and a giant umbrella to protect the city from rain. It’s frothy fun, but the short ends before we figure out if Boop can keep her campaign promises better than any non-animated presidential nominee. —WC
17. ‘Boys State’ (2020)

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Every Summer, hundreds of teens across America participate in the American Legion’s Boys and Girls States, summer leadership programs that task them with building a new government from the ground up. Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s terrific 2020 documentary ‘Boys State’ zeroes in on the Texas Boys State program, and four teens running for office in this imagined government. The result is an often-funny and entertaining documentary, with incredible and charismatic subjects at their heart, but also one with sharp insights about how politics operate and the ideological divisions forming in younger generations. —WC
16. ‘Tanner ’88’ (1988)

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Long before HBO was the premium destination for quality television, the cable channel released its first masterpiece with ‘Tanner ’88’ a curious mix of documentary and fiction created by the wild pairing of Robert Altman and ‘Doonesbury’ cartoonist Gary Trudeau. Shot in tandem with the real-life 1988 Democratic presidential candidate race, the show starred Michael Murphy as the fictional obscure Michigan Representative running a come-from-behind campaign with the assistance of his college-age, far more progressive daughter (a young and excellent Cynthia Nixon). The unusual filming schedule results in a series where Murphy rubs shoulders with actual politicians and real developments in the race become major plot points. It’s a fascinating time capsule of largely forgotten political drama from its year, and a subtly brilliant satire of the artifice and mythmaking behind so much of American politics. —WC
15. ‘Game Change’ (2012)

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Everyone loved Tina Fey’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ impersonation of Sarah Palin, but it was Julianne Moore who transformed the former Alaska governor from a cartoon into a real character — and an ominous harbinger of the populist wave to come. Ed Harris plays John McCain during his 2008 presidential bid, with Woody Harrelson and Sarah Paulson as his campaign managers Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace. They’re the ones who suggest Palin to be McCain’s running mate and eventually become horrified at the monster they’ve unleashed (Wallace ultimately didn’t even vote for McCain, a moment immortalized in the film with a tearful Paulson saying, ‘I…couldn’t do it’). Seen from the perspective of today everything about Palin’s candidacy as depicted in Jay Roach’s HBO film seems like a prologue to the Trump era. —CB
14. ‘The Ides of March’ (2011)

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Adapted from Beau Willimon’s celebrated play ‘Farragut North,’ ‘The Ides of March’ chews through much of the same anxiety-inducing philosophical material as other titles on this list — but comes up short of having something too substantive to say about its troubling story. Still, director and co-star George Clooney’s painful portrait of Ryan Gosling’s brilliant (and far too good-looking!) campaign manager trapped in an ethical/professional crisis against a Democratic presidential primary is tightly crafted, entertainingly acted, and a curious product of a different time in American politics. Released just two years into Barack Obama’s first term, ‘The Ides of March’ carefully considers politicians’ shallow promises with a particularly keen eye for the narcissism and hubris that fuels so many engaged in the harrowing election process. —AF
13. ‘Long Shot’ (2019)

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All told, Jonathan Levine’s ‘Long Shot’ doesn’t have that much to say about the government or democracy. But this undeniably delightful romantic comedy, written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah, does follow a highly publicized political campaign: the ups, downs, and sideways of which play a critical role in its easy-to-root-for love story. Seth Rogen stars opposite Charlize Theron as journalist Fred Flarsky and presidential hopeful Charlotte Field. When the former childhood friends (well, actually, she babysat for him…) reunite, Fred spontaneously joins Charlotte on her tour across the country. The antics that follow range from the mundane (approval ratings, community appearances, etc.) to the spectacular (did someone say hostage crises and ecstasy?!) for a spirited comedy that’s described as election escapism. —AF
12. ‘Shampoo’ (1975)

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The story goes that it was Warren Beatty’s idea to set ‘Shampoo’ on the eve of the 1968 election. Pulling triple duty as the star, co-writer, and producer of Hal Ashby’s sad and frothy sex comedy, Beatty argued that Nixon’s victory was “when the American people came face to face with who they really were.” It’s certainly a fitting backdrop for his character, an oversexed Los Angeles hairdresser who needs to work on his roots. A beautiful mutterer with a remarkable mane, George has sex with virtually every woman he meets (his conquests include Goldie Hawn, Julie Christie, Lee Grant, and possibly even a young Carrie Fisher, and that’s just over a 24-hour period!), but this Vietnam War-era Casanova can’t bring himself to really be with any one of them; he’s so afraid of commitment that he condemns himself to a lifetime of loneliness. Although a large chunk of the film takes place at a party in Nixon’s honor, you get the sense that George is one of those people who didn’t vote; he goes where the wind blows him, and still has the nerve to get angry about where he ends up. The future, ‘Shampoo’ reminds us, belongs to those who want it most. —DE
11. ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ (2004)

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There’s nothing like a highly competitive student body election to remind you of the sweet smell of democracy. Pedro Sánchez might be the most famous fictional candidate ever to run for office, causing a boom in ‘Vote For Pedro’ shirt sales. If this election could be swayed by a hypnotically strange dance to Jamiroquai, we’re sure Jon Heder would gladly oblige. If nothing else, ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ serves as reminder that if we don’t get out and vote, we may be doomed to spend another two years like Tina the llama, forced by a petulant teenager to ‘eat the food.’ —JD
10. ‘Milk’ (2008)

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Considering the developing debate around sexual orientation in casting, it’s possible director Gus Van Sant’s ‘Milk’ might not have starred Sean Penn if Focus Features was telling the story of the first openly gay person to hold public office in the U.S. today. Still, the Hollywood heavyweight brings pitch-perfect appeal and electric charisma to what is an undeniable triumph of LGBTQ docudrama. The 2008 film earned eight nominations at that year’s Academy Awards, winning Best Original Screenplay for Dustin Lance Black and Best Actor for Penn (his second after ‘Mystic River’ in 2003). The biopic traces the life of Harvey Milk: a California activist-turned-politician who won election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and served just 11 months before he was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone. —AF
9. ‘The Best Man’ (1964)

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Gore Vidal leaned into the snarky theatrical entertainments of politicians’ worst tendencies for ‘The Best Man’: a 1960 dramatic play the politically-minded writer (who himself ran for office twice) adapted for the big screen in 1964. Director Franklin J. Schaffner leads sparring stars Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson through this two-hander about a presidential primary with no good options. A masterclass in dramatic irony and sharp performances, ‘The Best Man’ earned Lee Tracy his only Academy Award nomination for the actor’s supporting role as President Art Hockstader. —AF
8. ‘Citizen Ruth’ (1996)

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One of the most underrated Alexander Payne films is also his directorial debut, and his writing never quite reached such biting political satire levels again (even in ‘Election’). ‘Citizen Ruth’ stars an inspired Laura Dern as the comically self-destructive Ruth Stoops, a poor woman with a huffing addiction who finds herself in the family way despite having four kids already in foster homes. She becomes an unwitting mascot of a local anti-abortion activists (Mary Kay Place and Burt Reynolds), before being lured to the other side by a couple of liberal lesbians (Swoosie Kurtz and Kelly Preston…swoon). But as both sides fight over Ruth, she realizes she’s only a pawn in their game, proving she isn’t as dumb as everyone thinks she is. The comedy is as black as it comes, with themes as relevant today as they were in 1996, unfortunately. ‘Citizen Ruth’ has much to say about how political polarization affects ordinary Americans, and it’s one hell of a fun ride. —JD
7. ‘State of the Union’ (1948)

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What ‘State of the Union’ lacks in sharp societal observation it makes up for in compelling psychological drama. It’s adapted from Russel Crouse’s 1945 play of the same and stars Spencer Tracy as a potential Republican presidential candidate, motivated (and manipulated) by his scheming girlfriend: a pre-‘Manchurian Candidate’ Angela Lansbury, whose take-me-seriously presence was practically made for political thrillers. Katharine Hepburn appears opposite Tracy as his estranged, idealist wife who becomes ensnared in this other woman’s ambitions. —AF
6. ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962)

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‘Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.’ Why is it that all the ex-GIs who served with Shaw, a Korean War hero, finds it necessary to say that about him? And that they go into a trance-like state when they do? This tale of brainwashing and gaslighting centers on the political ambitions of Shaw’s parents: his father, a Senator in the mold of Joe McCarthy who peddles fierce anti-communist sentiment in a bid to be the running-mate to his party’s next presidential nominee, and his wife (Angela Lansbury), an actual communist agent who uses her husband’s bluster as the perfect shield. ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ is invoked a lot these days to refer to a foreign power’s influence over a presidential candidate — but its most powerful insight may be in its depiction of the gaslighting Lansbury’s character engages in: the idea that she projects onto her opponents everything vile that she does herself. —CB
5. ‘The Candidate’ (1972)

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Robert Redford plays the idealistic son of a former California governor who the Democratic party taps to run as a token candidate in a seemingly unwinnable race to unseat a popular and powerful Republican Senator. Thinking he’s going to lose no matter what, Redford’s character, named Bill McKay — leading to the slogan “McKay: The Better Way” — decides to enter the race just so he can say whatever he wants. But that honesty is refreshing and McKay looks like Robert Redford so of course he starts winning over the electorate and having a real shot at winning. That’s when the special interests come in and want to tweak McKay’s brand for their own purposes. Director Michael Ritchie brings a vérité feel to this cinematic autopsy of a campaign that keeps going right when even the candidate himself isn’t sure he wants the job. —CB
4. ‘Wag the Dog’ (1997)

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Directed by Barry Levinson, ‘Wag the Dog’ sees the late Anne Heche as Winifred Ames: a top aide to a United States president suddenly embroiled in a sex scandal just two weeks before he’s up for re-election. Winifred calls in Robert De Niro’s fixer character Conrad Brean, who in turn recruits Dustin Hoffman’s Hollywood producer Stanley Motss to help him stage a fake conflict in Albania as a way to goose the incumbent’s numbers. The dark satire’s searing similarities to the Bill Clinton administration — both in relation to the Monica Lewinsky scandal/impeachment and the former president’s international affairs record in Kosovo — made waves with audiences in 1997. But its Hilary Hankin and David Mamet’s smart (and painfully prescient) script, lambasting the bullshit overlap of optics and politics now at a fever pitch in 2002, that makes it exhilarting, enduring, and a bit exhausting. —AF
3. ‘All the President’s Men’ (1976)

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The soft glow of Deep Throat’s cigarette in a shadowy garage; Ben Bradlee’s (Jason Robards) “Okay we go with it” order to Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) as his elevator doors lightly close in front of him; the rat-tat-tat patter of a typewriter announcing the President’s resignation. There are so many images and sounds that stick with you from Alan J. Pakula’s adaptation of Bernstein and Woodward’s book about the events that led to the end of the Nixon presidency. But it’s to Pakula’s credit that they all feel a natural part of telling the story of the 20th Century’s biggest American political scandal – there’s no unnecessary adornment to his craft, as if Pakula himself, like the best of journalists, believed that clarity and precision are the highest virtues. ‘All the President’s Men’ is the standard to which all subsequent depictions of investigative newspapers journalism aspire to, from ‘Spotlight’ to ‘The Post.’ —CB
2. ‘Election”'(1999)

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‘Larry, we’re not electing the fucking Pope here. Just tell me who won.’ So says Matthew Broderick in Alexander Payne’s biting second feature, which finds the former Ferris Bueller opposite a never-better Reese Witherspoon. That the high school teacher he’s playing doesn’t realize the importance of electing a student-body president will soon bring about his downfall. A year before hanging chads and the Florida recount, the fallout from the race between Tracy Flick vs. Paul Metzler coming down to two discarded ballots may have seemed overblown; nearly 20 years later, it’s quaint. Which isn’t a knock on ‘Election’ — it remains both hilarious and relevant, not to mention an always-timely reminder that every vote really does count. So as you head to the ballot box, remember: Pick Flick! —MN
1. ‘All the King’s Men’ (1949)

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‘Why do you want this job?’ That’s the question that used to be — that should be — at the center of most democratic political campaigns. But to answer honestly about seeking a position that would not just allow, but entrust you with significant power over your society and the people in it means staring long and hard at what motivates you toward public office. Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1946 novel tackles this quesiton brilliantly and has been adapted for the screen twice: first by Robert Rossen in 1949 and then again by Steven Zaillian in 2006. Though the latter, more contemporary film starring Sean Penn might seem the more accessible option, die-hard film lovers can’t beat Rossen’s exacting vision of greed, passion, and damage to the soul that uses film noir tropes to draw even dark depths from the source material. Broderick Crawford leads as tragic gubernatorial hopeful Willie Stark. —AF

The Best Election Movies of All Time, From ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ to ‘State of the Union’

Wilson Chapman

18. ‘Betty Boop for President’ (1932)

17. ‘Boys State’ (2020)

16. ‘Tanner ’88’ (1988)

15. ‘Game Change’ (2012)

14. ‘The Ides of March’ (2011)

13. ‘Long Shot’ (2019)

12. ‘Shampoo’ (1975)

11. ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ (2004)

10. ‘Milk’ (2008)

9. ‘The Best Man’ (1964)

8. ‘Citizen Ruth’ (1996)

7. ‘State of the Union’ (1948)

6. ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962)

5. ‘The Candidate’ (1972)

4. ‘Wag the Dog’ (1997)

3. ‘All the President’s Men’ (1976)

2. ‘Election”'(1999)

1. ‘All the King’s Men’ (1949)

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