What became of Reese Witherspoon’s Tracy Flick, the peppy overachiever who was named her school’s student government president and was last seen in Washington, D.C., boarding a limo with a congressman? It’s something fans of Alexander Payne’s juicy 1999 satire Election have long wondered. Now, more than two decades later, the double Oscar-winning auteur is finally set to provide an answer.
On December 8, per Deadline, Paramount Pictures confirmed that a sequel entitled Tracy Flick Can’t Win is being produced for its streaming service, Paramount+. Best of all, not only will Payne be returning as director, but so too will Witherspoon, as both the new film’s star and producer.
Just as the original comedy was based on Tom Perrotta’s 1998 novel of the same name, this project will take its inspiration from Perrotta’s follow-up, which was published back in June. In it, Flick isn’t the power-hungry politician we might have imagined, but a tireless and ambitious assistant principal at a public high school in suburban New Jersey. Her somewhat stagnant life is then suddenly turned upside down by the news that the school’s longtime principal will be retiring, giving Tracy a shot at the top job.
The book’s synopsis adds: “Energized by the prospect of her long-overdue promotion, Tracy throws herself into her work with renewed zeal, determined to prove her worth to the students, faculty, and school board, while also managing her personal life—a 10-year-old daughter, a needy doctor boyfriend, and a burgeoning meditation practice. But, nothing ever comes easily to Tracy Flick, no matter how diligent or qualified she happens to be. Her male colleagues’ determination to honor Vito Falcone—a star quarterback of dubious character who had a brief, undistinguished career in the NFL—triggers memories for Tracy and leads her to reflect on the trajectory of her own life. As she considers the past, Tracy becomes aware of storm clouds brewing in the present. Is she really a shoo-in for the principal job? Is the superintendent plotting against her? Why is the school board president’s wife trying so hard to be her friend? And why can’t she ever get what she deserves?”
The prospect of seeing Tracy as a presumably strict mother is exciting, as is the fact that the film is likely to mark Witherspoon’s first big-screen appearance since 2018’s A Wrinkle in Time. (More recently, she’s focused on TV work, with roles in Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, and The Morning Show, and voiced Rosita in Sing 2.) But it’s not the only iconic part the Hollywood stalwart will soon be reprising: Legally Blonde 3 is, of course, also in development, with a script courtesy of Mindy Kaling. Let this new Witherspoonaissance commence.
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