Frontrunners

2008

1h 23m

Documentary

List

85%

Tomatometer

27 Reviews

59%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

A campaign for president of the student body at Stuyvesant High School resembles a national election.

Critics Consensus

Frontrunners offers poignant insights into the high school power structure, with more than a few parallels to the current U.S. election.

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David Fear

Time Out

Rated: 3/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Leo Goldsmith

indieWire

Even an offhand debate between a few students late in the film about whether or not Bush is a "retard," while not exactly insightful, nonetheless portrays a student body for whom politics%u2014or at least arguing about it%u2014is essential.

Aug 8, 2009

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Reyhan Harmanci

San Francisco Chronicle

The film sets just the right tone: with inventive music choices and wonderfully piquant moments plucked from what must have been hundreds of hours of footage, Frontrunners is consistently entertaining.

Rated: 4/4

Oct 24, 2008

Full Review

Robert W. Butler

Kansas City Star

The film accurately captures the world of adolescence. But emotionally and intellectually the film walks down the center stripe, picking up little insights while remaining bogged down in blandness.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 9, 2009

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Mark Bell

Film Threat

This film couldn't come out in a better time, in a better year.

Rated: 4.5/5

Oct 21, 2008

Full Review

Eric Monder

Film Journal International

Suh reassures us that democracy is alive and well (dispelling the myth of the apathetic young voter), while making us pause to consider the kind of people who emerge from the system.

Oct 17, 2008

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Audience Member

Entertaining and insightful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A documentary following a high school's student council election shouldn't be this compelling. But interesting contenders and a great narration make this film both compelling and entertaining.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

A very watchable and engaging look at the high school voting system at one of the world's most prestigious high schools, Stuyvesant. The filmmakers were smart to let the students have the spotlight and not intervene or interview them within the film. The movie was easy to relate to without reminding me of all the things in high school that irritated me.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Audience Member

Cute idea, but of course the filmmakers were limited in what they could make of it by what the kids actually did. Forgettable, but diverting.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Audience Member

This is a fun documentary. john Hughes meets C Span maybe? Overachieving kids running for high school president. The strongest part of the film is George, this fabulously geeky kid with big ideas and lots of energy running. The film doesn't really do anything other than entertain, but its fun. Maybe Wes Anderson should direct a film based on this one, something akin to Rushmore?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

FRONTRUNNERS is a smart and funny political documentary that follows the student council presidential campaign at one of the country's most prestigious public high schools: Stuyvesant High School in New York City. An entertaining and symbolic campaign film, put forth in classic verité style, we follow four charming and idiosyncratic candidates as they navigate an electoral process that is said to be one of the most competitive at the high school level. These teenaged candidates face the same issues as candidates of any age, such as picking the 'right' running mate, shaking as many hands as possible, preparing for televised debates, impressing the pundits and journalistic community, addressing sensitive race-related issues, and mobilizing an apathetic voter base. A microcosm of the U.S. Presidential elections, Caroline Suh's film shows politicking and pluralities through the lens of the adolescent experience.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

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Caroline Suh

Director

Erika Frankel

Producer

Gregory Mitnick

Cinematographer

Jane Rizzo

Film Editing

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Synopsis

A campaign for president of the student body at Stuyvesant High School resembles a national election.

Director: Caroline Suh
Producer: Erika Frankel
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2017
Runtime: 1h 23m

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