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Frontrunners

Play trailer Poster for Frontrunners 2008 1h 23m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A campaign for president of the student body at Stuyvesant High School resembles a national election.

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
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Movie Info

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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