Don’t ask me how this happened but in 2006 I found myself reading an interview with Chris Klein. You all remember Chris Klein, right? He was Oz in the American Pie movies and, according to IMDB, Brad on a 2015 episode of Motive. Well, he was also in one of my favourite films of the 90s and this is the one I found him reminiscing about in this 2006 interview. Klein good-naturedly admitted that he was too young while filming 1999’s Election to really understand what was funny about it.
If you haven’t seen Election, it’s a subtle but hard-hitting satire about an ambitious overachiever’s quest to win her high school election. And the best way that I can describe Teiichi is it’s the Japanese version of Election that the 19 year-old Chris Klein would have loved.
Teiichi has only one ambition: to become Prime Minister and to build his own empire. Luckily, he’s come to the right place. The prestigious Kaitei College is the place to be for future world leaders and all Tiichi needs to do is be voted in as chairman of the student council and he’ll be well on his way to power and glory. Trouble is, his longtime rival Kikuma wants it just as bad as he does. So the battle for Kaitei College gets pretty intense where everything, including wiretapping, sabotage, nipple pinching, and merciless tickling is fair game.
Teiichi, based on the manga “Teiichi no Kuni”, goes for bigger laughs than Election did and isn’t afraid to go pretty lowbrow to get them. Almost every situation is taken to the wackiest possible extreme and the performers overact in the best way possible. What impressed me most was the impeccable comic timing of the physical comedy, which went a long way in helping me forgive all the exaggeration.
Somehow I still couldn’t help feeling sad for Teiichi, his inner circle, and his rivals. There seems to be way too much on the line for such young boys. For Teiichi, losing the student council election would almost literally mean that his life is over. Everything in his young life has been leading up to this one moment and he seems to have no idea what he would do if he were to lose.
In general, I will always prefer the subtlety and bite of Election to the slapstick comedy and mostly heavy-handed satire of Teiichi: Battle of the Supreme High. But somebody needs to be making movies for 19 year-old Chris Klein and Teiichi is extremely entertaining and even a little thought-provoking once you get used to its zany sense of humour.
I need to laugh more Matt – thank you! I will try and find this movie! :o)
LikeLike
hmm I’m going to take your word for it!
LikeLike
You have my thanks, since your review was so good and compelling that made me watch this movie!
LikeLike
How did you like it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was really enjoyable and since I’m an manga fan seeing the aesthetics and the nature of the comedy in it made the movie highly appealing to me!
LikeLike
I love the scene when he’s comparing SAT scores. I couldn’t believe how long that scene lasted.
LikeLike
I wasn’t a fan of Election. I think I was a little too close to that when I was that age to now find humor in it. Add in slapstick… Yeah, this one is a pass. But I know a couple people who might enjoy it.
LikeLike
I think I liked Election because it hits close to him actually.
LikeLike
Chris Klein is often good in movies I don’t have to overthink ~ Sounds intriguing 😉
LikeLike
I haven’t seen him in a long time. I just remember him as being pretty wooden. Everyone was good in Election though.
LikeLike
This sounds pretty good. Will have to try and find it.
LikeLike
I just re-read this and laughed all over again.
LikeLike