For many of us, high school was a time of awkwardness and pain. But, for Jimmy Bauer (Adam Saunders) in “Re-Election,” it was the greatest time of his life.
In “Re-Election,” which was also written and directed by Saunders, Jimmy’s life post-high school hasn’t turned out exactly as planned. After his rival Manish Singh (Rizwan Manji) beat him out for senior class president, Jimmy took a downward spiral. He didn’t finish high school, and now at the age of 42 works at his father’s memorabilia shop. But, after learning that Manish is running for a second term as the governor of Texas, Jimmy decides to go back to high school and finally become class president.
Generational differences and hijinks ensue, but “Re-Election” ultimately becomes a sweet story about finding yourself and the importance of putting the public first when it comes to public service. The movie also stars Nathalie Kelley as an old classmate of Jimmy’s with a lingering crush, Patty Guggenheim as Jimmy’s sister and the school principal, and Atlanta native Bex Taylor-Klaus as Noa, a non-binary high schooler who is tasked with helping Jimmy acclimate himself to the new rules of high school.
Rough Draft Atlanta recently spoke with Saunders, Manji, and Taylor-Klaus about the making of the film. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Adam, I wanted to start with you. I know there’s a lot of your personal roots in this story, so I’m sure it’s been percolating for quite some time. But when did you start officially thinking about making it a movie?
Adam Saunders: I started writing in 2020. There were a couple things at play – first of all, this notion of this prison of self that I’ve been talking about, something that I could certainly relate to, and I feel like, as we’ve been showing the film, other people have been [too]. Social media does it so much. We’re comparing ourselves to other people all the time. Why am I not there? Why am I not doing what that person is doing? That sort of fixation on, I’m not where I’m supposed to be in my life. That was one big part of it.
I think the other part of it was the political climate, right? Seeing as the world was getting more and more polarized, and wanting to make a movie that people both from Texas, where I grew up, and LA and New York, where I’ve lived the last 20 years, could sit together, watch a movie, talk about kindness, empathy – things that I feel like are universal themes – and and maybe have a conversation.
I want to touch on the political thing again, but how did you two come to the project?
Bex Taylor-Klaus: I auditioned, like every other non-binary schmo in LA. For some reason, this guy thought it was me, and I’m really glad he did.
Saunders: I did. And, you know, it’s a really hard part to cast. Other than Jimmy, Noa is the lead in the movie. So you have to have somebody that does identify as non-binary, but also has the chops to play the lead in a movie, and also I felt like we had a good dynamic. Even just here, we’ve been … going back and forth about politics. Bex, as a human being, is very informed and has very strong opinions. And Noa has to have that. Noa has to care. Noah has to be smart, Noah has to empathize. They have to have that.
Taylor-Klaus: It’s rare to find non-binary representation in media where you read it and you’re like, “Yeah, this feels real. This feels accurate. This feels comfortable and honest, but also kind.” I believe in trans rights and trans wrongs, and to play a trans right is really nice.
How about you, Rizwan?
Rizwan Manji: I got a call from my agent saying that Adam wanted to do a Zoom. I’ve done a lot of these Zooms where they’re like, “Oh, they’re interested,” and then they’re like “No, that’s not the right [fit].” But we got on the Zoom and we got along so well. We talked for a really long time, and I think by the end of it, you were like, “Well, I think I want you!” That’s never happened. [Laughs]
Saunders: [To Rizwan] You don’t even know this story. Riz and I are very close friends – we play poker every week, more times than we should say [laughs] … Riz, you were brought to us by your team. I was a fan, I’d seen him in a lot of his stuff. Then, there was a moment where your name was off the list. They said, “Oh no, he’s not coming in.” I was pissed off about that! I was like, what happened to Rizwan Manji? … So when I actually did meet with you, I was like, I’ve gotta be [on it] … You don’t even know that!
Manji: Here I was like, “We’re just really getting along!” [Laughs] … I think you told me on the Zoom! At the end, he’s like, “Well I’d like you to do this.” That never happens, by the way. Maybe like, a year later, somebody’s like, “Oh, remember that thing?” [Laughs]
Taylor-Klaus: That’s what happened with me as well. We had a Zoom meeting, and [Saunders] was like, “Now I know you don’t want to play high school.” And I’m like, “Wait, hold on – I thought you guys wouldn’t want me to play high school. I’m down! I’m so in!”
Saunders: I mean, look, they say that directing is 90 percent casting – was it William Wyler, or Billy Wilder, or Martin Scorsese? It’s attributed to everybody. But I think it’s true. So, in both of these cases, I was a fan of their work. So the idea that they were coming in and meeting, I wanted them – assuming the meeting went well, and they both seemed like normal people. I later found out they’re …
Manji: Definitely not that! [Laughs]
Saunders: …But they present really well!
Bex, I know your background is in drama, but I’ve heard you say that you wanted to do comedy. But Noa, I think they’re one of the more grounded characters in the film. How did you work to integrate the comedy and the groundedness, and also how was working with two people who have a lot of comedy chops?
Taylor-Klaus: Some of my favorite comedy is the comedy of ridiculous circumstances happening around a grounded character. I think an honest response to a ridiculous scenario can be peak comedy … For example, “Old man gets mad ukelele was moved” – screaming, yelling, upset. Hilarious! It could also be, “High schooler coming back at 42 years old, actual high schoolers confused.” The hilarity there is equal.
I’m very used to doing the more comedic character in a drama, and it felt really fun to play the opposite. I was telling Adam a couple weeks ago, you cast the non-straight not-man to play the straight man to your clown, and I love that.
Saunders: Just to piggyback off that, it’s a farce, it’s a satire, it’s a ridiculous concept, right? So, if it’s about personal responsibility and someone feeling like they haven’t made it where they want to be in their life, but I’ve got a guy living in a shed, that’s extreme, right? There’s a lot of farcical thinking. I wanted to show that Jimmy felt uncomfortable in his clothing, and so I’ve got him in a massive ketchup stain that’s way bigger than any real [stain]. That’s the satire of it. But the only way that lands, I think, as a director, is if it’s played straight, if it’s played for truth. Because then people say, “Oh, but he really is upset about the ketchup stain, or Noa is really confused about why this guy is here.” The audience can get on board with the satire. If it’s all just ridiculous, then people just change the channel.
Taylor-Klaus: I love being able to add things that I have been told I’m good at by this industry – playing the level headed or emotional. I like being able to bring that into something that brings me joy.
Throughout this press tour, I’ve heard you talk about the collaboration that took place on set – Rizwan, I believe your character’s accent is one of those things. I’d love it if all three of you could touch on the collaborative aspect of bringing a character to life once they’re already on the page.
Manji: As I said, [Saunders and I] Zoomed. We also ended up meeting for coffee right before we started shooting, before he was leaving for Louisiana. We had a conversation about the character. There’s obviously what’s written on the page. He wrote it, and I was like, this is the idea that I have. I brought up the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal – that’s what I was thinking about. Bobby Jindal’s [accent] was probably not as exaggerated as mine is, but he also, I feel, is doing some kind of fake voice and presenting in this way.
We had a conversation, and we were on the same page. My idea was, we should make Manish like this – I think we should go full force with him being the villain. It was to Adam’s credit that he was like, no. I think that we can also have him have some humanity, which comes out at the end. I love that. He said, “Look, Jimmy has spent his whole life up to this point thinking about Manish, and Manish probably has spent very little time thinking of Jimmy.” I think that little thing clicked. I appreciate that, because we can go in and we can have this conversation … Then we took a little bit of both and that’s how we were able to come up with the character.
Saunders: I think that’s right. It’s interesting, Manish is a very successful politician. He’s the governor of Texas … I’m very interested in politics. What are the reasons that politicians are successful? They find some truth in the way they relate to their electorate. I think what Manish has done since high school is he’s figured out a way to connect to his people. It was the [magic] eight ball in high school, and now it’s this put-upon accent, or the grandiose [stuff] like, “You’re gonna work for me one day!” All that stuff drives Jimmy nuts, because that’s not how Jimmy relates to the world. Jimmy relates to the world just from truth. He can’t understand why anyone’s getting behind this character. But do we have to come about it from an organic place so that we can understand why this guy’s successful. I think to Rizwan’s great credit, he becomes that guy. People love Manish when they watch this movie, and they can totally see why this guy would be the governor. He’s charming, and he’s charismatic, and he’s flamboyant, and he’s also cocky, and he’s all the things that drive Jimmy nuts, but we understand him.
All of these characters, they’re created by a writer – in this case, me – and then they are given to an actor who makes it their own. Then it’s my job as a director to make sure we’re staying within the lines of the tone of the movie. But both of these characters far exceeded what was on the page.
Jumping back into the politics of it all, I’ve heard you talk about wanting to make a movie that both people in LA and people in Texas can enjoy before. Obviously, this is a very fraught political time, and I don’t think this movie, to its credit, shies away from gender issues and social issues, and political issues. Adam – and Rizwan and Bex, you can approach this from an acting standpoint as well – could you talk about, from a writing standpoint, crafting this work and keeping both of those things in mind.
Saunders: My position is that if we just have the conversion, that’s enough. Literally, the fact that we are having the conversation is far more than we do if we’re just both sitting on our sides, with our fists up. Just having a character that’s non-binary in the movie – just literally the fact that they exist, and they’re going through human issues, dealing with bullies and dealing with wanting their own ambition and dealing with their own insecurities – just seeing that character, I think that’s enough. Or having a governor of Indian descent, who’s putting on an American Southern accent. That’s a conversation starter.
Riz and I are doing a TV show now about Jews and Muslims that play poker together. We’re not hammering home some of these issues that we were just talking about. We’re just talking. We’re just playing cards, you know, and that’s something that we’re doing next. The movie that I did before this was about Black face, you know what I mean? But it wasn’t. It was, but it wasn’t. We’re talking about these issues that are really fraught issues, but we’re doing it in a way that’s not banging people’s heads against it. It’s just the fact that it exists in the story allows people to then have the conversation.
Manji: The first time we watched the movie, after it finished … my two older kids came to the [screening], and just watching them watch the movie … they’re living through these things. So the cringe moments of Adam having this conversation with Noa, it really rung true for them, because they’ve been in these situations where these conversations happen. It’s interesting to me how the younger generation will find something in this movie that maybe the rest of us don’t see. It was interesting to see it through their eyes.
Saunders: I’ve had people come up to me since seeing the movie and say, “But wait, why isn’t it the same as the RuPaul situation?” Somebody else came up to me, an older person, and said, “But what does ‘they/them’ really mean? Is it he, or is it she?” Just the fact that they’re now asking those questions, I think we’re doing our job. They’re asking the questions.
Taylor-Klaus: Personally, I love getting asked those questions, because it means someone cares enough to ask. It means someone is interested enough in figuring out why it means something to me to ask that question, so I’ll answer. I’ll answer every time. Everybody’s different. Some people, when they get that question, they feel put upon. They feel like it’s not my job to do the emotional labor. I will do that emotional labor, because at least you’re asking me. At least you are not just making assumptions and blowing it off. You are seeing that it means something to me, and you are willing to try to, at the very least, understand why it means something to me.
It’s interesting bringing up the different reactions between older and younger generations. Have either of you two noticed a difference?
Saunders: I feel like the movie is really playing great for people our age – Riz is a little older than me – our age and older [Laughs]. I also think it’s playing really well for high school kids. I feel like those are the two ages that are really resonating with the film. Because, I think, to Riz’s point, his kids are like, “I’m so used to you out-of-touch old people not getting it.” And we older people – some older than others – are really used to not getting it.
Taylor-Klaus: My friend’s son came to the New York premiere and was just absolutely raving about it – “I can’t wait to make my friends watch!” Really sweet. Tonight, actually some of the grandparents and borderline great-grandparents are coming. So I’m excited to see how they respond.
Saunders: Let’s see how far our demographic goes!
