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Okay, take a second and think back to high school. Was there one single moment that, if it had gone differently, might\u2019ve changed everything? Maybe you said the wrong thing, didn\u2019t take a chance, or missed an opportunity that could\u2019ve altered the whole trajectory of your life. It\u2019s the kind of \u201cwhat if\u201d question that makes your brain spin \u2014 the same kind of butterfly effect that\u2019s powered everything from\u00a0Back to the Future<\/em>\u00a0to our own late-night regrets.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the premise of\u00a0Re-Election, a new film written, directed by, and starring\u00a0Adam Saunders, alongside the ever-charming\u00a0Tony Danza, and a lively ensemble that makes this Texas-set story feel both absurd and heartfelt.<\/p>\n The film follows a man in his forties living in Richardson, Texas, who traces all his life\u2019s disappointments back to one event \u2014 losing the race for senior class president to a classmate who went on to become the governor of Texas. Convinced that single moment cursed his life, he decides to return to high school (under the guise of finishing missing credits) and run for re-election, determined to rewrite history.<\/p>\n What sounds like a broad comedy is actually something deeper \u2014 a story about\u00a0personal agency\u00a0and the lies we tell ourselves about fate. Saunders, who also grew up in Texas and attended Richardson High, said that mix of humor and introspection was intentional. \u201cI think it\u2019s both of those things,\u201d he told me. \u201cIt\u2019s that personal idea of looking at, oh my gosh \u2014 the sort of prison of self. Just looking at other people, being jealous of other people, feeling like, \u2018If I\u2019d only done this, if I\u2019d only said that, if I\u2019d only talked to this person at that party,\u2019 you start spinning in that cycle. That was definitely part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n But Saunders also saw an opportunity to use that personal reflection as a mirror for the times. \u201cI wanted to tell a story on a larger level too,\u201d he said. \u201cI grew up in Texas, went to Richardson High School, just had my 30th reunion this past weekend. I literally flew from Dallas to here to do this. And having lived 20 years in L.A. and New York, it\u2019s so different politically. I wanted to tell a story about politics that both my friends in Texas and my friends on the coasts could relate to \u2014 something they could even watch and disagree about, but still\u00a0watch together<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n