What’s an election year without an election-themed movie?
With the 2012 election coming up in November, it’s only obvious that Hollywood is going to attempt to make a buck off of it. However, if it has to be done, why not design a comedy and pair two actors that have made an artform out of playing hilarious movie morons? That’s exactly what Warner Bros. did with their new comedy, The Campaign, starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis which opened in theaters nationwide on August 9.
The story takes us to a small district in North Carolina, where a longtime Congressman named Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) is looking to breeze to another term unopposed, while he campaigns on slogans that are heavy on Jesus and patriotism. A major moral screw up by Congressman Brady opens the door for two billionaire siblings – the Motch Brothers (an obvious spoof on the real life conservative Koch brothers) – to search for a puppet politician to unseat Brady. The Motch brothers are convinced that anybody they throw their money behind can win the election, so they choose an odd-ball named Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) to face off against the vulnerable incumbent Brady.
Even with Brady’s hysterical screw-ups, Huggins has a difficult time keeping up in the polls because of his own weird ways and so enters Dylan McDermott’s character as his ruthless campaign manager, who nearly steals the show from Ferrell and Galifianakis. The Campaign is non-stop hilarity with joke after joke coming one right after another. There are a few moments where the pranks go a little too far and seem forced – but like a good prize fighter throwing a lot of power punches, many connect.
Aside from the digs at big business, the Koch brothers, and religion, the movie kind of stays away from the Democrat vs. Republican theme, and makes it more about two idiot Southern politicians doing anything ridiculous to get elected. For their first pairing, Ferrell and Galifianakis deliver the laughs as intended.