Review: The Campaign




By Christine Petralia

Image courtesy of Warner Brothers
August 13, 2012
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis team up as political rivals in a small town in North Carolina in this hysterical film.
Ferrell plays incumbent Cam Brady, a womanizing politician thinking he can just skate by and win another election. Galifianakis plays Marty Huggins, the director of a local tourism company. Two CEOs (John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd), looking to take over the North Carolina district to sell it to a Chinese business, seek out Huggins to run against Brady, thinking they can manipulate and control him into doing what they want.
Throw in Dylan McDermott as Tim Wattley as Huggins’ skeevy campaign manager and Jason Sudeikis as Brady’s and you have the makings of a hilarious campaign. From Huggins asking his family if they have any hidden secrets to Brady’s various indiscretions with women, babies and dogs, every line and scene is beautifully executed to ensure laughs through to the very end of the movie.
Even though you love to hate Brady, you actually find out that he does have a heart, even though his life is a complete mess, and essentially a lie. And just when you think he’s hit rock bottom, cue the two CEOs again to come in a support Brady when Huggins refuses to follow through with their plan to sell the district to China.
And of course the underlying theme of the film is essentially dirty politics. Even after Brady realizes that its just becoming a dirty game and he’s lost sight of the reason he even runs anymore, Huggins uses Brady’s drunkenness to his advantage.
In the end, all is well though, as Brady stands up to the ‘bad guys’ too and eventually teams up with Huggins to fix the district. Because after all, that’s the whole reason Huggins agreed to run in the first place.
A couple of my favorite scenes include the Huggins family confessions, Brady seducing Huggins’ wife and when Brady and Huggins try to trash talk before a debate. Ferrell and Galifianakis really play well off of each other and I’m sure there were a lot of laughs on set, as I don’t even know how Galifianakis kept a straight face through the entire film in character.
If you don’t see it in the theater, see it at some point. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Oh, and it’s rated R, which I didn’t realize at first. So you know they don’t really hold anything back, which makes it all the better.
3.5 stars.
This is the third installment in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Check out my brief synopsis and head to the theater to check it out!
This reboot of the 1990 version of the film is all action and pretty faces, but still a great film.
What happens when a small town gets invaded by aliens? Just send the neighborhood watch out to protect the citizens.
What it lacks in the form of a plot, it makes up for in eye candy for women. Lots of half-naked men make up most of this summer film.
What happens when a child wishes for his Teddy bear to come to life and he never leaves that boy, even as an adult?