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The Campaign
The 2012 comedy The Campaign isn't big on originality, but the film delivers laughs thanks to breezy direction and a terrific cast.
Will Ferrell stars as Cam Brady, a North Caroina congressman with a questionable moral compass who is running for his fifth unopposed term, but a pair of billionaire businessmen brothers (Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow) persuade a local nerd named Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) to run against the reprehensible Brady.
I didn't really realize it as I was watching it, but there's a lot of stuff in Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell's screenplay that really walks the line of good taste. Yes, politicians do and say a lot of stupid things and this movie really brings that message home with a sledgehammer. At one point, we find the old stereotype of politicians kissing babies mangled beyond recognition to the point where we don't know if our jaws should be dropped in shock or should we be laughing until our sides hurt. I can't lie, I was laughing...I don't know what it was about this story, but I found myself laughing a lot more than this movie really deserved. I actually laughed when Cam Brady punched a baby in the face.
Jay Roach (Meet the Parents) provides breezy direction and gets some solid performances from his cast. Will Ferrell completely invests in the idiotic character he is asked to portray here and proves that he can still bring the funny. Galifianakis is a charmer and I loved Aykroyd and Lithgow, whose characters reminded me so much of the Duke Brothers in Trading Places.
Katherine LaNasa was a refreshing casting choice as Cam's duplicitous wife and Jason Sudekis made the most of his relatively straight role as Brady's campaign manager. Kudos to Brian Cox too, very funny as Marty's father and Dylan McDermott as a slick spin master hired by the evil brothers. There are also cameos by Wolf Blitzer and Chris Matthews and the story pretty much goes where you expect it , but the manic journey to the conclusion does provide laughs.
The 2012 comedy The Campaign isn't big on originality, but the film delivers laughs thanks to breezy direction and a terrific cast.
Will Ferrell stars as Cam Brady, a North Caroina congressman with a questionable moral compass who is running for his fifth unopposed term, but a pair of billionaire businessmen brothers (Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow) persuade a local nerd named Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) to run against the reprehensible Brady.
Jay Roach (Meet the Parents) provides breezy direction and gets some solid performances from his cast. Will Ferrell completely invests in the idiotic character he is asked to portray here and proves that he can still bring the funny. Galifianakis is a charmer and I loved Aykroyd and Lithgow, whose characters reminded me so much of the Duke Brothers in Trading Places.
Katherine LaNasa was a refreshing casting choice as Cam's duplicitous wife and Jason Sudekis made the most of his relatively straight role as Brady's campaign manager. Kudos to Brian Cox too, very funny as Marty's father and Dylan McDermott as a slick spin master hired by the evil brothers. There are also cameos by Wolf Blitzer and Chris Matthews and the story pretty much goes where you expect it , but the manic journey to the conclusion does provide laughs.