The Campaign: Lawless, Hilarious and larger than life Political Campaigners!
Director
Jay Roach
Cast
Will Ferrell
Jason Sudeikis
Zach Galifianakis
Dan Aykroyd
Dylan Mcdermott
John Lithgow
Katherine Lanasa
Rating
3.5
Your wait is over, if you’ve been looking for a comedy as a refreshing alternative to all the children flicks and over hyped summer blockbusters. And what could be interesting than a picture about the dirty tricks being employed during a cutthroat political campaign?
The Campaign directed by Jay Roach, a proven master of the comedy genre, a witty director best known for making Meet the Parents and the Austin Powers trilogy. The movie stars Will Ferrell as Cam Brady, a popular North Carolina Congressman who’s running unopposed for his fifth term in office until the nerdy, unworthy opponent Marty Higgins (Zach Galifianakis) enter the race. Marty being bankrolled by a couple of a very wealthy businessman, Glen (John Lithgow), and Wade Motch (Dan Aykroyd). They are sleazy, power-hungry siblings supposedly patterned after the billionaire Koch brothers, notorious backers of arch-conservative causes.
Soon, Brady realizes he’s in the fight of his life, as both sides progressively carry out diplomacy to prevail on Election Day. For instance, we find Marty wearing what he calls a “Yamaha” on his head during services at a synagogue, while Cam sings in the gospel choir of a black Baptist Church and plays with rattlesnakes to curry favor with the congregation of a sect of serpent-handling evangelists.
But despite his best efforts, Brady continues to sabotage his own campaign at every turn, whether by accidentally punching a baby and a puppy, or by being caught having sex with a supporter in a port-o-john. And as the polls indicate that the tide is turning decisively in Marty’s favor, the focus becomes whether he’ll be a tool of the Motch brothers or choose to do what’s best for his district.
Will Ferrell’s over-the-top approach to Cam serves as the perfect counterpoint to Zach Galifianakis relatively subdued interpretation of sweet natured Marty. The film also features several inspired support performances, most notably, Dylan McDermott and Jason Sudeikis as devious campaign managers and Karen Maruyama as an accented Asian housekeeper.
Throw in amusing cameos by a never ending string of popular faces like Bill Maher, Wolf Blitzer, Chris Matthews, Piers Morgan, Joe Scarborough, Lawrence O’Donnell, Willie Geist, Mika Brezinski, Ed Schultz and Dennis Miller, and you’ve got all the makings for a genuine election year hit. Ferrell and Galifianakis stride out as the funniest and wackiest politician; you would like to vote for the two candidates if you could!
