The Campaign

Logline: In order to gain influence over their North Carolina district, two CEOs seize an opportunity to oust long-term congressman Cam Brady by putting up a rival candidate. Their man: naive Marty Huggins, director of the local Tourism Center.

Cast: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, Brian Cox

Directed by: Jay Roach

I wish I was old enough when toonie Tuesdays existed. That must have been one hell of an era. But, I guess half price Tuesdays aren't that bad. It sucks me in almost every week when something decent comes out. This week I had a choice between The Bourne Legacy and The Campaign. By the title of this article - I guess I already spoiled which one I chose.

I guess I'm not that into a spin-off of the whole Bourne series. I'm a fan of Will Ferrell and enjoy a lot of his stuff, so I had to go with my gut. Don't hate me for choosing a comedy over an action/thriller - after a weekend of wedding awesomeness I wanted to keep the funny times rollin'.

Was it the right choice?

Summary

I can't really explain the premise any better than the logline.

To go a bit more in depth - Marty Huggins isn't the best candidate to run for congress. He's a puppet to his father's demands, he doesn't fit into normal society (standard expectations), and is kind of an oddball. Whereas Cam Brady on the other hand is your every day good ol' American politician that's been elected five years straight.

The original title for this movie was "Dogfight" and that's exactly what it is. Both politicians are completely game to play dirty & that's just what they do.

Review

It is blatantly obvious going into this movie what to expect. The poster for the movie has Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis on it. If you haven't liked them in the past, chances are you won't like them here. The same goes for that statement vice versa if you have liked them.

However, I've stated numerous times, even in my article yesterday, that in order to keep an audience interested, no matter how funny the leads may be, you need to keep the story MOVING. The Campaign  did just that - and it didn't overstay its welcome. The film's first act sets up the two characters for a dogfight, the second act is the actual dogfight in which the poles go back and forth between the two candidates each time one does something awesome, and the third act concludes satisfactory. The film only runs 1h and 25mins, clearing all the potential clutter and getting straight to the point.

That being said, there were faults to it. I felt that ending was pretty rushed. After the hunting scene (you'll see that when it happens), I felt like the director threw scenes together with a bit of ZG and WF improvisation and made it so the bad guys (being the CEOs) got what they deserved. It was done really quickly. This movie is a satire, so I can't blame it for being unrealistic. I guess the character development was kind of confusing. Marty was always a really good guy - he just needed to stop being a puppet - whereas Cam needed to start caring about real problems as opposed to just winning the election. Weak, but excusable.

Topic of the Day

Some movies fit into certain categories that are specific to their own domain.

What I mean by this is that some movies are written, produced, and then all of a sudden they're bigger than what they started out to be. In this sense, Will Ferrell called his agents, the studio, whoever he has to talk to get what he wants, and requested to work with Zach Galifianakis. When you think about it now - it's a pretty genius idea. Take two of the same kind of people (both could've played in Step Brothers equally as well), both in which people LOVE to see on the big screen, and put them in the same movie. Boom. Box Office hit.

The moment both of these actors signed though, this became their movie. As much as the director influences them, edits the film to what he wants, people are going to be paying to see both of these guys act - just as they always do. They're not paying to see a comedy about two politicians, they're paying to see a comedy about two politicians that are played by Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. There was a ton of improvisation, a ton of added stuff, and it's all because of those two actors doing their thing.

The point of this being, I can't totally review this as just a film on its own. I have to take into consideration that this a Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis film strung together to put them both in a story in which they get to explore their own comedic purposes. Don't get me wrong, they don't change plot outline or structure, but they sure as hell influence most of the comedy that takes up a considerable amount of the movie. 

My consensus will keep this in mind and will rate based on the fact that these two put their best comedy into play.

Consensus

The Campaign is a great playground for both Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis to collaborate and showcase their skills. The ending feels a bit rushed, but the comedy you expect from both of the film's leads is portrayed through a well paced, always something happening, and unique/satirical storyline that never overstays its welcome. Definitely worth the watch, especially if you're a fan of WF or ZG. 

6.9/10