The Campaign - Review

The Campaign

10 August 2012 (USA)

85 min - Comedy

Rated R 

Language (Including crude and pervasive use of  the F bomb, crass and vile sexual references, profanity, blasphemy...you name it its got it.) Crude, Tasteless Sexual Content and Brief Nudity

Director: Jay Roach

Writers: Chris Henchy (screenplay), Shawn Harwell (screenplay)

Grade: D-

Stars: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, Katherine LaNasa, Sarah Baker, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, Brian Cox and  Karen Maruyama

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.

With the assumption by the critics and industry bean counters, The Campaign is expected to be the box office victor this weekend, so I took one for the team and reluctantly saw this film against my better judgement. Admittedly, I have never seen a Will Farrell movie assuming them to be tasteless and crass (Farrell's SNL work is a testament to the bad taste that is the legacy of his prurient body of work, now unfettered by TV censorship.) and, boy was I ever right. Next one out...I'll pass.
The Campaign is the latest in a string of Will Ferrell (SNL alum) vehicles, that open in late Summer every other year. In 2004 came Anchorman (grossed $85.3 million), next was Talladega Nights ($148.2 million), Step Brothers ($100.5 million) and The Other Guys ($119.2 million). All four of these movies opened to at least $28 million. Even with strong support from Hangover star Zach Galifianakis it is unlikely that The Campaign will match that.

The only bright spots (dim as they are) of this humorless, tasteless, vile and trashy assault on decency, morality, propriety, values, honesty are the performances of Zach Galifanakis and Karen Maruyama (Mrs. Yao) and the only reason The Campaign gets graded a D- rather than and F. Still the adage about casting your pearls before swine comes to mind. Without all the profanity, this might have had some redeeming value, but Ferrell is so vulgar that it's off-putting and offensive.

Political comedy movies don't tend to fare very well and this one is not likely to reverse that trend. The Campaign is a political comedy with little bite in its satire and bias in its political stance. This is the type of film that anyone involved in it's production should be ashamed to admit to their parents that they were a part of it. I know I would.

The Cast:

also:
Grant Goodman ...
Clay Huggins
Kya Haywood ...
Dylan Huggins
Randall D. Cunningham ...
Cam Jr. (as Randall Cunningham)
Madison Wolfe ...
Jessica Brady
Thomas Middleditch ...
Travis

The tagline for The Campaign is "May the best loser win.", The only way anyone wins with this one is to exercise your vote to stay at away from the theater.

This is the man responsible for this trash, Director Jay Roach.