"The Campaign"
As we all know 2012 was an
election year. For the past six months our televisions, mailboxes, phone
lines, radios, car bumpers, and grassy lawns have been bombarded with an
overload of vote for Party A, B, or even C. And because this was a
political race all the campaign ads were mostly negative ones. The
accusing ads tells us the same thing; the opposing candidate is doing this
instead of that and saying one thing when really when they really mean another. I know that these are
dirty games of deception and trickery with smear campaigns that stretch from
the state of Washington to Florida. I
forgot to mention one more form of media this year that contained politics, the
cinema. The Campaign, a comedy featuring Will Ferrel and Zach
Galifianakis takes us inside the whacky world of the what it takes to run a
campaign as both sides come at each other’s throats .
Cam Brady (Ferrel) is running
for congressman in his North Carolina district for the fifth time
unopposed. Brady may not be the sharpest tool in the shed and he has done
some rather questionable things leading up to his shoe in win. Things like
accidentally leaving a sexually explicit message on an answering machine belonging to a
family of four instead of his mistress's. Whoops, Cam's in hot water.
But who cares, it's not like he has anyone to compete against. That is
until Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) decides to throw his hat into the
ring. Marty's campaign is being backed by brothers Glen (John Lithgow)
and Wade (Dan Aykroyd) Motch. Putting Mary on the ticket is part of the
Moch's plan of wanting to bring a big Chinese company to North Carolina.
Marty isn't the brightest bulb in the pack but thinks it would fun get his feet
wet in the political spectrum. That is until Cam starts to play
dirty. Marty is then forced to fight fire with fire; unfortunately he
doesn't quite know how to strike the match.
The Campaign is an
R-rated comedy and it certainly earns its R rating. Tons of coarse language
accompanied with crude sexual content galore makes this film definitely for
adults. And that's how it should be. Kids don't understand politics
so why should they be subjected to it. But let's look beyond the
vulgarity of the picture. Here is a film that is a really great satire of
game that America has been playing for hundreds of years. So much of what
is shown is perhaps exaggerated, goofy, or zany, but I also think there's a lot
of truth to the film. It's clear the screenwriters have had to endure
enough political dreck as we all have over the years and what better way to
express how they feel than make fun of the situation.
The Campaign does get the
job in the laugh department. It's not just because of the spot on instances
that play out and are part of every campaign, but because the actors,
particularly the two leads, know how to deliver their lines just right to
really tickle our funny bone. I think the characters that Ferrel
and Galifianakis are playing aren't that much of stretch from the politicians we have
in real life. This is the film's biggest strength in that everyone
involved knows what they are making. The overall believability is
absolutely there as long as you realize this isn't just another stupid Will
Ferrel comedy.
Raunchy, obscene, crude, and
outrageous; The Campaign does contain these low brow qualities.
However, isn't that how politics are in real life? Aren't the campaigns
and the people who are involved come off as just one big joke? How many
times have we seen ads or interviews featuring politicians and just wanted to sit back
and laugh. The Campaign gives
us a chance to do this and not have to feel embarrassed about it. The
Campaign never takes its eye off the prize and stays true to its
message. Some may take away from this film nothing more than the F word
and sex jokes but honestly, grow up. Don't lose sight of what The
Campaign is actually trying to say about American politics. I found
it to be quite enjoyable but I can understand that it probably won't be everyone's cup of
tea. The Campaign certainly has my vote for one of the funniest films
of the year.
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