The Campaign -
(August 10th, 2012): R
Distributor: Warner
Bros. Pictures
Opening Weekend Box Office:
#2 with $26,588,460
Domestic Box Office
Gross to-date: $26,588,460
Gross Revenue: $26,588,460
Production Budget:
$56 million
Director: Jay Roach
If there is one thing that Jon
Stewart and Stephen Colbert have proved in recent years, it is that political
satire is not only well-received by large audiences, but is also a source of considerable
humor; so in an election year, a film lampooning the political process is an
absolute no-brainer. When you consider
the résumés of the names involved with The
Campaign, a remarkably high level of humor was virtually guaranteed; I’ve
already made my feelings concerning Ferrell and Galifianakis clear in the “Short
and Sweet” review, but where my interest piqued most was in the involvement of
director Jay Roach. With his work on the
Austin Powers and Meet the Parents franchises, few can
deny that Roach has a talent for generating laughs, and given early trailers,
it looked like his newest comedy would not disappoint (my ticket was bought the
second I saw Will Ferrell punch a baby).
In terms of marketing The Campaign
and generating audience interest, Warner Bros. engaged in an aggressive digital
strategy designed to involve audiences in the fictional political race; whether
it involved the Twitter feeds of the characters, Facebook fan pages that were
tallying votes, or web pages identifying each party’s platform, audience
awareness was high, and potential viewers were going to have to take a side. I have never taken politics all that
seriously, so one can understand just how excited I was to see The Campaign and report on the jokes
that were sure to contain more elements of truth than any politician will ever
admit.
Focusing on a Congressional
election, The Campaign opens by
introducing audiences to Democratic Congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) of
North Carolina’s 14th District, who is running for his fifth term
unopposed and enjoys widespread support, despite a recent revelation of marital
infidelity. Things are shaken up when
corrupt businessmen Glen (John Lithgow) and Wade (Dan Aykroyd) Motch hatch a
plan to install a political puppet on the Republican ticket, so that they may
profit from an illegal insourcing deal with Chinese manufacturers. The Motch brothers settle on Marty Huggins
(Zach Galifianakis), the offbeat son of one of their associates, but the
dim-witted simpleton proves no match for Brady, a seasoned incumbent who
quickly humiliates his challenger.
However, things begin to shift in Marty’s favor when the Motch brothers
hire slick campaign manager Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott), a no-nonsense perfectionist
who immediately begins manipulating Marty’s image to help draw the support of
Republican voters. Shaken by this new
threat, Brady employs the help of his own campaign manager, Mitch Wilson (Jason
Sudeikis), and as time passes, both competitors devolve the electoral race into
a vicious mud-slinging match, one that threatens to strip both men of their
families and what little moral values they still possess.
Whether it is focusing on the media
scrutiny that political candidates are subjected to, the public image tweaking
designed to draw the support of certain groups, or the questionable ethics of
career politicians, The Campaign
doesn’t pull any punches, and they are all hysterical. Will Ferrell is at the top of his game as Cam
Brady, and his antics match perfectly with the perceived hypocrisy of American
politics; his reactions to the successes of his opponent, his increasingly
erratic mud-slinging tactics, even his half-hearted attempts to explain-away a
sex tape or assault on an infant…it is all brilliant. As I’ve mentioned before, there is a
virtually limitless amount of subject matter to target when it comes to
political satire, and the script takes full advantage of this fact with countless
uproarious scenarios that show glimmers of the truth which every voter has had
to acknowledge at one time or another.
The one character who brings these “truths” to light more than anyone is
Dylan McDermott, who plays the campaign manager with such ridiculous intensity
that you cannot help but laugh; watching him tear through Marty’s house and
make it more appealing to conservative voters (replacing and renaming his dogs “Scout”
and “General,” filling the house with oil paintings of eagles, hanging rifles
and deer heads, etc.) is insanely funny.
And yet, while all of these humorous elements make The Campaign a strong comedy, the failure of the film to maintain
its momentum and the bizarre personality of Galifianakis’ character prevent me
from awarding my highest recommendation.
In the “Short and Sweet” review, I
mentioned that I saw The Campaign
would be one of Zach Galifianakis’ last opportunities to prove that he could
play more than the bizarre simpleton; even though this type of character was
required in the narrative, it did little to renew my faith in the actor. Now, while Will Ferrell can more than hold
his own as a solitary character within The
Campaign, the fact is that Galifianakis largely overplayed his
characterization as a dimwit, one that would have alienated audiences had other
supporting characters not stepped up to save the day. When Marty Huggins is first introduced, he
comes off as far more annoying than humorous, and the only true laughs generated
are the ones that come from other characters’ reaction to him; that kind of
plot device is nothing new in Hollywood, but its use in this film downplays
Galifianakis’ importance to the overall cast…maybe John C. Reilly had a
scheduling conflict. Thankfully,
Galifianakis starts toning things down once he undergoes his political
makeover, but by the time that happens, other problems arise, the most
prevalent being the noticeably weak ending; for as many non-stop jokes as were
presented to viewers, the last twenty minutes are disappointingly mediocre,
trying and failing to imbue the film with a deeper emotional message. So, while it can’t be classified as a
flawless comedy, the fact remains that The
Campaign is insanely funny and infuses some much needed laughs into the
August box office.
From a box office perspective, The Campaign performed very well in its
opening weekend, as the R-rated comedy opened up against Universal’s The Bourne Legacy and was still able to
pull-in over $26 million, thereby exceeding studio projections. While the second place opening is a
noticeably weaker when weighed against similar comedies like The Other Guys and Talladega Nights, it does represent the highest debut for a film
centered on a political campaign. As for
the film’s long-term performance, The
Campaign stands as the only true comedy for the remainder of the Summer
Movie Season, thereby offering a reprieve for moviegoers who might need an
adrenaline break from Total Recall, The Bourne Legacy, or upcoming release The Expendables 2. Granted, there is a long way to go before the
film covers its $56 million budget, but I think that positive word of mouth
will help draw-in viewers who may have been on the fence concerning this satire
comedy. Plain-and-simple, whether you
are a fan of the top-billed actors or just someone who sees the inherent humor
of the political process, then I guarantee that you will enjoy The Campaign.
Overall Recommendation: High
