When it comes to popular
perception, not many people actually maintain a middle-of-the-road opinion of
Will Ferrell, in that, you either love him or hate him; but while the comedic
actor has had enough cinematic misfires to explain the revulsion of his
naysayers, few can deny that, when Ferrell hits the mark, the man is
hysterical. When I first caught wind of The Campaign, I had to respect the
relevance and timeliness of the subject matter; in theory, the political satire
promised by the narrative can work at any time, but in an election year, the
fact is that the jokes presented are going to hit that much harder. Absolutely EVERYONE has some opinion and
level of mistrust when it comes to politics, so who wouldn’t want to see a
comedy veteran like Ferrell team with a rising star like Galifianakis and take
every cheap shot imaginable? Now for me,
because he has played virtually identical characters in both The Hangover franchise and Due Date, my opinion of Galifianakis has
soured over time, so his inclusion didn’t act as a selling-point, but rather
indicated a final chance to prove that he was more than a one-hit wonder. The trailers indicated that The Campaign would offer more than its
share of laughs, so I was curious to see if Ferrell’s newest film would be
labeled as one of his trademarked “hits,” or one of his notorious “misses.”
Offering an insane number of
laughs, The Campaign far exceeded my
expectations and helped reaffirm my faith in Will Ferrell, but depended a
little too heavily on supporting characters and ultimately failed to maintain a
consistent level of momentum. As the buffoonish
and utterly immoral Democratic Congressman Cam Brady, Will Ferrell is nothing
short of a comedic genius, taking ruthless shots at the political process and
cementing this character’s place alongside other names like Ron Burgundy and
Ricky Bobby. Unfortunately, the same
cannot be said for Galifianakis, who quickly overplays his character’s bizarre
personality and is only saved by the humor of supporting characters; the only
real laughs come when others like Jason Sudeikis or Dylan McDermott are
reacting to the simpleton. And, for as
many consistent laughs as are present throughout the running time, it is
downright bizarre that the final twenty minutes of the story almost completely flat-line,
opting for a cheesy moral that directly counters the tone of the rest of the
film. So, even though I would have loved
to have seen The Campaign finish on a
high note, I can still acknowledge that the final project remains a strong and
enjoyable comedy.
Overall Recommendation: High
