The Campaign

My Grade:  B+

Will Ferrell is hilarious.  Zack Galifianakis is hilarious.  It’s about time someone put the two of them together and The Campaign is perfect because it really highlights their different brands of humor.  Ferrell is known for being outrageous and pretty racy at times while Galifianakis specializes in awkward humor... and he just looks funny.  These brands of humor translate directly to their characters’ campaign tactics as well.  Cam Brady (Ferrell) is brash, vulgar, and plays dirty.  Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) plays it safe and tries to obey the rules.  So they kind of play themselves in this film... but it’s still pretty funny.

The script teams up The Other Guys writer, Chris Henchy, and and one of HBO’s “Eastbound and Down” writers, Shawn Harwell.  These guys have worked with Ferrell a lot which is good because writing for Will Ferrell seems to be a sort of organic thing.  By that I mean that Ferrell likes to adlib and add his own flare.  I say that to point out that a lot of the dialogue may or may not have been written by the writers.  So we can only really look to the writers as we critique the story.  And the story is a good enough vehicle for Ferrell and Galifianakis to revel in their distinct types of humor.  It is rather predictable and VERY over-the-top at times, but it is a comedy so it’s allowed to lack in story a little as long as it keeps the laughs coming.

Some of the supporting characters are what really make this film better than your average raunchy comedy.  The Motch Brothers (John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd) are a bit cliche as billionaire, heartless brothers, but very funny.  These two actors have been making us laugh for years.  Of course Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses) is funny as Mitch, Brady’s long-time campaign manager.  His obnoxiously strong southern accent even stays pretty solid throughout the film.  He was born in Viginia, though, so maybe he just hides it in other roles.

My favorite character, though, is quite a surprise.  Dylan McDermott of FX’s “American Horror Story” is absolutely hysterical as mysterious campaign manager Tim Wattley (which is also the name of a recurring character in the classic TV series “Seinfeld”).  I say this is a surprise not because he isn’t a strong actor, but his first big role was on the drama series “The Practice” and the role I know him best for is Ben Harmon in the disturbingly dark and twisted FX series “American Horror Story.”  So, to see him take a turn as a funny man really proves his range as an actor.  Part of what makes his role so funny, though, is that he plays it straight... it’s like he isn’t trying to be funny but I laughed out loud many a time at his character.

As a sidenote, I just realized how hard these last names are to spell... Galifianakis, Aykroyd, Sudeikis, McDermott.  Sorry, I digress.

Ultimately it should be no surprise that The Campaign is funny because of the great cast, the writers that constantly write some of the funniest stuff in movies and on TV, and the director, Jay Roach, who also directed the Austin Powers films and Meet the Parents.  He knows funny, but this is only his second foray into R-rated features.  He did well, though.

My biggest problem with this film other than the mostly predictable plot is that it gets too raunchy at times.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good raunchy comedy, but Will Ferrell’s character is too much of a misogynist pig at times.  It is just isn’t believable that anyone could be that much of a tool... but then again, he is a politician.

Overall, the film is funny throughout even though it crosses some lines (even for Will Ferrell).  The writing is good enough to get Ferrell and Galifianakis into situations that allow them to make us laugh; but the supporting cast really makes this film shine.  Go see it, but not with your kids or your grandma.  The kids might get scarred for life and your grandma will probably be highly offended... if she understands the terminology.