Let's be honest: our political system is an absolute disaster. We've got a system that's bought and paid for by a handful of old rich dudes, who simultaneously claim to be patriots while paying our elected official to wipe their asses with the Constitution. If they can give away our jobs to a foreign country and make a profit in the process, so much the better. Even worse, these same rich folks and corporate stooges have helped foster a culture of anti-intellectualism that is leading us on a rocket sled to Idiocracy. We've got politicians who whore themselves out for cash or easy sex all the while claiming to support "good family values". What does all this have to do with The Campaign? Well, everything actually, because sadly the only way to cope with how ridiculous our elections and public representatives are is to lampoon them savagely.
It also may be the only way to shake America out of its funk and start paying attention to politics, because nothing gets peoples' attention better than a hilarious joke steeped in truth. Just ask John Stewart or Steven Colbert. Fortunately, The Campaign has two masters of navigating political absurdity in director Jay Roach and star Will Ferrell. Roach, who tackled the system more seriously in HBO films, Recount and Game Change, gets a shot at a little levity while Ferrell gets to basically dust off his old George W. Bush routine.
Ferrell plays the incumbent North Carolina Congressman, Cam Brady, a sort of uber-Republican tool who panders shamelessly to anyone and anything that might throw a few bucks into his Super PAC. A hypocrite in just about every sense of the word, he'll sell anyone down the river at the drop of a dime, cheats on his shrew of a wife while parading them around for photo ops, and generally changes positions faster than Mitt Romney on crack. He's also something of an idiot, but at least he has good hair and remembers to "support the troops" at the end of every sentence. Cam's extramarital affairs open the door for the Motch Brothers(Dan Akroyd and John Lithgow) to run a primary challenger against him, and apparently the options were pretty slim.
Enter Zach Galifianakis as first-time candidate, Marty Huggins. Channeling the same effeminate demeanor he displayed in Due Date, Galifianakis plays Marty as a clueless but golden-hearted buffoon who wears ugly turtlenecks and walks his two pugs around town. Unlike Cam, Marty has a family that loves and supports him, and a town he genuinely cares for. All things that make Marty unprepared for the ugliness of big time national politics. Let the mud slinging begin.
"War has rules. Mud wrestling has rules. Politics has no rules." Ross Perot's prophetic 1988 quote lays the groundwork for what is a ridiculous, epically destructive negative campaign that transforms Marty from a lovable optimist into a conniving snake no better than Cam. Babies get punched, dogs get beat up, families destroyed, and yes...there are sex tapes. No kidding, a political sex tape. The sad thing is, none of this seems that far fetched when compared to reality. If you think Cam's excessive villainy and oiliness is too ridiculous to be believed, go watch a John Boehner press conference some day. If you think the stupid sexual miscues, public drunkenness, and faux piety couldn't possibly be based in truth, go look up the recent humiliating history of both political Parties.
While some of the most scathing bits are broad enough to not single out any one particular Party, it's clear that screenwriters Shawn Harwell and Chris Henchy are looking at this issue from a more liberal perspective. The Motch Brothers are clearly patterned after the greedy, real life evildoing Koch Brothers, and Cam certainly does resemble a certain flip-flopping Republican Presidential contender. The right wing sound byte culture gets steamrolled early and often, which will no doubt lead to this film being a favorite in households. The irony is that both Mary and Cam are presented as Republicans, which makes it a little odd when one starts to actually espouse liberal, altruistic values.
This isn't The Daily Show, so expecting a consistent string of insightful gags is asking for too much. Too often the excessive vulgarity seems crammed in to justify the R-rating, and for a film that clocks in at 85 minutes, there are a lot of little subplots that don't go anywhere. Jason Sudeikis plays Cam's campaign manager, who balks at seeing his friend take such a dirty route to victory. Brian Cox is Marty's father, an old Southern Republican operative who hates his son's perceived weakness. The families of both candidates play a pretty big part, and a point is made to show the impact running for office has on the family unit. Ferrell is steady doing a hyped up version of his Bush routine, while Galifianakis could use a few new tricks. Dylan McDermott is brilliant as the shady, shadowy figure hired to mold Marty from a wuss to a fearsome killer.
As our politics continue to devolve during the Presidential election season, The Campaign is a welcome breath of fresh air that uses humor to help set us back on the right course.
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