(You know what, guys? I think I'll sit this election out...)
CAST: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifanakis, Dylan McDermott, Jason Sudeikis, Katherine LaNasa, Sarah Baker, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, Brian Cox, Karen Maruyama.
DIRECTOR: Adam McKay
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and a couple of political candidates who make Beavis and Butthead look like viable candidates for Congress - straight ahead....
IT'S LIKE THIS: If you ever want to see humanity at its most petty, small, and ungracious, all you have to do is wait for an election to come along - then brace yourself for the Mudslinging Marathon that is also known as... the political media campaign. Ostensibly meant to open the eyes of the ballot-casting public to the virtues of each candidate, more often that not it ends up turning into a colossal dick-measuring contest - even when the candidates are chicks. Apparently, the path to Public Office is littered with immature "playground war games" that would make your average kindergartener shake his/her head in disgust and disappointment. It's getting to the point where I am expecting to turn on the TV during a campaign season to see a message that goes: "Joe Handjobber tips his waiters only 10% of the meal cost when he and his family go out to eat - and his wife reportedly NEVER douches! It's reprehensible! Don't vote for Joe Handjobber this election. Vote for me - I always tip my waiters at least 20% and have ALWAYS douched. I am Susan Swallows, and I approve this message. Follow me on Twitter!"
The problem of ugly political campaigns is blown up to mega-insane proportions in our next review, the Will Ferrell-Zach Galifanakis comedy THE CAMPAIGN. Ferrell plays Cam Brady, Democrat congressman and running incumbent and inveterate poonhound who has pretty much had free reign of the North Carolina district he lives in by the simple fact no one has run against him in the last seven elections. Even I could win that shit, and that's saying something. Then there's Galifanakis, who plays bizarro geek Marty Huggins, a Mr. Rogers-type (only fatter) who runs a tourism business that sees even less business than a fast food joint with a rat infestation. Things take a turn for the interesting when the Motch brothers (John Lithgow, Dan Akyroyd), two mega-powerful CEOs, decide to back Marty in the upcoming election against Cam - so they can have a puppet in office to represent their needs. Marty, being about as sharp as soggy spaghetti, cheerfully accepts - and just like that, the most fucked-up election race in the history of the Earth has commenced. Yes, even more fucked-up than the one with Ross Perot in it.
Being a newbie at this thing, Marty needs all the help (and that's putting it rather mildly) he can get. So the Motch brothers dispatch Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott), a political image consultant who is so intense and mean and hot and bossy that I instantly creamed my pants as soon as he appeared onscreen. It didn't help that Tim looks eerily like Dylan McDermott, who is half-Italian/half-Irish... he can push me around any day. Who's my dirty boy? Anyhow, Tim takes no prisoners and doesn't fuck around when it comes to prepping a candidate for the rollercoaster ride of an election - and Marty is no exception. Before you know it, Tim has basically replaced the following things in Marty's life: (1) his hairstyle, (2) his wardrobe, (3) his furniture, (4) his pets, and his (5) family. Actually, I'm just kidding about that last one. But you just know Tim was seriously thinking about replacing Marty's wife and kids (Susan Baker, Grant Goodman, Kya Haywood) with a less rotund clan. Unfortunately, Marty had to put his foot down somewhere.
Soon, Cam and Marty are engaging in the expected muck-racking, which includes: (1) humiliating each other in public, (2) taking potshots at each other in public, and (3) and forcing the other to touch his nuts in public. No, folks, I am not kidding about that last one. Honestly, if this scene didn't involve characters who look like Will Ferrell and Zach Galifanakis, and instead ones who look more like Russell Crowe and Sam Worthington, I think I would've creamed my jeans again. And then, as if that isn't bad enough, both Cam and Marty decide to step up the slander/smear campaign against each other, which results in: (1) Cam getting shot in the leg by Marty with an arrow, (2) Cam getting set up by Marty on a drunk driving bust; and (3) Cam getting even by fucking Marty's wife, filming the whole thing, and turning it into a political ad on TV. As in "I am Cam Brady, and I approve this cooter video."
How will this election end? Who will win THE CAMPAIGN? Will Cam and Marty realize just how petty and small they are being and grow up already? Or will they continue to behave like those two idiots in THIS MEANS WAR? Will Tim intervene? Or will he somehow fan the flames? How can the voting public take either of these clowns seriously? Are they better off having a couple of trained monkeys run the district?
Yes. Yes, they are.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: There's that old saying that comedy is about timing and delivery. While that is certainly true, comedy is also about several other things - and one of them is chemistry. Shrewd timing and razor-sharp delivery can be hindered by lack of a potent chemistry between comedic leads. Absence of a strong comic connection between two stars in a comedy can damage an otherwise potentially funny film. Witness what happened in THE WATCH between Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade. While they had a certain energy together, it wasn't quite enough to surmount the script's problems. Of course, to be fair and truthful, the screenplay was the real weak point of THE WATCH.
Forunately, THE CAMPAIGN strikes gold with the pairing of Will Ferrell and Zach Galifanakis. While the script is much better than that of THE WATCH, and is a consistently funny and raunchy affair, it is not necessarily anything special since we've had political send-ups and satires before. What elevates it is the comedic spark between its two leads - who play off each other very well.
Ferrell has always been hit or miss with me. I didn't find him that funny in KICKING AND SCREAMING, an otherwise solid soccer movie, and he was ineffective in BEWITCHED. The problem in those films is he was playing characters that were bland and simply uninteresting. In THE CAMPAIGN, however, Cam Brady is a far more irreverent and devil-may-care character - and Ferrell milks maximum humor from his politically-incorrect-bordering-on-utter-ignorance attitude. Ferrell brings the right amount of swagger and sincerity to the role, which not only makes us like Cam, but also sympathize with him. Obviously, the mean and outlandish shenanigans in this film are not to be taken too seriously, but we still need leads whom we like and root for. Witness what happened to the somewhat similar THIS MEANS WAR - its leads were nothing more than a couple of posturing, hating, back-stabbing, insecure jerks. The result was a lousy film with lousy characters that left you cold. Ferrell sidesteps this problem by finding and showing us the decency in Cam Brady - and that makes a world of difference.
Then there's Zach Galifanakis, who has always been an interesting comedic presence in all of his films - especially THE HANGOVER and THE HANGOVER 2. While Marty Huggins is cut from the same hilarious "bizarro" cloth as Alan from those films, Galifanakis manages to also show us other layers to the character. Such as his moral courage and noble integrity under that weird milquetoast exterior. Marty (and Galifanakis) are especially strong in a scene where he stands his ground against the Motch brothers and refuses to give in to their ugly cynicism. Then there's his eventual reconciliation scene with Cam that works primarily because of Ferrell and Galifanakis' solid chemistry. Ultimately, as with Ferrell, Galifanakis is not only given strong material to work with, but he also clicks with his co-star. The result: a comedy that is as funny as its two leads.
Of course, another saying is that comedy is a group effort. If that's the case, then the supporting cast of THE CAMPAIGN deserves just as much kudos as its stars. John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd are vivid as the dastardly Motch brothers, while Katherine LaNasa and Sarah Baker get to make their own marks on the movie as Cam and Marty's very different (but not really) wives. Jason Sudeikis is also a wry, wonderfully droll presence as Cam's campaign manager. The true standout of the support, though, is Dylan McDermott who plays the super-smart, super-sharp, super-sexy, and super-funny Tim Wattley, the image consultant who basically gives Marty his "makeover" - and takes over every aspect of his life to win the election. McDermott turns Tim into sort of a young Hannibal Lecter in a sleek black suit - always standing on the sidelines but always three steps ahead of everyone. McDermott should do more comedies. Like Chris Evans (himself part-Italian and part-Irish) McDermott effortlessly blends swagger, smolder, and humor. The guy is a born comedian.
Ultimately, THE CAMPAIGN isn't quite on the same level as 21 JUMP STREET, TED, and THE DICTATOR - other comedies from this year that have achieved classic status. Because THE CAMPAIGN follows a more predictable route than those movies, it's not quite as "daring" despite its raunchy, intelligently irreverent humor. However, because of some solid material and true chemistry between Will Ferrell and Zach Galifanakis, it is light years ahead of THE WATCH. In short, a good comedy.
