Director: Jay Roach
Cast: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, Katherine LaNasa, Sarah Baker, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, Brian Cox
Rating: R16
4 stars (out of 5)
So knowing that The Campaign (Hoyts and Rialto) stars Ferrell and the guy from The Hangover did not give me a good feeling.
Ferrell, as Congressman Cam Brady, is his normal buffoonish self.
As long as his hair looks good and he keeps saying "America", "Jesus" and "Freedom" in the right order he is a shoo-in for re-election.
Following in the footsteps of a former Democrat president, messy sandals start emerging.
Enter Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) a sweet guy who loves his community and wants nothing more than to do good for it. His father (Brian Cox) is a bigwig in the Republican Party, and Marty is shoulder-tapped to run against Cam in the upcoming election.
What follows is a scathing satire of the weirdness that is the American electoral cycle.
You would think that in a country where a large chunk of the population is determined to believe that President Barack Obama is a Kenyan-born Muslim, an election would be hard to send up, but this movie just keeps spinning off more and more ludicrous controversies, each funnier than the last.
You will be quoting this for weeks.
Best thing: The jokes in the trailer are nothing to the comedy madness that the movie unleashes.
Worst thing: I know that it is his trademark, but just once could Will Ferrell not expose his blubbery, pasty white, hairy bits?
See it with: Anyone considering a political career. If this does not make them see sense nothing will.
