The Campaign wants to be a movie with something to say. It also wants to appeal to the fan bases of Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. As such, the movie feels like both of these ideas were crammed into one so-so story. Sure, there are moments in the story, but as a whole, The Campaign misses the mark. Like most politicians, The Campaign looks good on the surface, but leaves you feeling betrayed by the story’s promises.
Democrat Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) has lost track of his ambition. He has become a crony for the Motch Brothers (Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow), and uses his public persona to engage in several extra-marital affairs. Even his family is only with him because of his position of power. When a wayward message on an answering machine causes another scandal for Brady, the Motch brothers decide to create a new candidate to remove Brady and bring their sweatshop from China to the US to remove shipping costs. They select Republican Marty Huggins (Galifianakis), a simpleton who the brothers believe they can manipulate to execute their plan. With the aid of his SuperPAC appointed campaign manager Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott), Marty joins the race and begins a political war with Brady.
By using both parties, the movie does not attempt to demagogue one side. In fact, it does a good job showing how little difference there may be between the political candidates. The debates very cleverly showcase how little each candidate says, and how much they use talking points to try to attack the other candidate, instead of actually trying to fix any problems. The Campaign adds a fresh spin by generating a poll after every gaffe to see how each situation has reflected upon each candidate, sometimes with unexpected results. Unfortunately, the SuperPAC (PAC = political action committee) part of the race, which has not been properly explored in movies and would have given The Campaign some timely resonance, is left underdeveloped. The story would have carried more weight if it had pitted a war between the candidates and the money behind them.
If you have seen a trailer or any press for the Campaign, the best comedic elements have been spoiled for you (with the exception of the houskeeper of the Huggins family, who is forced to don an interesting accent for the patriarch). Director Jay Roach (whose recent project was the HBO movie Game Change about Sarah Palin) actually limits the screen time in which Galifianakis and Ferrell get to interact with each other; usually, they are directly addressing other people or together addressing an audience. As a result, the chemistry between Ferrell and Galifianakis is wasted. That being said, Roach lets the actors play to their strengths. Ferrell gets to be a cross between George W. Bush and Ron Burgundy, and Galifianakis plays an effeminate enigma filled with child-like innocence. Thus, even the scenes that misfire are at least somewhat enjoyable due to these two being in their comfort zones.
Will Ferrell is acting like he is on autopilot in this movie. As stated earlier in the review, Cam Brady is a take on characters he has played before, and he looks almost tired to be semi-type cast. The stripped down moments where he shows some vulnerability are surprisingly well done, and his chemistry with Galifianakis, when they get to interact with each other, sizzles. Galifianakis is the stronger character here, partly because his background is more fully fleshed out. His Marty is a bumpkin who runs to impress his father, but really wants what is best for his district in his heart. Marty Huggins is also allowed to grow more as a person than Cam Brady as he is the newcomer to the political game. Dylan McDermott gets some nice laughs playing it straight as the no-nonsense campaign manager. Jason Sudeikis, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, and Brian Cox have little to do and could have been replaced by cheaper actors.
Much like a normal election, I grew tired of the Campaign as it reached its conclusion. What could have been something fresh and meaningful played it too safe and left something on the table. Much like a politician, Ferrell and Galifianakis shouldn’t worry so much about appealing to their base and should worry about appealing to the independents and undecided watchers out there. That would lead to a nice bump in the movie’s polls.