The Campaign

The Campaign

The Campaign is misguided, yet sometimes funny, and that's what is frustrating about the movie. At some point, it turns into Welcome to Mooseport II. While the trailer pretends it is going to be one thing, it turns out to be something different...darker.

The story is about a Democrat Congressman (Will Ferrell) that runs in the an uncontested campaign each election. After a rather amusing mistake involving some Christian folks, he is immersed in a scandal. A special interest group decides this is the prefect time to bring in their own candidate, the strange Zach.

The first 20-30 minutes of this comedy are father funny and amusing. The energy is fast and the humor very rated-R. Watching each campaign change over time is brilliant. The first debate is funny. And, the soul-talking Asian maid is funny too. The movie then shifts to something a bit darker and the movie runs off the rails a bit. It was as if they ran out of jokes.

The movie gets very dark and serious at certain point, and this probably has to do with Shawn Harwell from Eastbound & Down writing the script. At one point, Will Ferrell decides to sleep with Zach's character's wife. Spoiler alert: Will actually bangs Zach's wife and records its. He then takes footage and makes into a campaign ad. It gets very dark with Will's character firing people and demanding the ad be made. Why did they take it to this extreme?

Let put this out there. Will intends on sleeping with Zach's wife for revenge. He drives over to her house, seduces her and has sex with her. Keep in mind she is married and has two children by Zach. I am all for crude humor. However, once you go down this path, it is very hard to redeem these characters even in a comedy. I can't side with Will's character when he turns from heel to face.

-Will Ferrell is funny as the main Congressman: However, he starts to turn into his Anchorman role toward the end of the first act.

-Zach Galifianakis: He looks a little bore toward the second act.

-The In-Sourcing subplot is rather funny. I wish the movie had dealt with this more.

As I wrote before, the movie turns into a Welcome to Mooseport remake with some corny story bits and character moments. The movie tries real hard to be a message movie, and I actually like what the movie has to say about special interest groups. However, the blandness of the middle act leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, and it never redeems itself after that. It is not as funny as the trailers led you to believe. There are some funny moments, but not as much I would have liked.

Grade: C-