The Campaign

A spot-on parody of the absurdity in U.S. politics
Although this movie is far from the apex of Will Ferrell's funniest films, it's still quite enjoyable, and it made me laugh out loud on several occasions. But be warned- this movie is extremely over the top when it comes to lewd humor. Do NOT let your young children watch this movie, or you WILL be embarrassed! For those adults who can handle such humor, strap yourselves in for a foul-mouthed ride that will take you through the very slummiest aspects of the campaigning process.

Although the story is, of course, done in parody, and everything (including the raucous dialogue) is embellished and exaggerated upon, what remains true is that the CORE of the election process remains unchanged. The mud slinging, the character assassination, and the win-at-any cost attitude are all put to examination, exposing the absurdities of each of these time honored American "traditions". In the spirit of "The Daily Show", this movie brings very important issues to light by putting them under...

AMERICA, JESUS, FREEDOM
Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) is a congressman who runs unopposed. After he leaves a graphic obscene phone call at a wrong number, he becomes vulnerable. The rich Motch brothers (Koch brothers) decide they can buy this election and own a congressman in the effeminate Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis). The story centers around their over the top, no holds bar campaign against each other.

The film news extras include mostly the MSNBC crowd. The humor is crude and sexual such as when Marty's wife (Sarah Baker) admits "I touch myself to Drew Carey on "The Price is Right." Okay so who doesn't.

It is a satire of the American electorate who relish slogans and sound bites over substance. It makes a statement on how our nation can be bought, but not as good as Steven Colbert. At times the film becomes too over the top and loses sight of the satire.

Parental Guide: F-bombs, sex, brief nudity (Amelia Jackson-Gray)

Disappointly Not Funny
Since seeing the commercial clips of this movie I've wanted to see it and I finally got a chance. I had such high hopes for this movie because I love comedies. Maybe my expectations were too high, but whatever, this movie was not funny. I chuckled maybe once through the entire thing. I also don't know why I assumed from the commercial ads that this was a family-like comedy. It was extremely vulgar and explicit, but I wouldn't have minded that if it had been funny! The funniest part was when the baby was punched and that was one of the things from the commercial they used to hook people into watching this.

It's sad that with Will Ferrell's comedic genius, and the chance to make fun of the political system, that the filmmakers couldn't do better than this. What a huge waste. This movie is not humorous, just based on lame silliness and a bunch of dumb characterization. Even Saturday Night Life is funnier than this and it hasn't been funny since 1993.

I don't blame...

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