A&E

Film review: ‘The Campaign’

Image
The Campaign opens to theaters Friday.

The Details

The Campaign
Directed by Jay Roach
Rated R
Beyond the Weekly
Official Movie Site
IMDb: The Campaign
Rotten Tomatoes: The Campaign
Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis

Although it features a thinly veiled analogue for the Koch brothers and offers some pointed barbs about corporate influence in politics, The Campaign isn’t much of a political satire. Director Jay Roach has worked on both dumb comedies (the Austin Powers movies, Meet the Parents/Fockers) and political docudramas (Recount, Game Change), and here he sticks mostly to the former, pitting Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis against each other as a pair of dim-witted politicians vying for the same seat in a small North Carolina congressional district. The movie’s takedowns of political mudslinging are pretty broad and toothless, but Ferrell (doing a variation on his Saturday Night Live George W. Bush impersonation) and Galifianakis (as a fey eccentric) riff off of each other well and do a great job of heightening the comic absurdity. The jokes are nearly as inconsistent as the social commentary, but when they land, The Campaign is way more entertaining than actual politics.

Share

Previous Discussion:

  • Canaday Henry is a regular at miniature trade shows, including the International Market of Miniature Artisans (imomalv.com) this weekend at Palace Station.

  • Curated by art advisor Ralph DeLuca, the exhibition introduces us to a gallery of living artists who are breaking the mold through their diverse use ...

  • The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians funded the restoration of this 2001 Palms neon sign.

  • Get More Fine Art Stories
Top of Story