Call it Meet the Candidates.
Considering he struck comedy gold with Meet the Parents/Meet the Fockers before successfully entering the cable political arena with Recount and Game Change, director Jay Roach would seem to have been the ideal guy to be steering The Campaign.
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But while leads Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis are amusingly on point as a pair of mud-slinging contenders for Congress, the platform is a wobbly political satire that flip-flops chaotically between clever and crass, never finding a sturdy comedic footing.
With its election-year timing and the scarcity of R-rated fare that at least looks it should be fun, the Warner Bros. release might encounter some initial traction, but, clocking in at a tellingly insubstantial 85 minutes, it likely will see sharply falling approval ratings.
Ferrells Cam Brady is a slick, incumbent Republican congressman whos fully expecting the upcoming election to be yet another cakewalk, given that hes running unopposed.
But when Brady dials a wrong number, leaving a crude message meant for his mistress, a pair of corrupt power brokers called the Motch brothers (John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd) see an opportunity in the widely exposed gaffe.
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Looking to get the necessary tax-exempt backing for their insourcing scheme -- importing cheap Chinese labor to work in their North Carolina factories -- they find a patsy in the form of naive tourism center director Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) to run against Brady on a family values manifesto.
Taken under the wing of Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott), a highly disciplined, black op of a campaign manager, Huggins is transformed from fey family black sheep to tough-talking, viable opponent, setting the stage for a no-holds-barred, mean-spirited race.
On paper, given the players and the potent milieu, The Campaign should have been a slam dunk.
Unfortunately, to borrow Huggins campaign slogan, Its a mess!
The script, by Chris Henchy (The Other Guys) and Shawn Harwell, from a story also contributed by longtime Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay, is lazily hit-and-miss, neither sufficiently sharp nor substantial to bring anything fresh or consistently entertaining to the political satire genre.
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While it probably would have made a terrific series of Funny or Die shorts, the film comes up notably short as a feature proposition with an abrupt ending that smacks of last-minute cutting.
And though Ferrell and Galifianakis make for lively opponents, its not like we havent seen them play these guys before.
Wills Cam has more than a bit of the smugness of his famed George W. Bush impersonation (with a smarmy John Edwards-type overlay), while Zachs Marty is a very slight variation on his twin brother Seth Galifianakis character he often has portrayed in short segments and onstage.
Providing reliable if under-utilized support are Sarah Baker as Huggins sweet, shoved-to-the-sidelines wife, Mitzi, and Jason Sudeikis as Bradys long-suffering campaign manager.
Opens: Friday, August 10 (Warner Bros.)
Production companies: Gary Sanchez/Everyman Pictures
Cast: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, Brian Cox, Sarah Baker
Director: Jay Roach
Screenwriters: Chris Henchy & Shawn Harwell
Executive producers: Amy Sayres, Jon Poll, Chris Henchy
Producers: Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Jay Roach, Zach Galifianakis
Director of photography: Jim Denault
Production designer: Michael Corenblith
Music: Theodore Shapiro
Costume designer: Daniel Orlandi
Editors: Craig Alpert, Jon Poll
Rated R, 85 minutes
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