"The Campaign" brings together two of this generation's most popular comedians in Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis and puts them head to head against each other in a movie about politics, obscenity, greed, and just about anything else you can think of that can be used for laughs.
The basic premise here is how North Carolina Congressman Cam Brady (Ferrell) is set up to lose an election he normally wins be default. Behind this scheme are the Motch brothers (Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow) who are looking to get their own guy in place to help them pull off a seriously underhanded business venture.
Enter the very strange, yet oddly likable Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) who is hand picked by the brothers to be their political stooge, yet somehow manages to beat the odds and make a legitimate candidacy out of what was supposed to be a sham.
That's all you really need to know about the story as there is very little emphasis on character development, intricate plot details, or any of that crazy stuff we look for in other types of movies. What you are looking for here is for Ferrell and Galifianakis to give us as many laughs as they can fit in to the one hour and twenty five minute running time. Yes, this is a fairly short movie which is perfect for dishing out a non stop barrage of jokes, gags, pranks, stunts, and other hilarious moments that will have you gasping for air from laughing so hard. Yeah, this is one of those comedies that you will watch over and over because its just that funny.
As far as Will Ferrell movies go, I would rank this one up there with "Talladega Nights", which is one of my favorites. The man is on his game here as he delivers hilarious moments time and time again yet manages to keep from going over the top like we all know he can do. Zach Galifianakis provides a typically off the wall performance that is constantly in danger of crossing the line and has you laughing at how stupid he is yet he brilliantly manages to keep it right there in that sweet spot and you can't help but find yourself rooting for him to win the day.
Before watching "The Campaign", I honestly wasn't expecting a whole lot and was more prepared for a steady stream of mediocrity with hopefully at least a few good laughs thrown in to keep it from being a total failure. What I ended up witnessing was a movie featuring two great comedians that easily won me over and should be more than good enough to win your vote as one of the best comedies of the year.
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