Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis and U.S. politics… one thing’s for certain, The Campaign couldn’t have come at a better time with all the political sentiment surrounding the next U.S. Presidential Elections and the Obama vs. Romney showdown.

Politics is a funny game and The Campaign highlights all the underhanded shenanigans and political etiquette, from big business campaign funding to defamation of character witch hunts. Cam Brady (Will Ferrell), a long-running North Carolina congressman just has to show up to be re-elected, until two CEOs hatch a plan to oust Brady with their own candidate… an eccentric man by the name of Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis).

Who better to lead the charge in a political spoof than Will Ferrell? He showed us just how ridiculous he can be in Anchorman and made us laugh with his George W. Bush impressions on Saturday Night Live. He’s supported by an in-form Zach Galifianakis, who plays an unorthodox yet worthy adversary to Cam Brady and manages to steal a good many scenes with his oddball character, Marty Huggins.

“Feel that? That’s a real man’s handshake.”

The Campaign is unabashedly funny, mainly because Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis create some great friction and portray their all-or-nothing characters with such conviction. The story is simple, playing a game of cat-and-mouse in the build-up to a make-or-break election. Brady is trying to hold onto his questionable lifestyle, while Huggins is getting a political makeover.

It’s an all-out smear campaign and so is the movie under director, Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents), taking crude comedy to the next level with coarse language, unethical tactics and baby-punching. While this puerile brand of comedy has its moments and helps to alienate some of the less charming characters, it’s mostly just potty mouth for the sake of potty mouth. If you can bear with the language, there’s some pretty funny political satire at play.

The candidates are fascinating in their own way, but there’s not much beyond having a laugh at these political pawns. Ferrell and Galafianakis carry the film with their experience and timing, giving average jokes a bit of spit and polish. It’s not pretty – but if you’re after a bit of over-the-top political satire that pokes fun at U.S. politics without really biting down, then you’ve got a match in The Campaign.

The bottom line: Silly

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