The Campaign (film)

The Campaign is a 2012 American political satire comedy film directed by Jay Roach, written by Shawn Harwell and Chris Henchy and stars Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as two North Carolinians vying for a seat in Congress. The film was released on August 10, 2012, by Warner Bros Pictures, to mixed reviews from critics.

Plot
Democratic Congressman Cam Brady, who has run unopposed for the 14th District in North Carolina is exposed when he has an affair with a supporter that is heard on a phone call, damaging his upcoming campaign for a fifth term. With eight weeks to go before the election, Glenn and Wade Motch, two corrupt businessmen persuade tour guide Marty Huggins to run as Cam's opposition as a Republican nominee. The Motch Brothers ultimately intend to use Marty to forward a profitable scheme with a Chinese company.

Campaign Manager Tim Wattley (also in the pay of the Motch Brothers) transforms Marty into a successful entrepreneur and family man, which pays off during his first debate with Cam and takes the viewers by storm with his resolve to bring back jobs to North Carolina. At a town hall debate, a fight breaks out between Brady and Huggins supporters after Huggins uses Rainbowland, a story written by Cam as a child, to accuse him of being a Communist; Cam and Marty also end up fighting, being unable to hear each other over the commotion but believing that they were insulting. Cam further damages his campaign when he accidentally punches a dog and a baby, on both occasions having intended to hit Marty. In response, Cam runs a campaign portraying Marty as an Al Qaeda terrorist (based on Marty's facial hair). However, Cam's popularity recovers after a mishap at a snake handling ceremony results in him being hospitalized. Cam later realizes his son intends to use Cam's campaign methods against his opponent for Class President, and realizes he is setting a bad example. Cam travels to Marty's home to make peace, but ends up getting drunk and is arrested for drunk driving when Marty, encouraged by Tim, reports him. Marty then airs another television advertisement, with Cam's son addressing him as "dad". Furious, Cam seduces Marty's wife Mitzi and records them having sex before releasing it as a campaign ad. This forces his Campaign Manager Mitch Wilson to resign on principle, and prompts his wife to leave him and take their children with her, leaving Cam despondent about the coming election. Marty leaves Mitzi as a result of the ad, but gets revenge on Cam by shooting him during a hunting trip, causing his popularity to further increase.

Marty meets with the Motch brothers soon afterwards, but learns of their "insourcing" plans with China; they intend to turn the 14th district into a factory complex and import Chinese workers in order to reduce shipping costs. Marty, realizing he has been used, rejects their support. The Motch brothers in turn defect to Cam's side, revitalizing his campaign and paying his wife to appear alongside him at campaign events to give the impression of reconciliation. Meanwhile, Marty reconciles with his wife and family, and desperately appeals to the voters by revealing the Motch Brothers' plans and promising to be completely honest (to that end, revealing several embarrassing secrets about himself). On election day, however, Cam wins due to the voting machines being rigged by the brothers. Cam gloats about his victory to Marty, who recalls to Cam that he was the Class President at their school, and had removed a dangerous slide that had scarred the both of them. Marty tells Cam that this greatly inspired him. Realizing the error of who he has become, Cam denounces his win and his record as a Congressman, and withdraws, with Marty winning by default. Marty and Cam become friends, with Cam being appointed Marty's chief of staff.

Six months later, the Motch brothers are called to appear before Congress after being exposed by Marty and Cam. The brothers point out that everything they have done is legal under Citizens United v. FEC but are arrested due to their association with Wattley, who is in fact an international fugitive.

Cast
WWE wrestler The Miz makes a cameo appearance as himself.

Production
Principal photography for the film, originally titled Dog Fight, began November 14, 2011, and continued through February 2012 in New Orleans, Hammond, and on the West Bank.

The film opens with a quote from Texas businessman Ross Perot, stating he was a 1988 presidential candidate. Perot didn't run for president until 1992 and 1996.

Music
The film's score was composed by Theodore Shapiro.

The Green Day song "99 Revolutions", from the album ¡Tré!, plays over the end credits.

Musical interludes and "Takin' Care of Business" performed by a group of musicians consisting of members from the Pride of The Plains Marching Band (Pittsburg State University) and local residents of Pittsburg, Kansas under the direction of Dr. Doug Whitten.

Themes
The film lampoons modern American elections and the influence of corporate money. It directly satirizes the Koch brothers with another pair of ultra-wealthy siblings: the Motch brothers. The film also alluded to the New Labour, New Danger campaign of the Conservative Party during the 1997 United Kingdom general election.

Release
The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 10, 2012. The Blu-ray and DVD release was on October 30, 2012.

Box office
Despite performing better than expected on its opening day by grossing $10.3 million, and grossing $26.6 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind The Bourne Legacy ($38.1 million), The Campaign was a financial disappointment, grossing $86.9 million in the U.S. and Canada and $18 million in other territories, for a total gross of $104.9 million against a $95 million budget.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 66% based on 204 reviews, with an average rating of 5.94/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Its crude brand of political satire isn't quite as smart or sharp as one might hope in an election year, but The Campaign manages to generate a sufficient number of laughs thanks to its well-matched leads." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film an A− and described it as "one of the best comedies of the year" where "the material is offensively funny, but the laughs are very consistent".