The Campaign: Comedic Fact Or Fiction?

Politics has always provided endless fodder for comedians. The 2012 American election cycle offered a particularly bountiful cornucopia of comic characters, namely the motley assortment of oddballs who raced to become the Republican nominee. So it is little wonder that Hollywood came up with The Campaign, a fine entry into the already crowded field of 2012 political comedy.

Written by Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell, The Campaign follows a seemingly innocuous election for a representative of the 14th Dictrict of North Carolina. Democratic Congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) is running for his fifth term unopposed and thinks this election will be a cakewalk. Unfortunately, he faces a setback when he leaves an inappropriate message on the wrong person's answering machine, leading to the revelation that he is a philanderer with a less than squeaky-clean image. Brady is a typical swaggering politician and as he blusters and digs himself into a deeper hole, Republican strategists realize this might be their shot at winning back the 14th District.

Jon Lithgow and Dan Akroyd play the Motch brothers (the politically savvy among you will recognize this is a blatant dig at the Koch brothers), corrupt businessmen who want to put forward their own Republican candidate and win the 14th District in the crucial swing state of North Carolina. They choose Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), a thoroughly inexperienced and weird man, whose father happens to be a powerful associate of the Motch brothers. They also hire Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott), campaign manager extraordinaire, who is in charge of grooming Marty and ensuring that he looks, talks, and acts like a successful Republican candidate.

Cam initially underestimates Marty, but he soon recognizes the power of the Motch juggernaut and Tim Wattley's ability to turn anyone into a viable political candidate. Cam and Marty have some hilarious debates, eschewing any real talk about political issues for plain old-fashioned mud-slinging. Eventually, things really escalate, and a whole host of dirty tactics are employed by both campaigns in an effort to confuse the populace and win votes by any means necessary. The Motch brothers pour in money to help their candidate win, and when it looks like Marty might actually have some scruples, they switch sides and decide to back the much more corruptible Cam.

Ultimately, The Campaign is a hilarious behind-the-scenes look at election shenanigans, ludicrous attempts to orchestrate campaigns for thoroughly idiotic political candidates, and the use of unlimited money to trick voters and win elections. It's a sobering thought to realize that as over-the-top as this movie might seem, it's really not that far from the truth. Perhaps American political candidates haven't descended to the level of punching babies yet, but all that other stuff has a ring of truth. So be warned when you watch The Campaign. It is hysterical and entertaining, but after you're done laughing, you will sadly realize that the real world of American politics doesn't have quite so optimistic an outlook as its movie counterpart.