The Campaign

There’s no way Will Ferrell was behind Mitt Romney’s epic gaffe last week – but the timing of this political comedy couldn’t be better. Ferrell is Cam Brady, a politician whose mane of commanding, election-winning hair is suspiciously Romney-like. And, like Romney, he’s busted saying something he shouldn’t on tape – here, it’s a filthy, X-rated sex message. That’s a goof-up too far for his shady billionaire backers, who pick a rival to challenge his re-election campaign. And they pick a doozy: oddball lovable loser Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis).

If you like your satire with Malcolm Tucker bite, you’ll find this toothless. The whole thing hangs around a mega-silly plot involving a plan to turn a South Carolina town into a giant Chinese sweatshop. But if you like your comedy with crass ‘The Hangover’-style gags, you’ll get a kick out of punchlines that literally involve, well… punching. And we’re safe in the hands of two supremely talented comedians. Ferrell, whenever he’s stuck for an answer on the stump, hollers with conviction: ‘America! Jesus! Freedom!’; while Galifianakis does vest-wearing weirdness like no actor on earth.