| The Campaign | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jay Roach |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Jim Denault |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | Theodore Shapiro |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 85 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $95 million[2] |
| Box office | $104.9 million[3] |
The Campaign is a 2012 Americanpolitical satirecomedy film directed byJay Roach, written by Shawn Harwell andChris Henchy and starsWill Ferrell andZach Galifianakis as twoNorth Carolinians vying for a seat inCongress. The film was released on August 10, 2012, byWarner Bros Pictures, to mixed reviews from critics.
DemocraticCongressman Cam Brady, who has run unopposed for the 14th district ofNorth Carolina, is exposed when he has anaffair 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, corrupt businessmen Glenn and Wade Motch persuade tour guide Marty Huggins to run as Cam's opposition as aRepublican nominee. The Motch brothers ultimately intend to use Marty to forward a profitable scheme with aChinese company.
Campaign manager Tim Wattley (also in the pay of the Motch brothers) transforms Marty's image into that of a successfulentrepreneur and family man, which pays off during his first debate with Cam as he 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 usesRainbowland, 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 anAl Qaeda terrorist (based on Marty's facial hair). However, Cam's popularity recovers after a mishap at asnake handling ceremony, which results in his hospitalization. Cam later realizes his son intends to use his campaign methods against his opponent forclass 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 fordrunk 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 increase further.
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 beingrigged 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'schief 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 underCitizens United v. FEC but are arrested due to their association with Wattley, who is in fact an internationalfugitive.
WWE wrestlerThe Miz makes a cameo appearance as himself.
Principal photography for the film, originally titledDog Fight, began November 14, 2011, and continued through February 2012 inNew Orleans,Hammond, and on theWest Bank.[4]
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.
The film's score was composed byTheodore Shapiro.[5]
TheGreen 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 ofPittsburg, Kansas under the direction of Dr. Doug Whitten.
The film lampoons modernAmerican elections and theinfluence of corporate money.[6] It directlysatirizes theKoch brothers with another pair ofultra-wealthy siblings: the Motch brothers.[7] The film also alluded to theNew Labour, New Danger campaign of theConservative Party during the1997 United Kingdom general election.[8] Ferrell's Cam Brady character has been widely characterized as a parody of former North Carolina Democratic Senator and2004vice-presidential nomineeJohn Edwards.[9][10][11]
The film was released byWarner Bros. Pictures on August 10, 2012.[12] The Blu-ray and DVD release was on October 30, 2012.[13]
Despite performing better than expected on its opening day by grossing $10.3 million,[14] and grossing $26.6 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behindThe Bourne Legacy ($38.1 million),[15]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.[3]
OnRotten 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, butThe Campaign manages to generate a sufficient number of laughs thanks to its well-matched leads."[16]Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.[18]
Richard Roeper of theChicago 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".[19]
opened No. 2 on Friday, grossing a better-than-expected $10.3 million.
The movie was awarded a disappointing "B-" CinemaScore, which isn't particularly encouraging
