The Campaign
It’s Will Ferrell versus Zach Galifianakis in "The Campaign," a screwball-style comedy about elections in the US. Cam Brady (Ferrell) is a Democratic congressman expecting a victory by default in an unchallenged election when a corrupt corporation convinces lovable Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) to run on the GOP ticket in the hopes that once elected he’ll do their corporate bidding.
What results is a hi-jinks filled campaign season featuring illicit sex, trash-talking, and baby-punching. A family outing this film is not. One can almost picture the screenwriters’ glee as subtle allusions to John Edwards infamous run seem to be lurking around every corner. Even the decision to cast Cam as a Democrat seems largely intentional, although the film avoids any notion of partisanship in terms of describing the parties.
The resulting film isn’t as smart as it should be, but the completely invested performances of the leads with assistance from a hilarious group of co-stars make the film a win. While cliched, this is a movie with something to say, a welcome development from a Ferrell comedy.To his credit, Ferrell also plays it down a notch allowing Galifianakis to garner big laughs that in turn boost Ferrell’s overall performance. It’s a winning combo from what will hopefully be a returning comedy duo.
The DVD/Blu-ray combo-pack comes with a handful of special features, including alternate ad-libs from the casts in improvisational clips from the film, some deleted scenes, and a gag reel. But the real benefit of the home release is the extended cut, running a bit over ten minutes longer than the theatrical cut. While extended cuts often pack films to the point of being overly long, this film’s theatrical cut was so short, the additional ten minutes are a welcome addition.
The extended version is only featured on the Blu-ray disc. This release also includes an UltraViolet copy of the theatrical version.
"The Campaign"
BD/DVD
$29.95
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