The Campaign

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The Campaign

R,

2012,

1h 25m,

Comedy

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Watchlist

Watchlist

67%

200 Reviews

Tomatometer

51%

100,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

200 Reviews

51%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

When incumbent Congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major gaffe, two wealthy CEOs decide to try to gain influence in their district by putting up a rival candidate. Their unlikely choice is a naive tourism director named Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis). Aided by his family's political connections and a cutthroat campaign manager, Marty soon becomes locked in a dead heat with Cam. As Election Day approaches, each man slings mud galore in a last-ditch effort to bury the other.

Critics Consensus

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.

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Kate Muir

The Times (UK)

Sep 28, 2012

3/5

Perhaps one in ten of the jokes hits the mark; the rest are damp, childish squibs

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Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

Sep 28, 2012

2/5

There are some laughs, it doesn't overstay its welcome and neither side in the present fight for the presidency is likely to be offended.

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Donald Clarke

Irish Times

Sep 28, 2012

3/5

The increasingly absurd squabbling between Ferrell and Galifianakis provides more than enough hearty laughs to be getting on with.

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Aug 10, 2022

4/5

The Campaign is a satire that is pointing what's wrong with American politics and in this regard, it hits it right on the money.

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David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Feb 12, 2021

Overwhelmed by events, intimidated by the ultra-right, intellectually lazy, distant from the population and its problems and feelings, the liberals find it almost impossible to summon up anything meaningful to say.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Dec 1, 2020

6/10

Underneath the layer of laughs is a rather forgettable story.

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Ron W

Feb 24, 2019

Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis bring the humor of American politics to the forefront in The Campaign. The movie itself has quite a few hilarious moments, but those a sadly overshadowed in the extreme over-the-top moments. I feel as though when movies like this are made they start throwing every possible "funny scenario" out there and sometimes they come up with a concept that seems hilarious when discussing it, but in the execution, it almost loses its vigor. There were a few moments in the film I could have done without, but I can't say those moments make the entire movie trash. I would watch it again if it was on TV, but wouldn't pick it out on a boring day, both of these actors have much stronger films.

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Harry L

Jan 21, 2019

Some good laughs. Pleasant.

Anakin W

Nov 6, 2018

This film was terrible.

Luke S

Mar 31, 2018

I like this movie a lot but it is kinda stupid. It is super funny and almost killed me (because it was so funny)

Han R

Mar 11, 2018

This very, very silly comedy is another that I would classify as a good hangover movie. Not one of Ferrell's best but his energetic buffoonery is pretty entertaining and keeps this mostly harmless comedy fun.

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Han M

Jan 25, 2018

Undoubtedly a bit of a mess, The Campaign still manages to mostly succeed on the strength of Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Dylan McDermott, and Jason Sudeikis' performances, as well as the fact that it really has something to say. I didn't understand it back then, but the Big Money(TM) baddies of this film are called the "Motch Brothers" - an obvious, Citizen Kane-esque reference to the notorious campaign-fixing Koch Brothers who still operate today. There's a little bit of a watering down of the message here when you realize that the Democratic party congressman is the more easily bought out; obviously, in real life, the Republican ticket is much more likely to be influenced by large corporate PACs, so that was kind of a strange touch.

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Jay Roach

Director

Will Ferrell

Cam Brady

Zach Galifianakis

Marty Huggins

Jason Sudeikis

Mitch

Dylan McDermott

Tim Wattley

Katherine LaNasa

Rose Brady

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71%

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Synopsis

When incumbent Congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major gaffe, two wealthy CEOs decide to try to gain influence in their district by putting up a rival candidate. Their unlikely choice is a naive tourism director named Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis). Aided by his family's political connections and a cutthroat campaign manager, Marty soon becomes locked in a dead heat with Cam. As Election Day approaches, each man slings mud galore in a last-ditch effort to bury the other.

Director: Jay Roach
Producer: Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Jay Roach, Zach Galifianakis
Screenwriter: Chris Henchy, Shawn Harwell
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros., Gary Sanchez Productions, Everyman Pictures
Rating: R (Crude Sexual Content|Brief Nudity|Language)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 10, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $86.9M
Runtime: 1h 25m
Sound Mix: Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital

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