The Campaign - Ruined by Vulgarity

Comedy frequently chooses to be "edgy" in the name of laughs. And while, I fully acknowledge that I'm more apt to be offended by off-color humor and profanity than others might, I also find it lazy.

When it comes to comedy, to me the mastery comes when it can connect with people by doing more than just making them uncomfortable or asking "Did he really just say that?"

Unfortunately, The Campaign screenplay (written by Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell), while writing on a topic with plenty of room for comedy, chooses sex, profanity, and body-part humor. Truly, in my eyes, it was a complete cop out.

Will Farrell as Cam Brady is believable, and there are moments you think it will perform in a role that rivals performances in favorites such as Talladega Nights. Similarly Zach Galifianakis and Sarah Baker (as Marty & Mitzi Huggins) have some nice on screen chemistry as well, particularly when there life is put into upheaval by the campaign manager Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott). But all that is wasted and lost. The jokes are cheap, below the belt, and unmemorable.

I wish the studios would have sent this script back to the drawing board for a non-R re-edit. If they wrote this to get the laughs without the common taboo subjects, they might have created something memorable and worth watching.