The Campaign
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: August 10, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
18
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
EmpireSimon BraundSep 24, 2012
The Campaign gets by on its stars' comic compatibility and a relentless stream of jokes, many of which are laugh-out-loud funny. The only real downer is the ending, which feels tacked on like a hanging chad. Read full review
60
Total FilmKen McIntyreSep 1, 2012
Although only slightly more outrageous than reality, The Campaign is a funny, pacy peek behind the political curtain. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottAug 10, 2012
No, it's not a perfect movie, given how dangerously close it comes to running out of quality third-act punchlines before you're liable to have run out of Sno-caps and Raisinettes. Also, some of the biggest names in the supporting cast -- John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd, specifically -- are all but wasted. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranAug 9, 2012
Rude, rowdy and raunchy, The Campaign gleefully skewers the current sad state of American politics. With a target that tempting, it's not surprising that this cynical and funny film hits more often than it misses. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierAug 9, 2012
Like the politicians it skewers, it knows the real winner is the stupidity, stupid. Read full review
60
MovielineAlison WillmoreAug 8, 2012
Ferrell and Galifianakis both do what they've proven they can do so well in the past, while McDermott, clad in all black, is surprisingly good in a comedic role. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfAug 7, 2012
There's no suspense, even as Galifianakis's bone-dry earnestness sometimes kicks the movie into a realm of stealth drama. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinAug 12, 2012
Roach is too stiff a director to give Ferrell room to romp. Bits like the one in which he's challenged to recite "The Lord's Prayer" needed extra zigs and zags instead of variations on the same joke. A looser director like Adam McKay (Step Brothers) might have created a happier climate for improv. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottAug 9, 2012
Too soft and silly to be satire, too upbeat to be a cautionary tale, the film is a fun-house fable that both exaggerates and understates the absurdities of our democracy in this contentious election year. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaAug 9, 2012
Relying on improv-y riffing and watch-them-coming-from-down-the-block-and-around-the-corner sight gags, The Campaign is intermittently amusing, but more often just interminable. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn HornadayAug 9, 2012
Tends toward the broadest possible takes on slapstick, sophomoric sexuality and post-"Hangover" raunch. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrAug 9, 2012
It's just another happily idiotic Will Ferrell comedy, ably directed by Jay Roach ("Meet the Parents," "Dinner for Schmucks") and tossing its bawdy jokes at the side of the barn. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 9, 2012
As with nearly everything else in The Campaign, a little goes a long way, until it finally just goes on too long, period. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineBill WeberAug 9, 2012
A lumpy spoof of electoral mudslinging that offers some bracing bipartisan contempt amid the lowbrow, labored slapstick. Read full review
50
Village VoiceKarina LongworthAug 7, 2012
Like past-his-peak Perot, The Campaign is basically a footnote, a goof on our broken political system that's good for a certain novelty, but as a challenge to the dominant order? It's ultimately impotent. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenAug 5, 2012
While leads Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis are amusingly on point as a pair of mud-slinging contenders for Congress, the platform is a wobbly political satire that flip-flops chaotically between clever and crass, never finding a sturdy comedic footing. Read full review
42
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerAug 12, 2012
Potty jokes and bawdy gross-outs predominate, and the few good laughs are swamped by the overall laughlessness. Read full review
40
TimeMary PolsAug 9, 2012
Four minutes of Bush on SNL is just right, but 85-minutes of Cam Brady feels like a lot, even with a strong supporting cast that includes Jason Sudeikis as Cam's campaign manager and Katherine LaNasa as Cam's picture-perfect, but mean-as-nails wife. Read full review
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