The humor in here is so stupid, so out there, that it becomes funny. WIll Farrell just seems to have the ability to do that, time and again.
This is, in many respects, a very typical Will Farrell movie, being so ridiculous and over the top, that you can't help but laugh. It really is just a grossly exaggerated version of the truth, with all of the political gimmicks and backstabbing and sexual scandals and so on. You get the feeling that, in essence, it is an exaggeration of the truth.
Will Farrell plays the part of Cam Brady, a four term Democratic congressman on the verge of obtaining a fifth term in an uncontested election, when all of a sudden, and most unexpectedly, he finds himself challenged by an unknown Republican who has never held or even run for office before. The Republican is Marty Huggins, who is played very well by Zach Galifianakis, and he is a quiet, unassuming man, but a nerdy screw-up with a past history of showing hilarious weaknesses that Brady desperately seeks to expose. Brady clearly has superior experience and just seems more natural, and so he seems destined to win easily against the overly nice Huggins, who seems clearly in over his head.
***Spoiler Alert***
Brady should win easily, but a couple of things happen to intervene. First, he is his own worst enemy, and his own lewd, hilariously arrogant, and overtly sexual behavior gets exposed, and he begins to pay the political price. He finds himself in trouble after making a very inappropriate and explicitly sexual call to the wrong household, and this is found out by the general public.
Secondly, to have an actual opponent, and one that gets the backing of the Motch brothers (the fictional equivalent to the infamous and real-life Koch brothers, who played such a huge role in the actual 2012 election), who hire a political hitman, in effect (Tim Wattley, played by Dylan McDermott) to turn Huggins into a finely tuned and well oiled political machine. The race is on.
Before the Motch brothers and Wattley enter the picture, however, Brady takes the liberty of introducing Huggins, who naively plays along, happy to oblige. Huggins assumes that there exists civility between the rivals, but he is in for a nasty surprise, of course. Brady takes the opportunity that he has been given like a gift, and naturally and skillfully makes Huggins look like a complete ass. It is clear that is in way over his head, and he seems to know this as he walks back to his car in disgrace, fighting back the tears. That is when he meets Tim Wattley, the ultimate dirty tactics campaign manager, who is going to prep him for a real dirty campaign, and going to take the overconfident Brady by surprise in the process.
It starts off with a debate. Brady is, of course, completely confident and natural, being the experienced incumbent in his element, and having a well-rehearsed line for everything. When Huggins tries to talk some smack to him in the beginning, he shows just how amateurish he is at this, saying that Brady's face "looks like a butt". Brady is initially surprised that he had actually tried, but rather amused, and then really lays into him, almost bringing the overwhelmed Huggins to tears. As the debate commences, Brady clearly believes that he has set the tempo for the debate.
But he is wrong. After giving an overly polished and obviously rehearsed answer to the first question about bringing jobs to North Carolina, Huggins gets the chance to respond, and he just lays into Brady, pointing out that he did not actually answer the question, and exposes his opponent's political gimmickry, suggesting that the voters deserve better. Brady is clearly completely taken aback, and it becomes clear that he has completely underestimated his opponent, as he gets his ass kicked in the debate. This almost made me wonder when this movie was made, since it seemed to follow Obama's poor performance in the first debate earlier this year.
Brady is so mad afterwards, that he chases after Huggins in a crowded room. Huggins is trying to walk away quickly, and Brady is so angry, that he aims to punch Huggins. But Huggins ducks, and Brady's fist connects instead with a baby (this was one of the famous scenes that they kept showing in the trailers for the movie). Later on, in a similar scene, Brady tries to punch Huggins yet again, and misses again, this time hitting a small dog.
From that point on, it becomes a real political race, one that prominently displays the very worst that politics tends to bring out. They engage in a makeshift contest on how to outdo one another in the race. They will go to any lengths, no holds barred, to make the other look ridiculous and stupid. It's all about the points, and the election not only becomes a statistical dead heat, but receives national attention. What makes the movie all the more hilarious is Brady's tendency to think that he will connect with the male voters in showing how much of a real man he is by showing off about his affairs - and specifically, he aims for Huggins's wife, who falls under Brady's spell, not knowing that he is filming it, and that the video will become very public very quickly.
This is a good, laugh out loud movie. it is at times so outrageous, so ridiculous, that you can't help but laugh. It is a good escape from whatever pressures you may find yourself under, if you just want to forget about everything for an hour and a half or so, and get a chance for a good laugh.
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