The Campaign(2012)

Plot Summary

• Democratic Congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) of North Carolina's 14th District of Hammond is running for his fifth term unopposed. However his campaign is damaged by the revelation of his affair with one of his supporters, when Cam accidentally leaves a sexually explicit voice message on a local family's phone.Corrupt businessmen, brothers Glen (John Lithgow) and Wade Motch (a play on the Koch brothers) (Dan Aykroyd), use this opportunity to convince Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), tourism director for the town of Hammond and son of one of their associates, Raymond Huggins (Brian Cox), to run against Cam on the Republican ticket, as part of a plan to profit from illegal dealings with Chinese companies. Motch brothers plan to sell "Made in China" goods by labeling them "Made in America". Motch brothers plan to buy huge parcels of land in the district of Hammond & transfer the Chinese workers to these factories, thereby eliminating transportation costs while maintaining all other cost advantages. They want a consenting congressman to bring the bill to the floor, making this a legal activity.Cam at first underestimates Marty and humiliates him by playing a video biography highlighting Marty's dim-witted nature. The Motch brothers then hire Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott) to be Marty's campaign manager. Tim reinvents Marty as a successful entrepreneur and family man. Marty's popularity rises due to his effective campaign while Cam's is further damaged when he accidentally punches a baby when intending to hit Marty. Cam later runs a campaign portraying Marty as an Al Qaeda terrorist, and Marty exposes Cam as a fake Christian by asking him to recite the Lord's Prayer, which he fails to do. Cam attempts to restore his religious image by visiting a church of snake handlers, but he gets bitten by a snake. A video of the bite is leaked into the Internet and goes viral, increasing Cam's popularity.When Cam's son plans to slander his competition for class president, Cam realizes he has set a bad example and visits Marty to make peace. A drunken Cam tells Marty that he originally became a politician to help people, citing that as class president he had a dangerous, rusty slide removed from the playground. After Cam leaves, Wattley convinces Marty to call the police and report Cam for driving while drunk. Cam is arrested and his campaign is again damaged. At a debate, Marty portrays a story Cam wrote in the 2nd grade as a "communist manifesto," and Cam accidentally punches Uggie, the dog from The Artist when attacking Marty, once more suffering in his popularity levels. Marty later airs a TV ad of Cam's son addressing Marty as "dad". Cam gets revenge on Marty by seducing his neglected wife Mitzy (Sarah Baker) and recording the act. The released sex tape humiliates the Huggins family and causes Cam's campaign manager, Mitch (Jason Sudeikis), to abandon him. Marty retaliates by shooting Cam in the leg on a hunting trip, increasing his own popularity.As the election nears, Marty meets with the Motch brothers and learns of their plans to sell the land bought in Hammond to their Chinese business partner and turn the town into a large series of Chinese owned factories, manned by cheap Chinese labor, undercutting American jobs & hurting American families. Marty realizes he has been used and rejects the Motch brothers' support. The Motch brothers offer Cam their support instead to preserve their plans. Marty meanwhile reconciles with his family.On election day, Cam's victory appears to be certain until Marty comes forward and exposes the Motch brothers' intent and promises to preserve Hammond if elected. Cam still wins and remains congressman due to rigged voting machines owned by the Motch brothers. While Cam gloats, Marty shows his large scars to Cam and reveals that he looked up to Cam in school for getting rid of the dangerous slide. Realizing he has swayed from his true objectives as a politician, Cam withdraws from the election and Marty wins by default. Cam earns back Mitch's respect, and Marty later appoints him his chief of staff.Six months later, Marty and Cam expose the Motch brothers' scandals and the brothers are called to appear before Congress. The Motch brothers point out that everything they did is legal under Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, but they are arrested for their association with Wattley, who is actually an international fugitive known as "The Greek Butcher."

Storyline

• When Cam Brady (D-NC), a four-term Congressman, becomes a liability, the Motch brothers (think Koch brothers) recruit Marty Huggins, the son of a Republican heavy hitter, to run against him and be their vehicle to establish factories in the district that will import cheap Chinese labor. Trouble is, Marty is a lightweight, so his makeover falls to consultant Tim Wattley. The race tightens as Cam constantly shoots himself in the foot, while the prospect of winning also changes Marty and his family's dynamics. Meanwhile, Cam plays dirty, and Marty cottons on to the Moches' grand plan. What options do the rich have to get their way? — North Carolina's district 14 is about to elect a new Congressman. Cam Brady (D - Hammond) is running unopposed for a fifth consecutive term. After an affair and a massive scandal that follows, Brady's approval rating drops to the point where the billionaire Motch brothers find a candidate to replace him. They choose Marty Huggins (R - Hammond), the son of a famous republican, to run against Brady. This has the media interested as it could tip the scales with a slim majority in the House. As the campaign escalates, Brady constantly shoots himself in the foot, winning the approval and disapproval of the media. Will Marty Huggins trump Cam Brady, or will Cam Brady prevail and go on to yet another term? — halo1k As he is running unopposed due to his overwhelming popularity, Cam Brady (D) will represent North Carolina's 14th Congressional District for the fifth consecutive term following the upcoming election, the main town in the district being Hammond. But when he makes a major campaign blunder that tarnishes his family image, some sense an opportunity. Corrupt billionaire industrialist brothers Glenn and Wade Motch, who do whatever to line their own pockets, decide to find a political lackey to run against Brady on the Republican ticket, so that they can have someone in their back pockets regarding superseding regulatory issues concerning a business venture in China, which will turn Hammond into one big polluted sweat shop. Who they choose is Marty Huggins, the dimwitted son of their wealthy family friend, Raymond Huggins, because of name recognition and being able to easily manipulate Marty without him even realizing it. Despite Brady's mistakes, he should still easily be able to defeat Huggins. But part of the Motch brother's financing of he campaign is to bring in cutthroat Tim Wattley as Huggins' campaign manager, he who is able to transform Huggins into a legitimate candidate with credibility. As the opposing campaigns progress, it seems as if Brady, Huggins, Wattley and Brady's own campaign manager, Mitch Wilson, will do anything to win. The questions become if there is a breaking point for any of the four as to how far is too far, and what Huggins will do if he finds out why the Motch brothers recruited him. — Huggo Two powerful CEOs pit a blundering congressman against an unlikely political newcomer in order to seize control of a crucial North Carolina district in this satirical political comedy starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. On the eve of an upcoming election, incumbent congressman Cam Brady (Ferrell) makes a misstep that threatens to end his career in politics. Recognizing the opportunity to gain influence in the aftermath of the public gaffe, a pair of scheming CEOs handpick credulous tourism-center director Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) as Brady's political rival, quickly shaping him into a viable candidate with the help of a seasoned campaign manager. As Election Day draws near, Brady and Huggins cast ethics aside to engage in the brand of hysterical mud-slinging that's sent contemporary politics straight down the toilet.