He's a Swinger Vote. He's the...
Vidiot
Week of November 2, 2012
Satire spikes during election years. First up…
The Campaign
The best thing about a political campaign is that it allows citizens the opportunity to obtain candidate DNA to prove paternity.
However, this comedy about stumping for congress isn’t so much about bastards as it is mudslinging.
On the behest of his father (Brian Cox), Marty (Zach Galifianakis) enters the race for congress on the Republican ticket.
With no experience, he is aligned with a cutthroat campaign manager (Dylan McDermott) who molds Marty into a threat towards sitting congressman Cam (Will Ferrell).
With his incumbency endangered, Cam assassinates Marty’s character. But Marty bites back, and things get sadistic.
Meanwhile, Marty’s backers (John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd) plan to sell his hometown to China.
A campaign trail mix of boorish humour, anti-Semitism, and an exhausted Bush impression from Ferrell, The Campaign fails in its promise of laughter.
Fortunately, no matter how physical a campaign gets, both injured candidates can count on Obamacare. 0
Ruby Sparks
If men could write their perfect woman and have her appear, there would be a lot of illiterate males banging letter Xs.
Fortunately, the fingers behind the keys in this romantic dramedy belong to an adroit author.
When wunderkind novelist Calvin (Paul Dano) is incapable of creating a successor to his wildly successful first book, he inexplicably concocts his ideal woman, Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan), who appears to him in his dreams.
Inspired by his literary creation at first, Calvin gets concerned when he begins to see Ruby in real life.
But after learning that his typewriter controls her every whim, Calvin begins to manipulate her personality to fit his perception of his perfect woman.
Delineating the delicacies of the male psyche in all its obsessive, possessive glory, Ruby Sparks is a smart, subtle and sophisticated love story.
Incidentally, females writing their ideal man only need to type one word…rich. 0
Safety Not Guaranteed
What an appropriate title; seeing as how most people who respond to online classified ads are just trying to eat you.
Fortunately, the journalists who respond to the personal in this rom-dramedy are only looking to exploit.
A magazine intern, Darius (Aubrey Plaza) volunteers to go with staff writer Jeff (Jake M. Johnson) and fellow intern Arnau (Karan Soni) on an expedition to the coast to interview a self-proclaimed time traveler.
Once there, Darius befriends the man (Mark Duplass) who took out an ad requesting a partner for time travel.
Meanwhile, Jeff reconnects with a past love from his summers at the beach, while teaching Arnau to enjoy his youth.
A stirring love story angled with sharp performances and comical musings on our skewed view of the past, Safety Not Guaranteed is engaging.
Incidentally, traveling back in time is the only way that these journalists are going to find work. 0
***Campaign Tale***
Black Sheep
The hardest part of life on the campaign trail for most candidates must be keeping themselves from forcing the media bus into a ravine.
However that scene is a possibility with the simpleton sibling of a governor hopeful in this comedy.
To keep his blundering brother Mike (Chris Farley) from ruining his candidacy, Al (Tim Matheson) assigns low-level aide Steve (David Spade) to baby-sit him on his canvassing duties.
Meanwhile the incumbent Governor Tracy (Christine Ebersole) releases photos implementing Mike in an arson case.
Costing his brother the election, Mike makes amends by discovering inconsistencies in Tracy’s vote count.
A feeble attempt to build on Spade and Farley’s comedic chemistry, Black Sheep fails to capture their previous magic: the characters are hollow, the script is clichéd and the jokes are abysmal.
Besides, every politician already knows to simply appoint any possibly embarrassing relatives to the position of official food taster.
He has a Tiny Caucus. He’s the…
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