‘The Campaign’ Trailer and Why Comedies are so Hard to Market.

UK Release Date: 28th September 2012.

Stars: Jay Roach (director), Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, Brian Cox, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd.

Plot: In order to gain influence over their North Carolina district, two CEOs seize an opportunity to oust long-term congressman Cam Brady by putting up a rival candidate. Their man: naive Marty Huggins, director of the local Tourism Centre.

Will Ferrell is a pretty bankable name in comedy, everybody knows who he is thanks to his films like Anchorman, Step Brothers or Talladega Nights. Ferrell is seen as someone who has a real talent for acting in comedies and will, nine out of ten times, grant success to a film. Zach Galifianakis has pretty much guaranteed himself success by always playing an idiot (see The Hangover, Due Date) and here he seems to be doing the same thing once again.

Comedy films aren’t something that usually excite me and The Campaign does nothing to change my opinion of that. There are a few jokes in this trailer but this trailer serves mainly to introduce the audience to the main characters. What jokes are there, minus one or two, feel like they have been recycled so many times they are no longer funny and because of this they have to resort to toilet humour which is always guaranteed to pick up a laugh here and there, who doesn’t enjoy toilet humour?

With a pretty good cast it’s hard to see The Campaign failing and it will no doubt find an audience among teenage boys especially but there is a problem with marketing comedies that a lot of audience members have grown wise to now these days I think. Everybody knows that trailers are composed of the best bits of the movie, that’s the studio’s intention to bring in the crowds. However, I, and a lot of other people for sure, are sceptical more of comedy trailers than any other genre. This is because so many comedy films in recent years have put all the funny parts and good jokes into the trailer and when you go see the film you can’t help but be disappointed by the lack of jokes elsewhere in the film, but if the trailers aren’t full of funny moments why would you go and see the film in the first place? It’s a catch 22, a no-win situation and this does seem to happen in comedy films. I don’t think anyone who sees a trailer for an action film say “but what if all the fight scenes are in the trailer?” yet when the comedy trailer airs it’s always “they put all the funny parts in the trailer though”. Comedy is looked down upon in the genre hierarchy and this could be one of the reasons that makes them so hard to market but audiences will always go, even if they are disappointed it still looks good for the studio.

Up in the Air (2009) Review

Upon release in 2009, Up in the Air was subject to huge critical acclaim. It was named in many critics’ top 10 list of films for that year and nominated for 6 Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress (x2) and Best Adapted Screenplay. Unfortunately, it failed to win in any of those categories.

*** WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

The film centres around Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), a corporate downsizer who flies around the United States firing people for a living. We travel with Ryan and learn of his isolated life and his philosophies until his company threatens to ruin the happy life he leads by putting him on the ground.

Firstly, George Clooney is incredible. He has won one Best Actor Oscar (Syriana) and been nominated for three more (including Up in the Air) but I think that Up in the Air is the best I have ever seen him; he brings the character to life and allows the audience to feel how he feels. The supporting cast is just as good; Vera Farmiga (pictured) is great as is Ryan Bingham’s protege, if you like, Anna Kendrick. Then there are smaller, but still brilliant, appearances from Jason Bateman, Zach Galifianakis, J.K. Simmons and Danny McBride to complete a superb acting cast.

Up in the Air is directed by Jason Reitman who is no stranger to critical acclaim with Thank You for Smoking and Juno both under his belt. I wasn’t a big fan of Juno but Reitman has won me round with this masterpiece.

The story is fantastic; it has a strong structure and a complete story arc. The characters really do develop and it is clear to see the three main characters changing over the course of the film. The character development of Ryan Bingham in particular is really good and he is up there with some of my favourite characters from movies ever. The writing of the character, the acting, the story just makes him seem ‘real’ and he’s a man you can sympathise with and empathise with. Although not really likeable at first, after being on the journey with him you come to know him and see sides of him that nobody else sees which is really well done by the film makers.

Although the film prioritises the drama aspect of the film and it is about Ryan’s job the comedy really shines in Up in the Air. Their are lots of funny moments, not necessarily jokes but things which can make the audience chuckle and laugh out loud. It really manages to mix the drama and comedy perfectly.

The ending was perfect and ambiguous which is really enjoyable. It can be read as a happy ending or a sad ending depending on your interpretation of the film and your feelings towards the characters but by this time Ryan’s development has become clear and you see what a nice guy he is. I’ve watched a few films recently where the ending has seemed like a bit of a cop out, but this was not one of them. Fantastic.

I fail to think of any negative point I saw in Up in the Air. Perhaps the only thing was that it didn’t last longer. I was more than satisfied with the running length, it didn’t drag, it didn’t rush but I could happily watch George Clooney as Ryan Bingham for hours. I’ll definitely be re-watching this a lot in future.

My Rating: 9/10