I’m trying to wrap my head around something today: Is it a good current climate for a political comedy right now? Since we are in the middle of one of the nastiest presidential campaigns ever (Thanks Citizens United!), does that mean that we’re ready to laugh at some pointed political satire or is the state of political discourse in this country already too sad and too easy to laugh at?

Well, lucky for me, that question doesn’t really need to be answered this week because “The Campaign” is not really “pointed political satire.”

Not even close, actually.

It’s no secret that American politics is a dirty business and that politicians will say anything to get elected. So some of the bite is already lost by the time Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis start their ridiculous escalation of one upping each other in the raunchy satire “The Campaign.”

Essentially that premise forms the outline of this movie — which felt like an outline, an unfinished one at that. It starts with Ferrell punching a baby (You’ve seen the trailer, right?) and gets more far-fetched and ridiculous from there.

The funniest thing about it is that there’s not one discussion or debate in the entire film about actual policy. Instead, its candidates say hollow things they think voters want to hear, such as Ferrell’s slogan: “America, Jesus, Freedom.” This is isn’t that far from reality.

Ferrell plays another in a long line of his familiar type, the over-confident buffoon–this one owing a lot to his famous George W. Bush impression–while Galifianakis plays another effeminate weirdo with a fanny pack, so neither actor is really stretching.

That would be okay, though, if the material they were given was little sharper. “The Campaign” is a lazy satire filled with easy targets and desperate amount of swearing–it’s not enough to prop the film up for a mere 85-minute running time.

The actors try to fill the void left by the script by improvising a good portion of the movie, and that’s good for a solid laugh here and there, but as Galifianakis’ character says throughout “The Campaign,” “It’s a mess!”

In other film-related news, nobody punches a snake like Jean-Claude Van Damme. That’s just a fact. Witness:

One of the great things about having an Alamo Drafthouse in Kansas City is that they do all kinds of screenings of movies that aren’t your typical, awards-worthy fare, and they do them up right — with unbridled campy, enthusiasm.

Case in point:

VAN DAMMAGE is a three-movie marathon of Alamo’s favorite Jean-Claude Van Damme movies leading straight into a free advanced screening of “The Expendables 2.” Too much testosterone? Too much brick-smashing and blood letting? Can you handle four straight films of such violent, frantic ferocity?

The catch is, straight from the Drafthouse:

“What movies can you hope to see? We can’t tell you. If we were to release the line-up of excitement we have planned for you, you’d instantly find yourself with tufts of hair all over your body and your goosebumps would ripple into the manliest muscles you’ve ever seen. But, rest assured we will have menu specials, surprises galore, and some of the Muscliest from Brusseliest action films of VAN DAMME’S career gracing The Alamo Drafthouse’s silver screen. Think you have what it takes to survive FOUR movies of nonstop white-knuckled mayhem? This event is not for the weak at heart. Pulses will pound, bones will be shattered, and roundhouses will be delivered in stylish slow-motion to ensure maximum VAN DAMMAGE!”

Find out more about VAN DAMMAGE, a one-time-only event this Thursday August 16, click here.