FORT WORTH -- "Frank the Tank! Frank the Tank! Frank the Tank!"
The chant rose up inside the stifling gymnasium at Naval Air Station Fort Worth on Wednesday afternoon, a nod to Will Ferrell's character in the movie Old School. The crowd of uniformed men and women were stoked, because Ferrell and his funnyman cohort Zach Galifianakis were in the house.The pair are on an 11-city promotional tour for their new comedy, The Campaign, in which Ferrell plays Cam Brady, a longtime U.S. representative from North Carolina who's running unopposed for his fifth term until he's challenged by the inexperienced Marty Huggins (Galifianakis).Judging by the movie's trailer, which features the buzz-worthy scene of Cam Brady inadvertently punching a baby, Ferrell's character seems like a hybrid of his parody of George W. Bush and his fictional Ron Burgundy .After some red-carpet shenanigans that (naturally) included baby-kissing, the pair took to the stage to oversee a tug-of-war between Team Brady and Team Huggins."Nothing says excitement in a hot room of people like tug-of-war," Ferrell cracked. Thanks to some microphone issues and mammoth walls of people, it was tough to see which team won, but that wasn't really the point.There were serious thanks to the men and women in the room."Thank you for your service to the country, and everything you do, and your time apart from your families," Ferrell said, adding that there would be a special screening of The Campaign for base personnel Aug. 4.Said Galifianakis: "However, admission is $75 a head."They thanked people for turning out to see them, and joked that they'd reward everyone with hot chocolate, space heaters and parkas.Scanning the crowd, Ferrell noted: "Someone has a sign that says: 'My baby punches back.'"Q&AOn the red carpet, the actors paused for a quick Q&A.You're here to oversee a game of tug-of-war. Do you think that's an apt metaphor for Congress?Will Ferrell: Very much so. That's all they're doing, with no real results.With your candidates being from North Carolina, would either one of them hire Rielle Hunter as a videographer? (That would be John Edwards' former mistress.) WF: Well, mine would, for sure. My character is very much a philandering type of professional politician who would love any sort of beautiful woman.Zach Galifianakis: My character wouldn't know what a videographer is.Name three government agencies your characters would eliminate if elected.WF: Uh, Secretary of Beef. I would probably get rid of the Secretary of Night ... Night Employees, and then, I don't know if you need a Secretary of Housing. I don't know what they do.ZG: The Secretary of Cul-de-Sacs. Who, when you think about it, do very, very little. That's the main one. I think if you got rid of that, we'd save a lot of money.Appreciative audienceAfter the event, I caught up with Navy Petty Officers Tracey Brandon and Genifer Smith."We're very glad they were able to come and spend time and show their appreciation for us," Brandon said, "because it's not often that we get to see that -- especially here in the states. They do so more overseas, so it was nice. It's not like we're right around the corner from Hollywood; they had to come out of their way to get down here."Heather Svokos, 817-390-7686Twitter: @fwsthsvokosHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
