NEW YORK (AP) — “The Campaign” is a broad comedy made from broad intentions: Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis simply wanted to make a movie together.

In the film, which opens Friday, they play two North Carolina politicians competing in an increasingly nasty Congressional race. Galifianakis’ character shoots Ferrell’s point blank and his poll numbers go up. That would seem hopelessly extreme in its absurdity if this wasn’t an election year where real headlines have often seemed the stuff of high comedy.

It’s a ready-made concept that pits two of the best comedians in movies against each other for the first time in a major project. In comedy, a Ferrell-Galifianakis ticket is a winner in a landslide.