Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
I think the 2016 presidential candidates are hoping to get their own show on Comedy Central. That’s the only logical explanation I can think of for the onslaught of awkward political videos that are trying to be cool and failing miserably. Clearly, Ted Cruz wants to be this horrible sketch show’s star because he has now released a second “topical” political ad attacking Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
The Texas senator’s first ad was a cringe-worthy, SNL-style commercial for “The Senator Who Saved Christmas.” It was hammy, over-the-top, but more than anything, it was disturbing. Decider’s own Joe Reid summed up the first commercial best:
…the tone of the ad is so arch — and Cruz’s faux-homey delivery is laid on so thick — that it makes Cruz seem creepy.
For his second time in the director’s chair, Cruz went after something topical that all the kids love — 17 years ago. The new ad is titled “It Feels Good to Be a Clinton” and is a parody of the notorious printer-bashing Office Space scene. If you’re in the mood to laugh at — not with — a political candidate, get ready to have some fun. The ad has everything you could want: changed lyrics, a premise that falls apart the moment you think about it, and an actress who kind of, sort of looks like Hillary Clinton. If you squint. The only redeeming quality of this ad is its camera work. Here’s Cruz’s ad:
And here’s the flawless original (uncensored BTW):
Yeah. A couple of things about this. This ad doesn’t prove that you should donate to Cruz’s campaign. It proves that Ted Cruz has never seen the movie Office Space, or if he has, he interpreted it WAY differently than the rest of us. The Office Space I know is about a group of overworked and unhappy middle America employees who get fed up with corporate life and decide to finally take it out on their company by secretly embezzling money “Superman III” style. In this Office Space, the downtrodden employees are the heroes and the printer bashing scene is their visual break from corporate culture. It’s a vindication scene.
Cruz’s portrayal of Clinton as protagonist Peter (Ron Livingston) leads me to believe that Cruz saw the same movie as I did and was rooting for soul-sucking corporation. The tagline at the end of the ad is “Lies. Corruption. Clinton.” which implies that when Cruz watched Office Space (which I HIGHLY DOUBT he did), he wasn’t rooting for the overworked and unhappy protagonists. He was rooting for the system that opposed them. He was rooting for freaking Bill Lumbergh. That’s right; Cruz was probably pulling for the guy who wouldn’t let those TPS cover sheets go. Cruz probably loves putting on more than the required 15 pieces of flair. No matter who you’re voting for and what you think of Cruz and Clinton, this ad is just weird. I guess trust in corporate America is what you want in a president, but c’mon Cruz. There are thousands of movies to pick from. Don’t pick the one where you’re the villain.
Clearly, this isn’t what Cruz was trying to achieve. As fun (forced and upsetting) as that lyric re-write was, the ad just makes Cruz seem out of touch and Clinton look cool. Be sure to send Cruz some flowers, Clinton. And SNL, please just invite Cruz onto the show. Only you can end this madness.
