Movie Review: 'Our Brand Is Crisis'
By Bill Wine
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The curiously titled Our Brand Is Crisis is a cynical satire about cutthroat politics: is there any other kind?
Sandra Bullock stars as "Calamity" Jane Bodine, a ruthless but retired political strategist and tactician – the polite translation of spin doctor -- who, when the film opens, has had some sort of meltdown and has downshifted, now living a secluded life in a log cabin.
Well-known for her victories working for underdogs, she's called on for the proverbial One Last Job – to run the campaign of Castillo, played by Joaquim de Almeida, a former president who is a presidential candidate but is running fifth in the polls in the upcoming 2002 national election in Bolivia.
She's reluctant to emerge from retirement until she's informed by manipulative consultants played by Anthony Mackie and Ann Dowd that her former mentor and longtime nemesis, Pat Candy, an American consultant played by Billy Bob Thornton, is managing the campaign of Castillo's opponent, the charismatic, poll-topping frontrunner.
Candy, whose behavior and accomplishments contributed to her breakdown, is a fictional character clearly inspired by real-life political operative James Carville, who was in fact connected to the real-life campaign.
Director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express, All the Real Girls, George Washington, Undertow, Your Highness, The Sitter) combines political intrigue with slapstick comedy, but keeps things very decidedly on the surface, not taking much advantage of his ensemble and showing little if any interest in the people – the actual voters in this election -- of Bolivia.
The fictionalized screenplay by Peter Straughn about political campaigning, dirty tricks, and meddling in foreign elections, was "suggested by" the identically titled 2006 documentary by Rachel Boynton, and both are based on the real-life 2002 Bolivian presidential election, in which American political strategies and techniques were employed.
Bullock's lead role was originally intended for George Clooney – the counterpart real-life consultant was male -- who then became one of the film's producers and offered the switched-to-female role to his Gravity co-star, who also served as an executive producer.
Bullock is likable as the clumsy, quote-happy, revenge-and-redemption-seeking lead despite sometimes acting despicably, and her penchant for physical comedy gets a full, funny airing – whether it should or not. And Thornton adds another scoundrel to his personal rogues' gallery in the film's best scenes, which are those in which Bullock and Thornton share the screen and indulge in screwball banter that's sharp and fun to hear.
Until the clumsy ending, that is, when false notes are sounded in search of a satisfying optimistic conclusion.
So we'll vote for 2-1/2 stars out of 4 for Our Brand Is Crisis, an up-and-down political dramedy featuring another victorious star turn by Sandra Bullock.
