Our Brand Is Crisis

Rivera appears to have the election in the bang through his charisma and a strongly managed campaign by Candy.

That’s probably a topic that will be explored and discussed endlessly with the release of this movie, and it really does make one wonder, especially given the current climate that finds high powered, well-known actresses coming out and decrying the sexist double standards of the Hollywood system.

It’s the job of the writer and director to take a subject and manipulate how it’s presented to make an audience laugh, cry, get mad or be blown away. Failure to do that gets a negative vote from moviegoers.

For director David Gordon Green, the film represents a step in a new, more sophisticated direction; and, for producers Grant Heslov and George Clooney, an entry in their stable of slick political romps that are topical, if not contemporary.

Enter Sandra Bullock’s “Calamity” Jane Bodine, a one-time political rainmaker whose life is now as disconnected as the remote mountain cabin where she’s been holed up, drying out and regretting a few bad choices.

There is no way the drama of the real election could be surpassed – or even matched – by a fictionalized accounting. Green and Straughan’s efforts do nothing more than water down the story. Sandra Bullock is his election nemesis and the film’s main character.

Enlisted to help a plutocratic former Bolivian president (Joaquim de Almeida), get his power back, she is equally “electric” when exasperated as when she’s inspired. That dark underbelly adds depth and dimension to the ironic humor of “Our Brand is Crisis”.

Either way, it may be a victory if any movie at all cracks $10 million this weekend, with The Martian projected to have the best chance. Jane finally rises to the challenge when her snakelike old rival Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton) shows up to shill for the other side, restoring Jane’s will to fight – and also to fight dirty. Her path runs through raucous parties with campaign staff, confrontations with angry mobs, and the tragic death of a campaign llama – “It’s like he killed himself rather than be in one of our commercials!” However, none of the supporting players really match their conviction or energy. And second, with all the recent discussion about the need for more diverse, open-minded casting, here’s a role that was originally written for a man. And happily, in retrospect, the role seems like it SHOULD have been written for a woman – for Bullock, in fact. He would have brought a more dry humour to the role.

Thornton and Bullock’s chemistry is good, but far from great.

Maybe in the hands of a pundit like Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert, it could have crackled, but Peter Straughan’s screenplay is not insightful, overall, although it does feature several smart scenes of snappy repartee.

A sweet, soulful turn by Reynaldo Pacheco as Eddie, an idealistic Bolivian who believes in Castillo, gives the film a late-inning sentimental sheen.

That time could have been used to create a better story structure. There’s no redemption to be found with the people who are ruining lives-who have no belief in politicians or voters; people who have basically given up on humanity and play with public policy like a kid with a loaded gun. Zoe Kazan plays LeBlanc who is flown in by Jane to dig up any dirt she can on all candidates.