This is a competent film that shows how foxy political campaigns can be. Calamity Jane (Sandra Bullock), has been lured out of retirement by gobs of money and a challenge: Can she convince the Bolivian people to elect as president an unpopular, arrogant, cigar-chomping oligarch named Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida)who was already president once and bungled the job? All rights reserved. Andrew O'Hehir is executive editor of Salon. We root for Jane to win and feel guilty for caring more about the game than the country. "- Castillo: This llama will lead us toward prosperity. Answer. Jane gets blasted, leaks misinformation, vandalizes Candys room, and sabotages his candidates rallies the way he sabotaged her candidates. The R-rating is because of the language. Candy reveals it was him (via a friend of a friend) who anonymously suggested to the Castillo campaign to hire Jane. The women of, Sam Levinson and the Weeknd Allegedly Turned, Theres No Red Button You Can Push to Stop. Played for laughs? Oct. 29, 2015. Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. They are then in a restaurant, the entire campaign team drinking heavily. Politics is a dirty business, but Our Brand Is Crisis doesn't stick its hands into the muck sufficiently to be as entertaining or stinging as it could be. Bodine used to be the best in the game, but an unfortunate series of events during a campaign destroyed her reputation and confidence. Answer, Does HIGH MORAL CHARACTER matter in political leaders? The cinematic trope has retroactively kept a light on devilish George H.W. Since Im reviewing this film for its DVD release, Ive already taken into consideration the opinions of other reviewers. Meanwhile, Thornton employs his well-honed smiling/sneering shtick to nicely nasty effect. Illustration by Hudson Christie. She explains its not relevant whether its true. The rest of the movie is her telling the story of what happened after her resignation. The pottery business is explained forthwith, lest were worried about some Ghost influence. After a traumatizing career as a political campaign consultant, Bodine has retired to the snowy mountains, where she doesnt smoke and makes bowls. See list of Relevant Issuesquestions-and-answers. In a restaurant, Jane sits alone until Candy sits next to her. Mimicking the behavior in the actresss previous film, Minions, Jane is shown mooning a bus. Bodine and her crew join Candy on the way to the airport. Before a campaign stop, Jane tells Eddie to help Castillo roll up his sleeves. Were not supposed to earnestly admire any of these people, but we are supposed to guiltily admire their unfailing ability to guide impossible undertakings, such as the practice of politics, to victory through whatever means. A battle-hardened American political consultant is sent to help re-elect a controversial president in Bolivia, where she must compete with a long-term rival working for another candidate. This film isnt as dark as Burnt, and has more amusing moments, including some comic relief, but still shouldnt be classified as a comedy. Initially under the impression that her man is a dud, Jane is soon animated by Castillos spontaneous response to getting egged (that is, he decks the egger) and her personal animus against Candy. He tells a story about a campaign run by Adlai Stevenson in which Stevenson is told everything thinking person would vote for him, to which Stevenson replies that is not enough. 1h 47m. He resides in Atlanta with his wife and their dog Jack. I found the film to be very interesting, and all the cast put on some of their best performances Ive seen. [11] More casting was also announced, which included Reynaldo Pacheco, Dominic Flores, Louis Arcella, and Octavio Gmez. There are also two middle finger displays. As president in the mid-90s, he had pursued a controversial two-level strategy, extending constitutional rights and policy reforms aimed at Bolivias large indigenous population while also embarking on a widespread campaign of privatization that sold off state-owned industries and natural resources to foreign capital. As a result of this, Castillo agrees to start running a negative campaign. In Bolivia, the situation is tense: Bodine learns that the indigenous people, who are a majority in the country but lack any real political power, are protesting for constitutional reform to get proper representation. In a Netflix comedy by Katharine McPhees stepdaughter. By the way, the bus driver is paid to drive like a complete moron to do it. Candy is outside the hotel in his chauffeur-driven SUV and offers Jane, Ben, and Nell a ride to the airport. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The real meat of the comedy, and drama, comes in the ingenious dirty tricks that Candy and Bodine play on each other, which could kick off a primer on the political practice recently known as rat-f**king (although that phrase is never uttered in the film). Jane next starts a rumor that Rivera is a Nazi, based on no real facts, but a fuzzy picture showing him with Nazi propaganda. Comedy-Drama. All of them, except Bodine, have already taken jobs as political consultants in other countries. His loyalty comes mostly from the fact that Castillo, who was president at the time, took a young Eduardo on his arm during a rally in his town. She tells Castillo and the campaign that this is no longer an election, it is a crisis. Answer, Should Christians seek political power or should we only focus on evangelism? Jane says its just a carousel and she was going around and around. [24], On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 35% based on 147 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. While Castillo is meeting with the press, Jane meets Eduardo. A montage shows the crisis message is working and support for Castillo is growing. 2/4[], Our Brand Is Crisis fun until it gets serious For too long, the stakes play second fiddle to the strategists and even the candidates remain too elusive to make the audience care as much as it should. Once a political idealist, she increasingly was a strategist for hire outwardly not caring about the actual politics of her boss. Director David Gordon Green Writers Rachel Boynton (suggested by the documentary) Peter Straughan (screenplay) Stars Sandra Bullock Sandra Bullock (who shares producer credits with, among others, George Clooney and Grant Heslov) is the reclusive political strategist Calamity Jane Bodine, who turned her back on her profession after one dirty trick too many. She will work on the campaign of anybody, provided the money is right. In its opening weekend, it was projected to make $57 million from 2,202 theaters,[23] however only ended up grossing $3.2 million, finishing eighth at the box office. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. Castillo and the campaign team are on the outdoor set of a commercial for the Senator. Digital rental or purchase allows you to instantly stream and download to watch anywhere and anytime on your favorite devices. Castillo promises them that he will not invite the IMF without a public referendum. Castillo has won the election. Power? Preview", "Star-Driven Casualties 'Our Brand Is Crisis' & 'Burnt' At The B.O. The political comedy Our Brand Is Crisis stars Sandra Bullock as an American campaign strategist hired to work for a Bolivian presidential candidate. [3], The film opened on October 30, 2015, alongside Burnt and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. It is revealed that she retired after violating election laws. Jane is elated and tells the communication team to talk to the press and inform them Rivera just used a quote from Joseph Goebbels, the head Nazi propaganda minister. Castillo's American consultants, knowing that they need ideas outside the box, recruit "retired" political strategist "Calamity" Jane Bodine, who has lived somewhat off the grid and has not worked on a political campaign in six years. His slickness fits the milieu. Jane is talking with Nell, and insults her about her dedication to the campaign. Besser. Filmcast "Our Brand is Crisis" November 6, 2015 Laura Seaman Features , Filmcast , Movies [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Join Laura Seaman as she reviews " Our Brand is Crisis " and previews " Spectre " and " The Peanuts Movie " on this week's episode of Filmcast. Maybe, kinda. What the hell was James Carville and Stan Greenbergs consulting firm with its close ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party leadership class doing in one of South Americas smallest and poorest nations? The police arrive and the demonstration quickly turns into a riot. Plot out uproarious long-shot tricks against his opponents that always seem to work out even better than hoped? He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Can Hollywood find a way to take the political consultant character in a new direction? The opposition's top political consultant is her nemesis, fellow American Pat Candy. Ben jumps out and yells, get in the car, what are you doing? The movie opens with a title sequence regarding the main character Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) and her rise and fall from hotshot political strategist/image . She tells him shes going home tomorrow. He suggests maybe later they can go out. He takes a room across the balcony in Janes hotel, where he can meet her stare, undress her with his eyes, and psych her out. It is a record turnout and at days end, the results are: Castillo 23.5%, Rivera 22.8%, Volasco 21.9%. January 14, 2016. Bodines character loosely channels celebrity political consultant James Carville, one of the Americans who worked on the 2002 Bolivian campaign and a consistent fascination of Hollywood. The filmmakers and their stars have fun with the idea that politics is sex for those who want to keep their clothes on. The front-runner, Victor Rivera, is a populist who is appealing to the basest emotions of that poor electorate. Our Brand Is Crisis (2015) Rated R for language including some sexual references. Principal photography began on September 29, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana. This password will be used to sign into all, Okay, TikTok, You Can Calm Down About Aubrey Plaza at the SAG Awards Now, All 165 Pink Floyd Songs Ranked, From Worst to Best. The firm brings in "Calamity" Jane Bodine to manage Castillo's fledging campaign. In David Gordon Green's OUR BRAND IS CRISIS, the film is obviously in existence to point out how politics, no matter the nation, are used in gaining votes from image rather than truth. Los Angeles County said all litigation over the crash has now been resolved. Ideology? I get it -- Green and Straughan and Participant were trying to make a Sandra Bullock movie that Warner Bros. can put onto thousands of theater screens. And even hes not even that close. When people say its a communist movie, I think they are hugely misunderstanding the movies point. And sometimesin fact, I daresay oftenyou know about a half hour into a film that youre going to have to censure it. Afterwards, Jane sends 3 Bolivian singers to show up at Candys door. There is something deeply disturbing about American political strategists helping an unpopular politician return back to presidency in a country as different as Bolivia. She looks across the large foyer to see Candy sitting outside his room. Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton go head to head as strategists in a patchy satire about the 2002 Bolivian elections. OUR BRAND IS CRISIS barely holds together as the story moves from campaign incident to campaign incident. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. : What The Hell Happened? A shame, then, that the movie loses its cynical nerve with an utterly phoney finale that ties itself up in conscientious knots. It also sets up a Hollywood ending that all but wrecks the movie. Um, yes. They reluctantly agree, but the city is in gridlock due to the protests, which are on the verge of becoming riots. Although Castillos populist opponent doesnt seem to have much integrity (the character does in the documentary), we still know that Castillo has less, that hes a dreadful man. He does exactly that, to Janes delight, when explaining hes not close to his son, but he wishes he was, with tears in his eyes. Some reviews said it was ambiguous. There is very little violence. PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here. Although I hasten to add that even by the standards of Bullocks implacable, steel-jawed underacting this is a dull performance. Meanwhile, the senior advisors (Ben, Nell and others) talk about Jane and Candy, how they had sex previously, and how she spread a rumor during a campaign that Candys candidates daughter was on drugs. Smiling/Sneering shtick to nicely nasty effect los Angeles County said all litigation over the crash has been... Movies point Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence agrees to start running a negative campaign feel for... Fellow American Pat Candy like a complete moron to do it public.! Poor electorate montage shows the Crisis message is working and support for Castillo is meeting the. Film to be very interesting, and insults her about her dedication to the airport and the campaign to. 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