Our Brand is Crisis is the latest movie starring Sandra Bullock. She and George Clooney are producers for this movie. I’m told both had been considered for the lead, but Sandra was the one to do it. This is a fictionalized version of the documentary of the same name. It does not resemble the original story, except maybe on a basic level.

Sandra Bullock stars as Jane Bodine, a political strategist who has retired from the ‘game’. When she was ‘on’, she was a miracle worker, able to revive the campaigns of several candidates (in the U.S.) who wouldn’t have stood a chance if not for her skills. Unfortunately, after a string of failed bids for election, she was given the nickname ‘Calamity Jane’, and so she gave up, and went into seclusion.

The film starts with two strategists approaching her to help run the campaign of a presidential candidate in Bolivia. Senator Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) was previously president, but decided to privatize some of the country’s industry and resources, leaving a bad taste in the country’s mouth. The country’s in turmoil. He’s attempting to regain the position, but his campaign is rather simple and ineffectual. The polls place him at less than 10% approval, with several other candidates polling at much higher numbers.

Jane is a bit unsure about the situation. It hasn’t helped that she’s affected by altitude sickness. Jane is thrown a curve ball, in that the most popular candidate’s campaign is being managed by an old rival, Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), who just so happens to be the one that she lost to, all those previous times. This inspires her to dive in and rediscover her mojo. She realizes that the ‘story’ about Castillo has to change. They need to shift the focus of the campaign to one of declaring the current political atmosphere to be one of ‘crisis’, where the future is uncertain, and a strong hand is what’s needed to get the country back on track. She intends to make Castillo the right person for the job.

Pat has other plans. He and Jane spar verbally, and that gives each other ideas. Jane intends to go negative, but Castillo is against it. She brings in a dirt-digger, and sets her to task. Meanwhile, people are saying that Castillo is disconnected from the common people. Jane realizes that after giving a ride to one of the campaign volunteers, Eddie (Reynaldo Pacheco) and visiting his home. This causes a shift in the strategy that drives them towards the election itself. There is a bit of bickering between Pat and Jane. The election occurs, of course, and the outcome ends with a little epilogue that you wouldn’t necessarily see in such a movie.

I’m on the fence with the film. I enjoyed it, but I’ll have to admit I’m a sucker for anything Sandra Bullock is in. This is best described as a black comedy. There are humorous moments, but this is first and foremost a drama. The story is good, but not great. There were a couple of flaws that I won’t spoil, but they’re not major faults.

I personally liked the film, but I can’t say that everyone will enjoy it.