Political consultant Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) had a mental breakdown and lives in seclusion. Nell (Ann Dowd),Buckley (Scoot McNairy),and Ben (Anthony Mackie) hire her to consult on the failing campaign of Pedro Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) as Bolivian President. He is a former leader who instigated harsh tactics and politics. She discovers old foe Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton) is running the leading candidate's campaign. She brings in LeBlanc (Zoe Kazan) to do opposition research.

This movie wants to be a powerful statement against politics but is also trying to be a silly comedy. The fact that it's dealing with realistic world politics means that it needs to be more vicious. It needs to be darker. It needs to hit harder. The charismatic Bullock is stuck in no-woman's land. She is still compelling and fun although fun is not necessarily the needed adjective.

'Our Brand is Crisis' is based upon the apparently true story of the wholly cynical manipulation of a presidential campaign in a Latin American country. With such subject matter, one would expect it to come across a lot more dark but unfortunately, this movie has a fairly laconic, wishy-washy feel to it. The promised head-butting between the two leads (Thornton and Bullock) comes across more as half-hearted ironic flirtation. The attempt at sentimentality at the end seems forced. I believe this movie would have played better as an unrepentant dark comedy, and also get the sense that it should have been a made-for-t.v. movie. There are some terrific location shots, apparently filmed in Bolivia, where the movie is set.

The film claims to be "inspired by true events" but is closer to a work of total fiction and is designed to make us look at our own candidates in an election year who claim there is a crisis and they are the only ones who can fix it.

The movie is entertaining as the quirky and unorthodox Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock) is hired by a Bolivian senator in a presidential bid. Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida) is "not trustworthy, not likable, stuck up little a-hole." He also has a smirk and connections to the IMF. Bodine takes on the job because her opponent is managed by Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton) a master strategist who has beaten Bodine on several occasions.

Castiilo's lack of charm is changed into being a forceful individual who can get the job done in what is now a "time of crisis." Bodine has a history with Candy as the campaign becomes personal. This is an interesting behind the scenes view of campaigns filled with humor and universal political themes.

Good job Bullock.

Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity. Sex talk.