Nothing can derail or drive an election better than spin. And according to a marathon of The Thick Of It that I watched on Netflix, spin doctors are a force to be reckoned with. It’s also a sub-genre that we really see explored in Hollywood, with the last such film that I can recall right now being the 1997 satire Wag The Dog.
Anyway, here’s a new film that focuses on the mud-slinging of politics, that stars Sandra Bullock as an infamous political strategist, pulled out of retirement so that she can aid a Bolivian candidate who’s losing badly in the run-up to an election, thanks to his opposition being coached by her nemesis Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton).
Here’s the first trailer:
A Bolivian presidential candidate failing badly in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged but still brilliant strategist “Calamity” Jane Bodine (Bullock). In self-imposed retirement following a scandal that earned her nickname and rocked her to her core, Jane is coaxed back into the game for the chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Thornton), now coaching the opposition.
But as Candy zeroes in on every vulnerability – both on and off the campaign trail – Jane is plunged into a personal crisis as intense as the one her team exploits nationally to boost their numbers. Dramatic, rapid-fire and laced with satire, “Our Brand is Crisis” reveals the cynical machinations and private battles of world-class political consultants for whom nothing is sacred and winning is all that matters.
There’s some pedigree behind Our Brand is Crisis. The film is produced by by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, with a script from Peter “The Men Who Stare At Goats” Straughan. David “Pineapple Express” Green directs for an October 30 US release.
Last Updated: September 9, 2015
