“Calamity” Jane (Sandra Bullock) is retired from politics. She now lives on a snowtop-covered mountain, middle of nowhere, content to sip tea and wear flannel shirts. So when a political team tries to pull her back into the game – she was apparently a successful political strategist – she agrees, descending from her hilltop.
But upon landing on solid ground, and back in the political ring, she can barely stand up…nausea from the lack of high altitude setting in. Bullock spends the first half hour of the film practically passed out on whatever bench she can find. As an audience, intent on going along for the ride, we find ourselves asking why we want to believe in this character, let alone why a would-be Bolivian President might want her as his weapon of campaign defense.
But the Presidential candidate (Joaquim de Almeida) comes with his own nauseating behavior. A Trump-esque buffoon millionaire, he’s all about touching on the advertising points – environment, animals, taxes – all talk and promises, while Bolivia is facing it worse turmoil in history. Given what we’re enduring (in real life) as a nation fed-up with politics-as-usual, this just plays out as a pollutant cliché.
Billy Bob Thornton plays the tit-for-tat strategist on the opposition, so the film escalates into an exhausting game of who can win public votes.
As Americans we complain with how much money is poured into political campaigns. One might cut back on expenses by firing these two – Bullock and Thornton – for a start.
The problem with this film is it’s not likable from the first few minutes. George Clooney was to star in the lead role and turned it over to Bullock. But he remains producer and that puts up a red flag. Clooney has a failed history of awkwardly infusing comedy into drama. ‘Monuments Men’ anyone?
If that was the worst film last year, this is quite possibly the worst movie of this year. When will Clooney ever learn? His ‘brand is crisis’ that’s for sure.