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Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The film is based around the 2002 Bolivian Presidential Election and the Gonzalo "Goni" Sanchez de Lozada Campaign.The movie starts by introducing us to "Goni" and his flailing campaign and then quickly brings in GCS, Greenberg Carville Shrum, (yes, the James Carville) is an international political consulting firm. The film starts off kind of awkwardly and there is really nothing special about the first 3rd of the documentary.But the movie quickly kicks into gear about 30 min. in and never pulls up. Rachel Boynton, the director, does a good job of just presenting facts, never bashing the audience in the head with something that can be seen. She asks pretty good, not great, questions of those she interviews and presents people fairly throughout the film. The movie centers on the topic of how can international consulting firms participate in a democracy that isn't their own. The movie shows the personal feelings of the consultants for GCS and the effects GCS has had on Boilivia.That all being said I didn't like the camera angles or the audio. The audio was inconsistent; interviewer's voice was not miked so her questions were almost impossible to hear. The camera, at times, makes you feel not a part of the action.The movie is for anyone who watches the news or would like to consider themselves "well informed." – 8/10

American mercenary consultants led by James Carville go to Bolivia to influence and control the 2002 Bolivian Presidential Campaign. They claim to represent the candidate who stands the best chance of improving the plight of the Bolivian people, but in fact they are representing the candidate willing to pay them to come to Bolivia. Their client Goni (GONZALO SANCHEZ DE LOZADA) is an arrogant ruling class cigar-chomping goof who does whatever the consultants say. Ben Stiller's separated-at-birth twin, Jeremy Rosner, is the key Carville employee.Carville's people proceed to intentionally distort the record of the leading candidate, center-right leading candidate, Manfred Reyes, the mayor of Bolivia's Cochabama. Their negative campaigning seems to know no bounds, taking tactics right out of Karl Rove's playbook. They also attack Evo Morales and are helped in their efforts by the Bush Administration's Ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha. Manuel Rocha attacks Evo Morales, resulting in a huge gain in popularity for Evo.Goni eventually wins with 21% of the vote, thanks to Carville's consultants. Then the whole country falls apart. Goni goes into exile in the U.S.Great insight into the mindset of James Carville and his employees. Not exactly flattering for Carville, who doesn't seem to get the point.

I have rewatched Our Brand Is Crisis and am changing my review. The documentary film provides amazing access to a group of people (mostly Amercians) trying to change the outcome of a presidential election in Bolivia through instrumental and deceptive methods. Unfolding in a true three-act structure, the film leaves you wondering up until the end who will win. However, the essence of the film transcends the outcome of the election and shows how neocons utilize ideology and personal interests that connect to the interests of the United States. The film is clear, despite the director's naive comments about "knowing people who have money in order to make a film." My previous review criticized the filmmaker for her outrageous and incorrect comments that reveal her worldview just as the film reveals the worldview of the subjects in the film. Overall, the film contains excellent scenes that that slowly build into a true narrative.

The film maker and movie are NOT patronizing in any way. The only patronizing is done by the GCC (consulting agency which James Carville is a member). For the most part, it is a great inside look into political campaigns and the consultants who run them. Although campaigns are mostly a game to GCC, it shows how who wins or loses can have serious consequences. Even though some of GCC may be sobered by the end of the movie, they state that they would probably not change their practices.Unfortunately, the film maker does little to challenge GCC and its members which state that they support democratization and globalization - as if one has anything to do with the other. In fact, one of the members of GCC states that maybe Bolivian's didn't want democracy because they reject globalization. The film maker does nothing to challenge this view. As a result, the film maker missed an extremely important part of the story.