If only it could have been smarter. If only it cold have been funnier. “Our Brand Is Crisis” wants to be the next great political satire, but never quite gets there. The movie is loosely based on a true story, discussed in a documentary of the same name by Rachel Boynton, about American political campaign strategists who were hired to help install a new leader in Bolivia. This version stars Sandra Bullock as a fictional campaign strategist brought out of retirement to help with the team down in Bolivia.

Bullock’s character, Jane, is described as being “the best in the world” and we meet in her a surprisingly cliché opening scene. You’ve likely seen this kind of scene play out before, mostly in action movies, where the main character is seen living alone out in a cabin somewhere in the middle of nowhere. A team of people come to his or home and ask for him or her to do one last job. The character at first resists, usually giving some sort of “I’m too old for this” or “I don’t do that kind of thing anymore” line, but eventually they agree.

Once in Bolivia, Jane and her team (Anthony Mackie, Ann Dowd, Scoot McNairy, Zoe Kazan) must figure out a way to make candidate (Joaquim de Almeida) rise in popularity. Knowing they can not eliminate the rather stuck-up and entitled personality, the team decides to focus the campaign of promoting a nation in crisis. Of course the upside to this is that they can position their candidate as the only man capable to solve this crisis.

However, things get heated with Jane’s arch rival (Billy Bob Thornton) ends up helping the opposing side. Bullock and Thornton must not have been on the same page as far as what the relationship between these characters was, as well as their history. The exchanges between them are awkward and it is often hard to tell is Thornton is teasing or flirting with her. The audience is given no information other than the fact that these two have squared off before, making their exchanges all the more bewildering.

For most of its running time, “Our Brand Is Crisis” breezes along with a light comedic touch. That is, until the latter half of the picture when things start taking a more serious stance. The idea of this movie is to show how political campaigns are for the most part smoke and mirrors. Politicians lie and campaign strategists manipulate. It’s all part of a game to win over voters, which in all fairness, is not that new of a concept. Other movies, such as “Wag the Dog,” have explored these areas before with more eclectic humor and more impact.

The movie’s serious climax, leading to chaos erupting in the streets, feels extremely heavy handed and lacks any real impact. The reveals are unsurprising and unoriginal. If this movie wanted to make a statement on the phony nature of political campaigns, it could have picked a more interesting and exciting way to tell it. As for Bullock, she manages to deliver a fine performance and her humor does manage to push the movie through some of it’s low points but not enough to save it entirely.

Rating: 3/5

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.