Sandra Bullock’s best efforts cannot overcome poor character and plot development in director David Green’s latest film, Our Brand Is Crisis, a loose adaptation of a 2005 documentary by the same name.

The film follows American campaign manager “Calamity” Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock of The Blind Side, Gravity), who takes a job with Pedro Castillo (Joaquim de Almeida of Clear And Present Danger), a presidential candidate in the fledgling democracy of Bolivia.

Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton of Armageddon), an old rival of Bodine, is the manager of opposition candidate Victor Rivera’s campaign.

After a presidential debate, Candy sends a man to ambush Castillo. The man cracks a raw egg on Castillo’s head, and to the chagrin of his campaign staff, Castillo punches the assailant.

That night, Bodine, who has not been of much help so far in the campaign, has an epiphany. The next morning, Bodine gathers Castillo and the campaign staff and proposes a new plan of action for the campaign.

Castillo is not the most charismatic candidate, so, Bodine says, they should stop trying to make him likeable. Castillo is a fighter, and he will stand up for Bolivia. If they can make the people of Bolivia believe the country is in a crisis, the people will vote for Castillo, the leader and fighter – not Rivera, the reformer.

The Castillo campaign needs to sell “crisis” to the people. Castillo’s brand is crisis.

Director David Green’s political “dramedy” has potential, but it fails to excite. Sandra Bullock nearly saves the film, but her character lacks the necessary development for the audience to appreciate her performance.

Bullock is touching, but either by her own fault or the fault of the director, she tries too hard to sell the washed-up-and-slightly-crazy persona. For instance, she carries around a magical bowl of healing throughout the film for good luck. Eccentric themes such as the bowl tend to ruin the more worthy aspects of the film.

When the film does develop backstory, the result is better.

For instance, the film thoroughly develops the backstory of the rivalry between Bodine and Candy. Their backstory is coherent and poignant. But, because the film develops only bits and pieces of backstory, the result is lukewarm.

Also, the film often focuses on sensational or amusing tidbits, such as Sandra Bullock mooning the opposition in a passing bus or the campaign staff partying and doing drugs with impoverished teenagers.

These moments generally detracted from the film.

Even for the biggest of political junkies, Our Brand Is Crisis does not deliver.

Rating: 2.5/5 Go see something else.