ROCK NOT ON A ROLL HERE.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

THE LAST REAL presidential election was a lot funnier than Chris Rock's ``Head of State,'' in which the often politically perceptive stand-up comedian dulls his cutting edge for less-than-winning returns.

Rock has no one but himself to blame for this unfocused collection of softball social satire and barely connected skits. He directed (though not a whole lot, it looks like), produced and co-wrote the thing, in which he plays an African-American D.C. alderman chosen by a major party to run for the highest office in the land.

The unintended irony is that the film's Mays Gilliam, who was picked so he'd lose the election but set the party up for a big minority turnout four years later, actually becomes a threat to the power structure. He stops following his handlers' bland script and speaks his own outrageous mind. Had Rock done the same and made his movie as smart as we know he can be rather than dumbing it down for the PG-13 crowd, its hilarity would undoubtedly have been more than an advertising campaign promise.

Up against a glib conservative (Nick Searcy) whose strategy is built around the motto ``God bless America and no place else'' and the fact that he's Sharon Stone's cousin (huh?), Mays suffers the smears and arrows of attack ads. The other side says he's pro-cancer; voters believe it!

He's also attacked by right wing talk radio and has to deal with a nightmare ex-girlfriend (Robin Givens, unimaginatively cast) who suddenly wants to get married now that Mays may make something out of himself.

His campaign consultants (Dylan Baker and Lynn Whitfield) are put in place by the party to sabotage his chances. But both come around to admire the man and his ghetto-fabulous running style. This includes such oh-so-original stereotype reversing as getting a party full of rich white contributors to dance the electric slide en masse.

The candidate's (and Rock's) best move along these lines is to name his older brother Mitch his running mate. Mitch is played by Bernie Mac, who at least brings a concentrated comic energy to his scenes that the otherwise diffused picture lacks.

Which is not to say that the rest of ``Head of State'' has a complete laugh deficit. Rock gets off some good ones here and there, but considering the rich possibilities the film's premise presents, there should have been a lot more, and made of much stronger satiric stuff.

But then, politics is the art of compromise.

HEAD OF STATE - Two stars

(PG-13: language, mild violence, drug use)

Starring: Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Lynn Whitfield, Dylan Baker.

Director: Chris Rock.

Running time: 1 hr. 37 min.

Playing: Wide release.

In a nutshell: A lot of jokes that really should have been sharper get thrown up on the screen in poorly connected ways.

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Chris Rock plays an African-American alderman chosen to run for President - with the expectation that he would lose but recruit a big minority turnout later in ``Head of State.''