''Grassroots'' is a 2012 American

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...

dark

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal, based on the book ''

Zioncheck Zioncheck is a card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker ...

for President'' by Phil Campbell. Shot in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, the film revolves around a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

campaign for Seattle City Council and explores what happens when a dedicated activist tries to realize a vision by seeking political office.

Plot

The film tells the story of Phil Campbell ( Jason Biggs), a journalist who has just lost his job and gets roped into leading Grant Cogswell's political campaign. Grant, played by Joel David Moore, is Phil's enthusiastic and eccentric friend whose passion for the

Seattle Monorail Project The Seattle Monorail Project was a proposed five-line monorail system to be constructed in Seattle, Washington, US, as an extension of the existing Seattle Center Monorail. The , 17 station Green Line running from Ballard to West Seattle via ...

inspires him to run for

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-la ...

. Grant is running against Richard McIver, played by

Cedric the Entertainer Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He hosted BET's ''ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' in 1995. He is b ...

, although McIver has more money and more supporters, Grant's blind passion paired with Phil's strategy makes Grant a contender.

Cast

* Jason Biggs as Phil Campbell * Joel David Moore as Grant Cogswell *

Lauren Ambrose Lauren Anne D'Ambruoso (born February 20, 1978), known professionally as Lauren Ambrose, is an American actress and singer. She performs in television, film, and on Broadway. Ambrose had television roles as Claire Fisher in ''Six Feet Under'' ...

as Emily Bowen *

Cobie Smulders Jacoba Francisca Maria "Cobie" Smulders (born April 3, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring role as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' (2005–2014) and as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in the Ma ...

as Clair *

Tom Arnold Tom Arnold may refer to: * Tom Arnold (actor) (born 1959), American actor * Tom Arnold (economist) (born 1948), Irish CEO of Concern Worldwide * Tom Arnold (footballer) (1878–?), English footballer * Tom Arnold (literary scholar) (1823–1900), B ...

as Tommy * Emily Bergl as Theresa Glendon * Todd Stashwick as Nick Ricochet *

as Richard McIver * DC Pierson as Wayne *

Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American film, television, theatre and voice actor. McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy ''Happy Gilmore''. Other notable ...

as Jim Tripp

References

External links

* * {{Stephen Gyllenhaal 2012 films Films about elections Films directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal 2010s English-language films American political comedy films American black comedy films Films shot in Washington (state) Films shot in Seattle 2010s American films