''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 studies ...

dark Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...

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 Stephen Roark Gyllenhaal (; born October 4, 1949) is an American film director and poet. He is the father of actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Personal life Gyllenhaal was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Virginia Lowrie (née Childs) and ...

, based on the book '' Zioncheck 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 regio ...

, 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 Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Jim Levenstein in the '' American Pie'' comedy film series and Larry Bloom in the Netflix original series '' Orange Is the New Black''. He al ...

), a journalist who has just lost his job and gets roped into leading Grant Cogswell's political campaign. Grant, played by

Joel David Moore Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American character actor and director. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen ...

, 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 Seat ...

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-lar ...

. 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 bes ...

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

Cast

as Phil Campbell *

Grant Cogswell Grant Cogswell (born October 24, 1967) is an American screenwriter, independent film producer journalist, poet, and political activist. Life Cogswell coauthored the Seattle Monorail Initiative, a proposal to build a citywide monorail transit ...

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), ...

as Tommy *

Emily Bergl Anne Emily Bergl''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 25 April 1975) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Rachel Lang in the supernatural horror film '' The Rage: Carrie ...

as Theresa Glendon *

Todd Stashwick Todd Stashwick is an American actor and writer. He is known for his roles as Dale Malloy on '' The Riches'' and Deacon on '' 12 Monkeys''. Early life and career After performing at several local improvisational theaters, he was hired to tour wi ...

as Nick Ricochet *

as Richard McIver *

DC Pierson DC Pierson is an American comedian, author, and actor. He is best known for his involvement in the sketch and improvisational comedy group Derrick Comedy. Early life and education Pierson was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He attended New York Uni ...

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