‘Grass Roots’ Delivers the Funny (But Not the Votes)

By Marti Resteghini, Dec 09, 2009 in Grass Roots, Pop Culture, Show News

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‘Grass Roots’ Delivers the Funny (But Not the Votes)

In a time when the economy has seen better days, when we can’t decide who to be at war with, and when politicians seem to be talking out of both sides of their mouths, we could sure use a break from the burden of reality. For me, it’s a show like Yard Hill Productions’ Grass Roots that lightens the load by taking intimidating, powerful political figures and boiling them down to their least common (totally harmless and sometimes inept) denominator, the grassroots foot soldier.

Grass Roots is a comedy web series following the misadventures of two political staffers on the campaign trail for Jim Clarkson, a fictional candidate. The series, however, isn’t interested in telling the story of Clarkson, his candidacy or his policies, but rather the constant missteps of these two wannabes as they try to get out the vote in the most inappropriate ways. Miles and Harry, played by Aaron Hilliard and Kirby Heyborne (Free Ride), are so caught up in themselves that they never actually win over any voters. They’re so far removed from the Bill Clinton charm or the George W. swagger, that they have nothing to offer the Campaign but disastrous strategies that will keep you laughing and cringing. Just take a look at Episode 2 when they make a house call and begin by asking the woman at the door if the man of the house is available.

Channeling all the hilarity and awkwardness of Ricky Gervais-style humor, Grass Roots is what Hilliard likes to call ‘alternative comedy’ – odd and uncomfortable and genuine in its delivery. No clearer do we experience this than in the conversations between Miles and his uncommonly tolerant boss Neil, played by Nick Kroll (I Love You Man, Children’s Hospital). Constantly checking in on the guys as they make runs for coffee or distribute pamphlets, you wonder why Neil doesn’t just fire these guys. Even so, you hope they stick around long enough to wreak some real havoc. Their tastelessness is so addicting to watch, that you can’t help but feel nostalgia for the days of Monica Lewinsky… or at least Gennifer Flowers.

Having grown up in Des Moines, Iowa (home to one of the most critical events of the presidential election), writer/director Hilliard (Free Ride, The Life and Times of Tim) has experienced first-hand the grace and disgrace that makes up American campaigning. In fact, after releasing a political cartoon in the Des Moines Register during the 1996 election, he received his first piece of political hate mail – a necessary evil for any aspiring politician. But it wasn’t until the 2008 election that he conceived of a comedic take on politics focusing on the backbone of any campaign, big or small – the everyday staffers. “Politics is very messy,” says Hilliard. “I wanted to explore [with the series] the idea that politicians, and people who work on political campaigns, are just people, people who are trying to be part of the political process and do the right thing. But [Miles and Harry] just don’t have what it takes.”

From JFK to Nixon to Clinton, American politics have had more than enough material to satisfy the most gossip-driven enthusiasts. So why not take all the most exaggerated stereotypes, inept politicians and politically-incorrect issues and roll them all up together to laugh at ourselves for just a couple of minutes – while the rest of the world worries about health care and climate change?

Check out the six Season One episodes of Grass Roots and forget about the unemployment rate for a while. Lighten your load. Watch Grass Roots.

Marti Resteghini is VP of Network Programming and Acquisitions here at KoldCast TV. Formerly, as vice president of development and production at Warner Bros.-based production company, HDFilms, Resteghini oversaw the development, production and distribution of feature films, television and new media content across multiple platforms. In this post, Resteghini produced many high-profile Web series including “Chadam,” “Creepshow: Raw,” based on the 1980s cult classic feature film, and Crackle’s “The Jace Hall Show.”

Watch more amusing moments in real life politics.