Irresistible

“Send in the clowns.”

Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell) is a Democratic political consultant who sees a chance when a retired Marine colonel, Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper), runs for mayor of a small, conservative town in Wisconsin. Gary flies in to manage the race, and Jon Stewart sets him against Republican rival Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne). The film makes plain that a town's local election has become a prize the national parties fight over as their own.