It was a courthouse once, and this week it will become a courthouse again. At least for a while.

A long-vacated upstairs courtroom in the downtown Tacoma post office building at 1102 A St., once home to the U.S. District Court, will again be the site of tense legal proceedings when a film crew sets up shop there Monday. They’ll be shooting a movie called “The Whole Truth,” which producer Larry Estes describes as a screwball romantic comedy in the spirit of “Bringing up Baby” and “What’s Up, Doc?”

Filming will continue through Oct. 21, said Mark Wygant, the production’s location manager.

The best-known actor in the cast is Eric Roberts, who plays a Russian mobster. But its stars are Elisabeth Rhm, best known for playing assistant district attorney Serena Southerlyn on TV’s “Law & Order,” and Sean Patrick Flanery, who played Indiana Jones in “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” series.

Estes said Rhm’s character is an actor who makes her living coaching criminal defendants on how to behave in a manner that wins the sympathies of juries. Flanery plays a once-hot TV star who has warm feelings for Rhm’s character. Roberts plays one of Rhm’s clients. Although Roberts’ mobster winds up menacing Rhm’s character, Estes calls the dangers she faces “funny peril.” This is a comedy, after all.

“The Whole Truth” was written and directed by Colleen Patrick, a Seattle filmmaker who also has a background as an acting coach. Rhm’s character isn’t based on Patrick, Estes said, but the script is “flavored by her experience” as a coach.

The film has been shooting in Bellevue and Seattle for the past few weeks. Seattle locations have included Pioneer Square and the federal courthouse. The movie is set in Seattle, and city landmarks, including the courthouse, will identify it as such. The Seattle courthouse will be seen in exterior shots, but once the actors move indoors, it will be in the Tacoma courtroom, where several key scenes will be shot.

Crew members were busy last week moving furniture and other props into the empty courtroom to get it ready for its close-up. When filming begins Monday, Court A between South 11th and 12th streets on the west side of the building will be closed to traffic, said Nancy Grabinski-Young, film liaison for the City of Tacoma. Parking will be restricted around the building on A, 11th and 12th streets. Traffic will not be disrupted, Grabinski-Young said.

It’s been a while since Tacoma has been used as a location for a major feature film. In the late 1980s and throughout the ’90s, pictures such as “Three Fugitives,” “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” “I Love You To Death” and “10 Things I Hate About You” were all shot in the city. Filming in Tacoma and throughout the Northwest tapered off as more and more productions went north to British Columbia to take advantage of a more favorable exchange rate and other financial incentives offered in Canada.

“The Whole Truth” is being made by a Seattle-based company, Heart Break Productionz, which was founded earlier this year by director Patrick and her business partner Gary Allen Tucci. “The Whole Truth” is Patrick’s feature directorial debut. Estes said the company has plans to make several more features in the Seattle area.

“The Whole Truth” could be in theaters by next summer, Estes said.

Soren Andersen: 253-597-8660