Review of Irresistible (2020) by Tvjerry — 08 Feb 2021

I was a big fan of Jon Stewart on The Daily Show (still enjoy Trevor Noah). This film (which Stewart wrote and directed) echoes his occasional rants about the foibles in our government. Steve Carell plays a Democratic Party consultant, who travels to small town to help a reluctant man (Chris Cooper) run for mayor. The idea is that this victory will help the party win back the Heartland. While the premise had potential, the results are sadly lacking. Carrell provides the only funny moments and many of those are his cruel and condescending reactions to the small town folk. Rose Byrne’s equally haughty conservative only adds some fab wardrobe to the affair. The opportunity to ramp up comedy thru quirky supporting characters is completely lost. Stewart does keep the pace moving and enjoys his political observations, but his insistence on didactic lectures gets in the way of good storytelling. Essentially, this is a lesson about what’s wrong with our election system that’s played out in a long fable.

Interestingly, Stewart actually reverts to his TV days by ending the credits with his interview of an elections official.