Laughs outweigh flaws in Stewart’s smart political satire
I try not to read reviews of any film I’m going to review so as not to be unconsciously influenced, but this week it was hard to miss the early review headlines in my social media feed for Irresistible, comedian Jon Stewart’s new picture. My fellow critics seemed to not just dislike the film, but to actively hate it. It has a 47 rating on MetaCritic right now. Ouch. I had to wonder if we all saw the same movie. Because you know what? I actually liked it. I finished watching my screener, and I assumed reviews would be positive. I was really surprised by the hostile reactions. The picture isn’t perfect, but it’s smart, relevant, and, most importantly, has some decent laughs. Am I the odd outlier here? Is my taste off? Or are my colleagues all wrong? All I can say is read on for my take, watch the picture, and then decide for yourself which camp you’re in.
Stewart picks up the writing/directing reins here for the first time since his debut feature Rosewater in 2014 (which received more acclaim than his present effort). While that picture is a drama, Irresistible is a comedy, which would seem to be a more natural fit for the former Daily Show host, so it’s ironic he was more lauded for the dramatic picture.
Irresistible follows Democratic, DC-based political strategist Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell, in full annoyed mode), who, reeling from the clobbering of the 2016 election, decides the Democratic party needs a fresh candidate to rejuvenate it. When a video of an impassioned town hall speech by a former Marine colonel standing up for undocumented workers comes to his attention, Gary decides he’s found the new face of the Democratic party. He decamps to the Colonel’s hometown of fictional Deerlaken, Wisconsin, with the intent of first convincing Colonel Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper) to run for town mayor as a Democrat, and then helping him actually win. Gary’s theory is that if Col. Hastings can win a race in a conservative heartland, economically-depressed small town (the town’s military base has closed, leaving few employment options), voters everywhere will see that progressive values aren’t just limited to blue states.
Conflict arises, however, when the Republican party sends its own strategist to stump for the opponent, the incumbent Mayor Braun (Brent Sexton). Rose Byrne plays the icy, stop-at-nothing strategist Faith Brewster, and while Stewart could be faulted for writing a bit of a caricature, Faith makes an effective foil for the frustrated Gary. Carell and Byrne have real chemistry in these scenes as they deliver genuine laughs. And, luckily, Stewart avoids the cliche of pairing the two up romantically. Instead, we find Gary intrigued by Diana (Mackenzie Davis, Tully), the Colonel’s daughter and biggest fan. Davis does nice work here, as there is more to Diana than meets the eye, and her character is one of Stewart’s better written ones.
The rest of the supporting characters are where Stewart’s screenplay runs into trouble. Stewart doesn’t shy away from trading in some broad stereotypes about the midwest. There’s a running gag about how nice the townspeople are, which of course grumpy Gary finds irritating. The fish-out-of-water element runs a little thin (as in a scene when Gary blows his top because the makeshift campaign office has dial-up instead of wifi). Stewart maintains a level of gentle satire that often comes close to full on condescension, but mostly the tone teeters on the edge without falling all the way over.
What works best about the film is its Veep-like sensibilities towards politics and the way campaigns work. If you enjoyed that show, you’ll find something to like here, as Stewart matches that comedy’s cynicism not quite as smartly, but well enough to earn some laughs. The picture’s funniest bits by far are the campaign ads we see for Col. Hastings (he’s a “redder kind of blue,” one ad proclaims). And listen closely for the sponsorship taglines in these ads; they are uttered quickly, but they carry the stamp of cleverness that we remember from Stewart’s show.
The film wraps up in a way that may surprise you, and its ending may be what’s bothering critics. I can see how some might find it pedantic and almost preachy, but I found it shrewd and pleasantly unexpected. It definitely makes you think – both about everything you’ve seen prior, and about the state of our current election process. And any film that offers food for thought and several laugh out loud moments is okay in my book. If that makes me the odd one out, I can live with that.
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Irresistible is available today on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and other subscription and VOD services.
