I love Irresistible, the latest film written and directed by legendary
satirist Jon Stewart. Going in, I didn’t
really expect much from it, so I was quite surprised by how good it is. This could be the reason, compounded with
recency bias, why I feel this way about this film. It’s possible that I don’t really love it as
much as I feel I do now, being a slave of the moment and all. Fair. Still,
as I’m writing this, this is what I genuinely feel about this movie: it’s terrific,
and it’s one of my favorite films of the year so far.
Irresistible follows Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell), a Democratic
strategist who ran Hilary Clinton’s campaign during the 2016 presidential
elections and whose career slumped as a result of their humiliating defeat. After watching a viral video of a farmer and
a retired colonel named Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper) delivering a fiery speech on
behalf of undocumented immigrants during a town hall meeting in Deerlaken,
Wisconsin, Gary sees it as an opportunity to start his comeback. He goes to Deerlaken, convinces Jack to run
for mayor as a Democrat, and proceeds to serve as his campaign manager. Meanwhile, Gary’s long-time rival and
counterpart in the Republican Party, Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne), is sent to
Deerlaken to lead the incumbent mayor’s campaign.
This political comedy is perfect
for 2020, being another presidential election year. It not only has an engaging plot that has an
election at its center, but has insights that are worthwhile for the season as
well. While the scenarios it presents
are comical and outlandish – it’s a satire after all – and thus, unlikely to
happen – or, at least, exaggerated presentations on what occur in real life – they
ultimately feel down-to-earth because the themes they touch on are relatable
and are technically grounded on existing things.
The script is witty and
unpredictable. In a way, this movie
constantly evolves as you watch it.
Every time you think you already know what the movie is all about, it
pulls the rug under you. Then, near the
end, it gives you one of the most satisfying movie plot twists in recent
memory. Once it ends, everything clicks
nicely into place. This includes why the
movie is titled “Irresistible”, as you’re blown away by what it’s referring to
all along.
There are some jokes that miss,
but in general, it’s quite a hilarious movie.
It had me audibly laughing or
chuckling all throughout. It has some of
the funniest dialogues of the year, and half of their comical effectiveness is
due to the impeccable delivery of the actors.
Steve Carrell and Rose Bryne make
this movie. Their performances have the
comedic timing, nuances, and seeming self-awareness that perfectly optimizes
the humor, as most of the laughs come out of their respective sleazy
characters’ bitter rivalry. In addition, I also significantly like Mackenzie Davis in this movie.
Jon Stewart, like virtually
everyone in Hollywood, is a liberal. But
he’s one of the few intellectually honest ones left. Thus, he’s fair with the put-downs he wrote
into this movie. He pokes fun at the
right, but he also pokes fun at the left.
He roasts the mainstream media, American election culture, and both
political parties. He makes the cliched digs
at Republicans, but he also recognizes and lampoons what’s wrong with Democrats
right now – like their elitism, tendency to condescend, blatant hypocrisy, lack of self-awareness, and pandering tactics – which is causing their disconnect with the
American population outside of the major cities. This rare deviation from the usual Hollywood political
commentary – which is particularly all about pushing biased, leftist agendas – is
a breath of fresh air.
Liberals can actually learn a
lesson or two from this movie, which might have even been what Stewart wanted to provide
for his side. But the mostly
bad reviews that the liberal media industrial complex gave this movie seem to indicate that they still don’t get it. It’s as if, rather than learn from this movie, they chose to get offended by how it dares to go
against their narratives and mock their echo-chamber worldviews.
Irresistible is a film that’s currently being overlooked or
discounted. Which is a shame since, in
my opinion, it’s one of the smartest, freshest, and funniest movies of 2020 –
one of the year’s crème de la crème.
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