In this political climate comedian, Jon Stewart has decided to bring together a talented cast to tell the tale of a small-town election that represents the soul of America. It’s funny at times, well written at times, has an interesting theme and timely message but does Irresistible live up to its title?
The plot of Irresistible seems fairy straight from the get-go. Spin doctor Gary (Steve Carrell) is looking to find a Democratic candidate to win the hearts of America once again after losing to the previous Republican candidate (Trump).
He finds one such candidate in Deerlaken. Jack (Chris Cooper) is a retired soldier who fights for the little guy but clearly isn’t your average Democrat. So Gary heads to Deerlaken to meet this man and to enlist his aid in making America great again.
Cooper is a fun character and has that homegrown charm you want to root for. He is also accompanied by his daughter Diana (Mackenzie Davis). She is warm and welcoming but there are depths to her character that are explored later in the film to uneven levels of success.
The rat in Democrat
In Irresistible we the audience are shown what goes into a modern election campaign and it’s quite interesting and terrifying. Looking from the outside in is quite intimidating. The technology and its level of intrusiveness is disturbing.
The film also matches this with a cutting sense of humour personified by Rose Byrne’s character Faith. She is Gary’s frenemy, she is the yin to his yang and she is brilliant in the scenes she is in. She has an excellent rapport with Gary and I wish the film had focused more on this than the actual plot that it did focus on.
I think this comes down to the fact that the plot isn’t subtle at all with its message. That a combination of the media and the government have ruined the lives of people all across America to try push their own agendas.
Is Jon Stewart using a heavy handed method with his direction and writing? Yes but right now with the way America and the world is subtly doesn’t work. It’s fascinating because as an experiment in writing I think it’s fascinating, as a film I don’t know if it has enough in it to work.
Plus there is a third act element that just irked me. It took away the urgency of the whole film. Now the element itself is fascinating but in my opinion, it doesn’t work in the film. It ultimately takes away from the whole film.
With its stellar cast and the excellent rapport between them all Irresistible should be a great film unfortunately it gets bogged down in all the dirt of its political message.
It feels like an Adam McKay film with none of McKay’s cutting wit or style.
Ultimately Irresistible is a smart timely tale that gets in its own way sadly with decent performances and a dark wit to it that audiences will either love or hate.
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