Movie Review: Irresistible

Give me a Steve Carell and Rose Byrne and I’m IN. They do appear together in Irresistible. Written and directed by Jon Stewart (yes of “The Daily Show”), who last wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed documentary, Rosewater. With Stewart in the mix you can expect a significant political element to whatever he’s creating, which is what you get in this political comedy.

Carell plays a Democratic political strategist named Gary Zimmer that attempts to get Jack Hastings, a retired veteran, to become mayor of a small town in Wisconsin. The man playing Hastings is none other than the phenomenal Chris Cooper. Great casting there.

As if Zimmer didn’t have enough to deal with trying to get Hastings to become mayor in a conservative town of Deerlaken,WI (it’s not real), he has an adversary campaign strategist to square-off against. Rose Byrne plays Faith Brewster, aka the thorn at Zimmers side.

Irresistible is basically a comedic campaign movie. Think along the lines of movies like The Candidate and The Campaign, not something like The Ides of March. It’s fairly high on dry humor, which is made to look easy with the likes of Carell and Byrne at the forefront. Their characters bickering, bantering and competitive dueling is what makes this movie go.

A steller all-around cast, with supporting actors such as Topher Grace, Will Sasso, Mackenzie Davis and Natasha Lyonne. Cooper is the vital wildcard to the film. His scenes interacting with Carell are some of the most entertaining in the movie.

Carell and Byrne are hilarious and entertaining, mainly because of their characters approaches. Byrne delivers the non-apologetic raunchy humor, while Carell relies more on the deadpan comedy style that naturally suites him. Byrne just goes for it. Watch out for the scene where she licks Carell on the face. Gross, but also awkwardly funny.

Stewart certainly has a feel for blending comedy and politics. I enjoyed Irresistible. It does feel like it’s a bit of a throwback and would be the sort of movie you’d see in the early 2010’s due to the style and theme. It does fit the current climate. It does a decent job depicting the crazy world of political campaigning, even on the small scale. In times like these where new movies aren’t as frequently released, this film offers something fresh and fun.

GENRE: Drama, Comedy

RATING: R

RUNTIME: 1 hr 41 min

RELEASE DATE: June 26, 2020 in Theaters and On Demand for a 48-hour rental period for $19.99

• Acting: 9/10
• Entertainment: 7.5/10
• Story/Plot: 7/10
• Impression: 8/10
• Creativity: 7/10

‘IRRESISTIBLE’ Score: 77%

Jon Stewart’s IRRESISTIBLE starring Steve Carell and Rose Byrne will premiere at home on demand June 26th