Jon Stewart attempted to grow beyond his Daily Show persona with his 2014 directorial debut, the deadly serious Iranian prison drama Rosewater. If that title does not ring a bell, you are not alone, as that title quickly faded from theaters with an anemic box office run. With his follow-up, he chooses to stick to more of what he knows best; mixing comedy with politics. The political divide is as stark as it has ever been, and faith in the government is none-too-high. Stewart attempts to harness the grand exasperation we feel during the current climate and provide some catharsis in the form of a pointed political takedown. While a good idea in theory, as there is plenty worth criticizing in our political system, the execution leaves you feeling like there has been a lack of anything truly worthwhile added to the conversation. We know the system is corrupt and money muddies the water, but does Stewart have more to say than that? Irresistible may falter when it comes to delivering a refreshing new take, but it mostly works as a charming, small town story.
The film takes place shortly after the real-life 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump. No one can quite understand how it actually happened, but what everyone can agree on is that politics can no longer be looked at the same way. The democrats have taken the power of small-town Americans for granted, and that simply has to stop. Enter Gary Zimmer (Steve Carrell), the puppet master of the failed Hilary Clinton presidential bid who is looking for a way to bring the power back to his party. When a video of Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper), a widowed farmer and retired marine, goes viral in which he advocates for immigrant rights at a city council meeting, Gary gets extremely interested. Jack has the core ideas that give Gary that special tingling sensation, but he has the demeanor and appearance of someone who could win over heartland conservatives. Gary travels to Deerlaken, Wisconsin to find Jack and convince him to run for mayor as a democrat, hoping that eventually he could be bound for the White House. After some sweet-talking to Jack and his daughter, Diana (Mackenzie Davis), Gary succeeds in convincing Jack to let him run his campaign against the well-liked incumbent, Mayor Braun (Brent Sexton).
Small town politics go big in record time when Gary’s political adversary, Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne), catches wind of what he is up to, which inspires her to put the full weight of her power behind the Republican candidate. Stewart does an admirable job of showcasing how ridiculous and out of touch most politicians are with everyday American life. Gary comes into town with a condescending attitude in which he thinks that pretending to like “working class” things like a “Bud and a burger” is all you need to get in with these hayseeds. It is the townspeople that provide the most interesting aspects of the movie, as Gary and Faith simply are not hilarious enough in their over-the-top characters to keep the focus. Characters like the more-erudite-than-they -seem duo of Big Mike (Will Sasso) and Little Mike (Will McLaughlin), who inject salient points into the film, or, my personal favorite, Ann (Blair Sims), the timid baker who speaks her mind right after the person is out of earshot, steal the show every time. Stewart gives these tertiary characters traits that are thankfully fleshed out. These outsiders may think they are going to come into this town and use these people for their own gain, but there is more at play than meets the eye.
These characters are not intended to be the sole purpose of the narrative, though. They are a means to provide the political satire that Stewart finds so fascinating. Money gets thrown at the election from both sides in the most reckless manner because they do not want the other side to win. Technology allows the teams to extract data points so ultra-specific that it feels ethically dirty. This does lead to some fun characters in the form of Topher Grace and Natasha Lyonne, but their inherent talent feels wasted in their miniscule roles. Stewart has so many ways in which he attempts to skewer both sides of the political spectrum, but it feels a little toothless in the end. Irresistible shows how politics can be a greedy, dirty game, but we were already well aware of that. The specificity of the end grift may be new, but that does not make the movie feel as critical as it thinks it is. Despite a bit of a waste of Rose Byrne, the movie mostly still works as an offbeat character comedy, but those looking for a political satire with something original say may find this a lacking effort.
Video Quality
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment brings Irresistible to Blu-Ray with a very pleasing 1080p video presentation. The image is clean with the bright color palette popping off the screen. The film employs nice splashes of red and blue within the production design, which makes for a very striking image. The black levels are appropriately deep and inky with no discernable digital noise. The flesh tones are natural with a magnificent amount of detail present in close-ups, especially. The presentation provides a significant amount of depth on display, especially in the interior shots. The production design from the campaign headquarters to the private jet interiors, along with the fabrics of clothing, provide crystal clear textural details. This is as solid of a presentation as any modern movie should provide on Blu-Ray.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that recreates this world perfectly. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it always comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. There is very little in the way of action sequences, but the environmental sounds of the world engage the surround speakers in a really pleasing way. Ambient sounds are precisely placed in the rear channels. The music in the film fills the speakers in a wonderful, well-balanced way. There are a few exaggerated moments in the film that engage the low end in a really pleasing manner. The audio track is not pushed to the limit with this content, but it nonetheless proves to be an excellent sounding presentation for this feature.
Special Features
- Deleted and Extended Scenes: Nearly 21-minutes of unused footage including Gary getting acclimated to small town life, more scenes showcasing Diana’s skepticism, an additional scene with the NYC elite, some funny scenes at the church and more. There is some really compelling stuff in here worth checking out, but I can understand why it was cut for time.
- Gag Reel: A six-minute collection of flubbed lines, giggle fits and joking around on set. This is one of the most fun features on the disc.
- An Irresistible Story: A four-minute discussion with the cast and crew in which they touch on making the film even-handed and authentic, barely tweaking situations to sell the satire and more.
- Campaign Comedy – The Cast of Irresistible: A four-minute look at the cast of the film and the function they serve in the story. Everyone gets a small chance to shine with raves from other cast members.
- Taking The Lead – Jon Stewart: A three-minute look at what Stewart is like as a writer and director on set and why his crew loves collaborating with him.
Final Thoughts
Irresistible delivers on the quirky small-town comedy front, but the political satire feels a bit underdeveloped and heavy handed. Those wary of an inherently partisan movie need not be afraid, as this does not play as a hit piece against a specific party. There are enough laughs in here to recommend it as a sleepy weekend viewing with some rewatchability potential. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has delivered a Blu-Ray with a pretty stellar A/V presentation and some fun special features. Fans of the talent involved should give this one a spin.
Irresistible is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
