Photo courtesy of Focus Features
Steve Carell stars in Irresistible, which is scheduled to be released on streaming services on June 26, 2020.
GOP operative Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne) explains that she’s a master of spin because she’s “really good at lying.” But her ready-for-Fox character in Jon Stewart’s droll comedy Irresistible—intended for theaters but pivoted to video on demand—takes as its primary target the Democratic Party’s loss of connection with blue-collar voters, the fabled heartland—all those people routinely denounced for voting against their own best interests and supporting the rightward drift behind Donald Trump’s ascent from the green room to the White House.
Steve Carell stars as Gary Zimmer, a high-end Democratic consultant captivated by a YouTube video recording an exchange in Deerhawken, Wis., between the anti-immigrant mayor and dairy farmer Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper). A Marine veteran, Jack stands against denying benefits to non-citizens. When the river overflowed, he reminds the mayor, “the people you think are cheating helped fill the sandbags. You didn’t check their IDs.” In a town of boarded-up storefronts and declining population, “the chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” he adds.
Jack loses the argument but gains the unexpected attention of the East Coast elite. Gary flies to Flyover Land in a private jet to make him an offer: the full resources of the DNC if he chooses to run for mayor of Deerhawken. Jack reluctantly accepts the honor and like the Marine colonel he once was, charges forward into battle.
Irresistible is partly a fish out of water comedy, as Gary puzzles over the “have a good one” friendliness of small-town Wisconsin. He’s perfectly cast for his meticulously earnest, well-meaning but slightly off-rhythm role. Likewise, Cooper plays a man of big hands, few words and humble deeds transformed into a working-class hero by TV advertising. “Tempered by War—Driven by Faith—a New Kind of Democrat.”
Naturally, Faith Brewster parachutes into Deerhawken, backed by right-wing PAC money, to organize a counter-offensive in favor of the incumbent mayor. The town becomes a battleground of partisan interests.
Irresistible reflects the thinking of Thomas Frank and other activists who have bemoaned the Democratic Party’s focus on special interests rather than a broader appeal to the common good. It spoofs the post-Citizens United role of money in politics, a field dominated now more than ever by those who can outspend, out-network and out-poll, analyzing data to discern the “trend lines.”
For David Luhrssen's discussion of this film with WUWM "Lake Effect's" Audrey Nowakowski, visit:
https://www.wuwm.com/post/while-slightly-mark-irresistible-deserves-good-look-couple-laughs#stream/0
Irresistible will be released June 26. Here are all of the websites set to stream the film.
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To read more articles by Dave Luhrssen, click here.
