Irresistible – More Like Somewhat Resistible? (Early Review)

As the popularity of PVOD as a release strategy arose earlier this year as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many distributors including Universal Pictures and Focus Features have somewhat exploited the market – and used it as an opportunity to give their films that arguably may not have performed financially a larger platform. Irresistible is the latest film that fits perfectly into this. It isn’t exactly a film worthy of a grand presentation but paying $20 as a rental for the whole family to watch on a rainy day isn’t the worst way out.

There’s quite a few things that work in Irresistible‘s favor, and the cast is certainly one of those. Carrell and Byrne as political strategists Gary Zimmer and Faith Brewster respectively always give off quite a charm, and this film was no exception. Even though the material they are given is quite middling and often silly, their combined on-screen essence make the film slightly more entertaining to watch. While the writing is quite funny on occasion, a lot of it feels forced into the film’s underwhelming narrative. However, when Stewart gets a chance to satirize some of the smaller details of U.S. politics, and its “us vs. them” mentality, the film finds a way to shine. For the most part, the film isn’t really noteworthy or thought provoking but its one-liners and their delivery from its talented assemble at least keep things somewhat engaging. Meanwhile, the film has quite interesting shot composition – it certainly doesn’t require the big screen, but there was definitely at least a slight bit of effort put into letting the film be visually appealing.

The biggest issue with Irresistible is unfortunately enough also its largest appeal – John Stewart’s sensibilities as a writer. Stewart is certainly a very funny man, and what he’s managed to achieve in the realm of a traditional TV format is quite impressive. However, these sensibilities don’t translate seamlessly to a narrative feature film. While it makes sense how he wanted to write something politically-themed, satirizing characters that don’t even exist significantly reduces its poignancy – especially as the stakes for the viewer are so low. This also creates quite an imbalance in the humor as a result. Some of the one liners require an inside view on politics to truly get, and many others just feel too silly and out of place tonally. The film is definitely quite funny at parts, but a lot of Stewart’s nuances feel extremely underwhelming when applied to a fictional story.

In the end, Irresistible feels like the type of film that is trying to say so much on such a small scale, inevitably leaving the audience on the fence. This will certainly be a divisive film that will likely work appeal more to fans of Stewart’s work but for more casual fans those not familiar with his work, the stakes are too low to justify full investment into this story.

still courtesy of Focus Features

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