Jon Stewart stepped out from behind The Daily Show desk back in 2014 for his writing and directing feature film, Rosewater. That biographical drama starred Gael García Bernal as Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who was detained and brutally interrogated by Iranian forces who suspected him of being a spy. Stewart’s new film, Irresistible, is more of a homegrown story and its tone is more in line with what you would have expected from the veteran comedian. The plot of the political satire centers on a Democratic strategist (Steve Carell) who helps a retired veteran (Chris Cooper) run for mayor in a small, conservative Midwest town. He runs into trouble when a Republican strategist (Rose Byrne) gains interest.
This looks like it could be quite great, or maybe not-so-great. The satire here is a fine line, and I’m not sure this trailer gets the tone across perfectly. Or maybe it does. As a longtime viewer of Stewart’s Daily Show, however, I was a bit tickled to see the former host taking aim at cable news, and I’ll be curious to see what thematic thrust this one ultimately lands on.
Check out the first Irresistible trailer below. Also starring Topher Grace, Natasha Lyonne, Mackenzie Davis, CJ Wilson, and Will Sasso, Irresistible will open on May 29th, courtesy of Focus Features. Be sure to see what Carell had to say about collaborating with Stewart in this video interview from our own Steve Weintraub for Carell’s AppleTV+ series, The Morning Show.
Watch the first trailer for Irresistible below:
Here’s the official synopsis:
Written and directed by Jon Stewart, Irresistible is a comedy about what happens when a small Wisconsin town becomes the main attraction of our political circus. After the Democrat’s top strategist Gary (Steve Carell) sees a video of a retired Marine Colonel (Chris Cooper) standing up for the rights of his town’s undocumented workers, Gary believes he has found the key to winning back the Heartland. However, when the Republicans counter him by sending in his brilliant nemesis Faith (Rose Byrne), what started out as a local race quickly becomes an out-of-control and hilarious fight for the soul of America.
