Ah 2020! A time that – at least for Americans – marks that most exciting of years, Election Year. While the next several months leading up to November are sure to carry a degree of rhetoric, grandstanding, vitriol, and spirited debates, it's important to look for the humor amid the morass. While political films has certainly been fodder for Hollywood over the years, everything from ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN, to PRIMARY COLORS, to SWING VOTE, the genre has never lost its appeal.
At the forefront of news satire over the last two decades has been actor, comedian, and talk show host Jon Stewart (THE FACULTY). The noted host of The Daily Show stepped down from the position in 2015 after a sixteen year run on the program. Since retiring, Stewart has continued his advocacy for 9/11 first responders. His appearances before Congress in February and June of 2019 were riveting.
In addition to his advocacy, Stewart has since delved into the realm of directing. His directorial debut, 2014's ROSEWATER, was a political thriller based on the imprisonment of journalist Maziar Bahari. While a failure at the box office, the film was a success with critics and possesses a 77% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Now after more than half a decade, Jon Stewart has returned for his sophomore effort IRRESISTIBLE, and today Focus Features finally dropped the first trailer for the political satire.
While the film clearly has a political bent to it, the movie looks extremely funny. The "John Wayne and a tractor had a baby" line had me rolling. IRRESISTIBLE looks to be lampooning the political process but also the polarization and partisanship that so often happens in politics. It also appears as if the movie will take aim at cable news' insatiable hunger for conflict in order to feed the twenty-four news cycle. What's interesting as well is this is no mere indie film like ROSEWATER. This is a full-fledged Hollywood satire starring comedic genius Steve Carell and Oscar winning actor Chris Cooper. It will be interesting to see how Jon Stewart pulls off a major studio project like this.
IRRESISTIBLE starring Steve Carell, Chris Cooper, Rose Byrne, Mackenzie Davis, Topher Grace, Will Sasso, and Debra Messing will hit the voting booth May 29, 2020.