Hey Google, tell phone lady to hang up!
Year Released: 2020
Director: Jon Stewart
Cast: Steve Carell, Mackenzie Davis, Chris Cooper, Rose Bryne, Brent Saxton and Will Sasso
This is a movie that has been on my “to watch” list for a while, and looks very similar in many ways to some of the movies you would expect to see in the early 2000s. That, combined with a largely decent cast (I say largely decent as Mackenzie Davis is in and she rarely makes good movies), made me keen to watch this.
However, I then saw (albeit didn’t read) a review describing the movie as having a film title that could technically count as false-advertising, so that has made me slightly apprehensive. Granted, reviews can often be taken with a pinch of salt, and I say that as a film reviewer, as it’s always down to the interpretation of those watching it.
It’ll hopefully be worth the mild excitement.
Plot
Faith (Byrne) and Gary (Carell) are opposing political strategists, with the latter going into a depression following on from his unsuccessful bid to help Hilary Clinton win the 2016 elections.
Meanwhile, in the small town of Deerlaken, Jack (Cooper) fights to keep immigrants from being forced out of time, and Gary is impressed when the clip goes viral. He believes he can win the town back over to the Democratic side, which will hopefully lead to a domino effect in similar sized areas.
Gary makes his way down to the small town and convinces Gary to let him represent it, and he brings his know-how in, but it isn’t long before Faith gets involved, but could something else be afoot?
So was it worth a watch, or was “Irresistible” truly an inappropriate name for the movie?
For the first hour or so of this 102-minute flick, “Irresistible” was passable, but not spectacular. It is your classic fish-out-of-water film, focusing on a man from a big city suddenly not having the luxuries he is used to be having to adapt. It’s a tried and trusted method of storytelling.
There are likeable bits here and there throughout the movie, but then, much like 2020’s “Greed”, the lack of subtlety with its political message is. It actually gets to the point where the ending made it feel like I had wasted the previous 90 or so minutes. Having a message is fine, but this felt neither merited or particularly clever.
What makes it even worse is that pretty much all of the characters are remarkably bland. They all lack any energy whatsoever. I’m not saying the acting is bad, but there isn’t a single character that was worthwhile investing in. I’m not even entirely sure Mackenzie Davis says a single line of dialogue until fifteen minutes after she first appears on-screen.
“Irresistible” is a movie that, despite what its name suggests, you won’t be in a hurry to watch again.
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Rose Byrne stars as Faith Brewster and Steve Carell as Gary Zimmer in IRRESISTIBLE, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Daniel McFadden / Focus Features
Summary
A movie with the subtlety of a punch to the face with a tank, “Irresistible” is indeed a movie that doesn’t live up to the interesting title.
With characters that are hard to care about and an ending that actually wipes out any goodwill that you may have previously felt, this movie feels like a bit of a waste of your time.
“Irresistible” is currently on NowTV.
Sorry, never heard of it! 