Rising up to Expose Himself in 2nd Film as Director
On Friday, January 24th, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart made a surprise cameo on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” Rising unannounced from the depths of Colbert’s desk, the comedian was greeted with thunderous applause in the Ed Sullivan Theater, and after humorously declining to comment on recent political news, Stewart debuted the trailer for his new movie “Irresistible.”
Stewart’s “Irresistible” is not to be confused with the 2006 drama-thriller film of the same name. This “Irresistible” is a political comedy characteristic of Stewart’s humor. It is the satirist’s second directorial project, and his first comedy film. While he has a long resume when it comes to writing and producing, Stewart’s only previous directing job was for the 2014 political drama “Rosewater.”
“Irresistible” stars Steve Carell—a former correspondent of Stewart’s on “The Daily Show” from 1999-2005. In the film, Carell plays Gary Zimmer, a top political strategist for the Democratic Party. After seeing a video of a retired Marine veteran (played by Chris Cooper) standing up for undocumented workers in his rural Wisconsin town, Zimmer moves to the small community to help the veteran run for mayor. It is a move to help the Democratic National Committee win back middle America, but as the local campaign gains national attention, the Republican National Committee sends their own representative (played by Rose Byrne) to counter Zimmer’s plan.
When it comes to Jon Stewart, the political commentary is never abstract. “Irresistible” is quite explicit in its contemporary undertones, commentating on the tumultuous relationship between Democrats and Republicans in the United States today. As most politically informed people know, the 2016 election was won by a handful of voters living in small, mostly Midwest districts. Therefore, the face off between Zimmer and his opponent strategist in Wisconsin is particularly telling.
Stewart Stays involved, albeit in new Role as Producer / Director / Writer
Stewart announced his plans to direct the film back in October, 2018 with Steve Carell already tentatively attached to the lead role. Three months into 2019, Rose Byrne and Chris Cooper also came onto the project. Topher Grace, Mackenzie Davis, and Debra Messing joined the cast a month later.
Focus Features acquired distribution rights to the film in April 2019 and Plan B Entertainment is producing the film with a short list of experienced individuals including Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner of “Moonlight,” Lila Yacoub of “Moonrise Kingdom,” Brad Pitt, and Jon Stewart himself.
While it might seem like Jon Stewart has not been active since his step down from “The Daily Show” in 2015, this is entirely untrue. Over the past few years, he has done much work behind the camera, writing episodes of “The Daily Show” and “The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore” while producing lots of content with Colbert.
Nevertheless, “Irresistible” is indeed one of Stewart’s first high profile productions in a while. Although he is unlikely to appear on screen during the film, he does don the triple creative crown as writer, director, and producer. The movie will also be a return to comedy acting for Carell, who has been doing more dramatic roles of lately, appearing in heavier projects such as “Beautiful Boy,” “Vice,” and “Welcome To Marwen.” He has also been working behind the camera, creating the sci-fi comedy “Space Force” series and the action-comedy “Angie Tribeca.”
“Irresistable”originally scheduled for theaters May 29th is now available to stream:
Stream now on Amazon
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