Irresistible is a political comedy that was written and directed by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show fame. It is the story of a veteran Democratic Party campaign consultant named Gary Zimmer, who was discouraged by the results of the 2016 presidential election and believes that if he can find a Democrat to win the local mayor election, it might convince people across the South to vote Democrat. After seeing a video of retired Marine Col. Jack Hastings give a speech standing up for undocumented immigrants, he decides Jack is his man.
Jack lives in Deerlaken, Wisconsin, so Gary goes there to try and convince Jack to run for mayor. At first, Jack says no, but then he changes his mind and decides to run for mayor. But things start to fall apart quickly, with problems that include limited Wi-Fi, xenophobia, and the fact that the current mayor, Braun, is being funded by the Republican National Committee. The RNC even sends Faith Brewster to Wisconsin to control and keep an eye on Gary, who is her nemesis.
Jack and his daughter Diana allow Gary to be their campaign manager. When Braun gets ahead in the polls, Gary asks Diana to find some dirt on him so that his own numbers can go up. Diana is appalled at his suggestion and secretly goes to Braun for advice. Together, they create a bigger scandal about Braun to throw Gary off, but the scandal ends up being false. When election day arrives, no one goes out to vote. Both Gary and Faith are confused as to why, until Diana reveals a big secret.
It seems that Diana set up the entire scheme so that both Republicans and Democrats would pour lots of money into their town, which they need desperately because a military base there recently closed. Gary and Faith are both appalled that she would do this, and in the end a special election is held and Diana becomes the mayor. Gary and Faith, even though on opposite sides of the political spectrum, begin dating, but not before Gary professes an attraction to Diana. Diana declines his offer for the two of them to date.
Following are a few of the main characters in Irresistible:
Steve Carell (Gary Zimmer)
Gary Zimmer is a Democratic strategist looking for someone in a small town to run for mayor as a Democrat so that more people in the red states will consider voting Democrat. He views a speech of a retired colonel and is impressed, so he flies out to the man’s Wisconsin home and talks him into running for mayor. The man’s name is Jack Hastings and he and his daughter Diana hire Gary to be their campaign manager.
Things go awry quickly but Gary seems to have a ton of ideas to combat this, even though some of his ideas are less than honorable. In one scene, after Gary advertises a pro-contraception platform to a bunch of single women who he finds out later are nuns, Diana tells him that if he’s to continue being her father’s campaign manager, he’s got to “be nice” and play by the rules. By the end of the film, Gary discovers the election is a farce and he’s been played by Diana.
Rose Byrne (Faith Brewster)
Faith Brewster is sent by the Republican National Committee to keep an eye on Gary and pull some strings for the Republicans. After a few slips and falls from Jack’s campaign, thanks to Gary, the current mayor Braun, who is a Republican, finds himself ahead in the polls. When Faith finds out that the election was a scam, she is as disappointed and upset as Gary is, which might be why the two of them start dating at the end of the movie.
Chris Cooper (Retired Marine Colonel Jack Hastings)
Jack is a typical ex-military man – conservative and prefers things to be a certain way at all times. When he’s first approached by Gary Zimmer, he says he hates politics and is really more of a conservative than a liberal. But he eventually agrees to run for mayor as long as Gary agrees to be his campaign manager, to which Gary agrees. Jack immediately starts recruiting his friends to work on his campaign, and pretty soon he is running neck and neck in the polls with the incumbent, Mayor Braun.
Jack also travels with Gary to New York City to give a speech to potential fundraisers so that his odds of winning increase, and it works. Soon, Gary is able to upgrade the techniques they’re using for the campaign, and the campaign becomes much more sophisticated. Both Jack and Diana want to run a clean, honest campaign, so when Gary asks Diana to find some “dirt” on the current mayor, she is offended and immediately declines. In the end, it is Jack’s daughter Diana who admits the entire “campaign” was in fact a huge scam.
Mackenzie Davis (Diana Hastings)
Diana Hastings is Jack Hastings’ daughter and works closely with Gary throughout the farce campaign. When Gary asks Diana to give him some “dirt” on Mayor Braun, she is appalled and secretly goes to Braun to tell him what Gary requested. Together, Diana and Braun come up with a secret plan to create an even bigger scandal about Braun. They do this in part so that Gary doesn’t go after Braun’s brother, which was his intention all along – and Diana and Braun have that figured out.
In the end, the scandal ends up being false so it doesn’t matter, especially when Braun surges ahead in the polls. When it is revealed that the entire campaign was a setup, Gary and Faith discover that Diana planned the entire thing. She says she is tired of both parties promising things to small towns such as hers then forgetting about their promises once they get elected, and she did it to get money for the town that it desperately needs. A special election for mayor is then held and Diana wins the position.
Brent Sexton (Mayor Braun)
Though not a huge role, Mayor Braun is an important character because the fake election is all about replacing him with a Democrat. He does a good job in the scene where he and Diana work to come up with a “scandal” so that Gary doesn’t come after his brother instead. They create a huge scandal, and even though it is false, it takes Gary’s attention off of Braun’s brother so that neither Braun nor his brother are hurt by it.
This movie was released on VOD in June of 2020. It has mixed reviews and made less than half-a-million dollars. Critics gave it mixed reviews and called it a “soft political satire.” Some other characters in the movie include:
Topher Grace (Kurt Farlander)
Will Sasso (Nick Farlander)
Natasha Lyonne (Tina De Tessant)
C.J. Wilson (Lowell)
Alan Aisenberg (Evan)
Debra Messing as Babs Garnett
Christian Adam (Michael)
Will McLaughlin (Captain Ortiz)
Jason Vendryes (YAWM)
William Smith (Hofbrau Bar Fly)
This was Smith’s final film before his death in 2021.
William Tokarsky (Campaign Worker)
In addition, there are some well-known political figures who made guest appearances in the movie playing themselves. They include: