In an early scene in Jon Stewart’s new movie Irresistible, Jack Hastings, a retired Marine, small-town Wisconsin farmer with a growly voice, rural sensibility, and the requisite jeans and tan field jacket is taped standing up at a town hall and telling his local politicians that, “If you can’t live your principles in the bad times, I guess they aren’t principles, they’re just hobbies.”
This video sparks the interest of Gary Zimmer, a Democrat political strategist played by Steve Carrell, who thinks Hastings has the marks of a political superstar who can help turn “the great, now swing state, of Wisconsin” blue again.
And so Zimmer and his team of Dems fly off to sunny Wisco to convince the grizzled old man to run for Mayor of his town, Deerlaken.
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This draws the attention of Zimmer’s Republican rival, played by Rose Byrne, who steps in to manage the incumbent Mayor’s campaign and sets off a national firestorm all centered around a mayoral election in this tiny town in our beloved state.
Irresistible is Stewart’s first movie since 2014’s Rosewater and his first collaboration with Steve Carrell since their time together on The Daily Show.
Unfortunately, the movie is sitting at about 40% on Rotten Tomatoes right now, but having not seen it yet, I will attribute that to anti-Wisconsin prejudice from New Yorkers and Chicagoans, and will still watch to see how this comedy portrays the ol’ Dairy State. Hopefully, they don’t lean too hard on cheese and/or cow jokes.
You can rent Irresistible this Friday on Prime Video, Fandango Now, Apple TV, and more.
