Release date: Today (June 26)
Cast: Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper, Mackenzie Davis, Topher Grace, Natasha Lyonne
Director: Jon Stewart
Run-time: 1h 42 min
Age rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes: 39%
Missing Jon Stewart's snark from The Daily Show? Today we can watch Irresistible online. Stewart wrote and directed the political satire film, which stars friend and former Daily Show contributor Steve Carell.
After 16 years of hosting The Daily Show, Stewart left in 2015, just missing out on taking aim at Donald Trump's presidency. But it seems he feels he has something to add to the national political conversation, since he puts on his filmmaking hat for only the second time ever (after 2014's Rosewater). With Irresistible, Stewart sets his sights on the brutal and cynical world of campaigning and elections.
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Carell stars as Gary Zimmer, a Democratic political strategist who sees a viral video of a retired Marine colonel (Chris Cooper) standing up for undocumented immigrants. Gary decides to push Jack Hastings to run for mayor of his small, conservative town in Wisconsin, as the first step in winning back the Heartland for the party.
Standing in the way, though, is Republican operative Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne). Soon, this small local race becomes a fight for the soul of America.
Here's everything you need to know about how to watch Irresistible online right now. Watch the trailer below:
How to watch Irresistible with a VPN
So, as I said above, some folks stuck abroad — away from countries where Irresistible is available on premium video on demand on their platform of choice — will likely be running into geo-fenced restrictions on what services they can use. But, with the help of a virtual private network (VPN), they can watch Irresistible (and all the other services from their home country) no matter where they are.
Based on our testing, the best VPN is ExpressVPN, which is easy to use and delivers fast internet speeds, making it simple to set up for streaming in no time at all. It also works on practically any device, starting with iOS and Android and including streaming devices such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick and Apple TV. Plus, game consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
How do I watch Irresistible in the US and UK?
Irresistible is now available to stream, as it came out today (Friday, June 26) as a premium video on demand rental for $19.99. You can rent it through:
Plus, most other digital marketplaces including:
- Google Play
- Vudu
- Xfinity
Is Irresistible on Netflix?
No, Irresistible is only available as a premium video on demand (VOD) rental. That has essentially replaced its theatrical release.
Once its "theatrical window" is closed, however, it's still not likely to ever join Netflix's library since it's a Focus Features film. The studio is owned by Comcast, so its movies are most likely to go to the Peacock streaming service. That's where Irresistible will probably stream later this year.
Irresistible main cast
The Irresistible cast is led by star Steve Carell, who collaborated on The Daily Show with Stewart. He plays Gary Zimmer, a Democratic political strategist.
The rest of the Irresistible cast includes:
- Rose Byrne as Faith Brewster, a Republican National Party strategist
- Chris Cooper as retired Marine Colonel Jack Hastings
- Mackenzie Davis as Diana Hastings, Jack's daughter
- Topher Grace as Kurt Farlander, as Gary's staff member
- Natasha Lyonne as Janet De Tessant, as Gary's computer consultant
- Will Sasso as Nick Farlander
- C.J. Wilson as Lowell
- Brent Sexton as Mayor Braun
- Alan Aisenberg as Evan
- Debra Messing as Babs Garnett
- Christian Adam as Michael Garnett
- Will McLaughlin as Captain Ortiz
Irresistible reviews
Jon Stewart's movie is getting mostly negative reviews. Many point out how untimely and out of touch it feels in the current landscape (given the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests). Here's a roundup of Irresistible reviews.
Vulture: "Irresistible isn’t just shockingly ineffectual in its insights into national schisms — it is, in an added betrayal, unfunny, requiring its audience to slog their way through so much laborious farce without a laugh in sight."
NPR: "It's also so utterly toothless as satire, because there's nothing in it that challenges anyone's ideas about anything. Who is going to find this provocative?"
Rolling Stone: "... the former late-night fixture ingeniously makes it impossible to take sides … since both sides totally suck."
AV Club: "... when the wisdom being imparted is this conventional, you better find a dramatically or comedically satisfying way to package it. Stewart hasn’t."
New York Post: "Stewart is 100 percent the man who bungled this election comedy that boasts not a single satisfying joke, all the while priding itself on being ripped from 4-year-old headlines."
