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Irresistible

Critics reviews, audience reviews, cast & crew.

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Irresistible

Rose Byrne and Steve Carell in Irresistible (2020)

A Democratic strategist helps a retired veteran run for mayor in a small, conservative Midwest town. A Democratic strategist helps a retired veteran run for mayor in a small, conservative Midwest town. A Democratic strategist helps a retired veteran run for mayor in a small, conservative Midwest town.

  • Jon Stewart
  • Steve Carell
  • Chris Cooper
  • 246 User reviews
  • 128 Critic reviews
  • 47 Metascore
  • 1 nomination

Irresistible - Trailer

  • Gary Zimmer

Rose Byrne

  • Faith Brewster

Chris Cooper

  • Jack Hastings

Brent Sexton

  • Mayor Braun

Will Sasso

  • Dave Vanelton
  • Councilman Jacobson

Tom Key

  • Councilman Pietkowski

Charles Green

  • Father Heuvel

Alan Aisenberg

  • DNC Staffer

Denise Moyé

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  • All cast & crew
  • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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  • Trivia Partially inspired by the 2017 special election for Georgia's 6th congressional district, where the Democratic and Republican parties and groups supporting them spent more than $55 million combined - the most expensive House Congressional election in U.S. history.
  • Goofs All elections for mayor in Wisconsin are non-partisan.

Diana Hastings : This system, the way we elect people, it's terrifying. And exhausting. And I think it's driving us all insane.

  • Crazy credits There are many extra scenes after the closing credits start to roll, and those credits restart several times. When they're about to end, Trevor Potter, former FEC chairman gives a brief, funny interview to director Jon Stewart.
  • Connections Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Failed Oscar Bait Movies of 2020 (2021)
  • Soundtracks Still the Same Written by Bob Seger Performed by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Courtesy of Hideout Records and Capitol Records Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User reviews 246

  • Jun 27, 2020
  • How long is Irresistible? Powered by Alexa
  • Why Wisconsin? Sure, it very accurately describes the money in Wisconsin politics, but just curious.
  • June 26, 2020 (United States)
  • United States
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  • Santa Clarita, California, USA
  • Busboy Productions
  • Plan B Entertainment
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  • Runtime 1 hour 41 minutes

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‘Irresistible’: Film Review

In his second film as a director, Jon Stewart has made a small-town satirical comedy that takes on the big-money corruptions of American politics. The movie hits its target, but in a safe way.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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Irresistible movie

“ Irresistible ” is the second film written and directed by Jon Stewart , but unlike the first, the deadly serious and surprisingly accomplished true-life Iranian prison drama “Rosewater” (2014), this one comes straight out of Stewart’s satirical-political wheelhouse. Set shortly after the 2016 presidential election, it’s a close-to-the-bone tall tale — slightly exaggerated but still basically plausible — of what happens when America’s two ruling political parties descend upon the rural heartland of Deerlaken, Wisconsin, to take over a small-town election for mayor.

At the center of the movie is a cynical sharpie of a campaign consultant, Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell), who combines the philosophy of a liberal, the high-maintenance fussiness of an East Coast lifestyle elitist, and the do-what-it-takes amorality of a corporate sociopath. He’s just coming off his time as “the grand consigliere” of Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid, and like most Democrats he’s in a slight state of shock at Donald Trump’s victory. But he’s enough of an image-politics brat to realize that his party, in order to regain power, needs a new kind of electoral star.

He thinks he spies that candidate when he catches a viral YouTube video of Col. Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper), a Marine veteran and Midwestern farmer — a guy as Trump Country as you can get — who stands up at a town-council meeting and accuses the mayor of Deerlaken of screwing over the local immigrant community. Gary takes one look at Jack and sees a heartland conservative…with the soul of a liberal! Or as Gary puts it, “A church-going Bernie Sanders with better bone density.” So he convinces Jack to run for mayor — and he marshals major party resources to back him, all with the hope of turning the national spotlight on a new brand of Democratic winner.

Popular on Variety

In outline, “Irresistible” is a fusion of “The Candidate,” “Wag the Dog,” “Green Acres,” a Preston Sturges comedy like “Hail the Conquering Hero,” and one of those shrewdly funny and didactic monologues from Stewart’s “Daily Show” days in which (in this case) he holds forth on all the sicknesses that ail the American body politic. In “Irresistible,” those include the takeover of politics by big money; the over-the-top fraudulence of campaign TV advertising; the focus-grouping and market-testing of every last voter demographic and policy idea; and the sound-bite candidates who are sold to the public like products. In short, “Irresistible” takes a gleeful, jocular look at the killing of electoral democracy by the twin demons of money and packaging.

All of which may inspire you to ask: So what else is new?

In theory, “Irresistible” is clever and scathingly illuminating, kind of like the way (in theory) that “Bob Roberts” was back in 1992. In practice, however, the film depends on reveling in most of the clichés and stereotypes it says it’s against. When Gary first shows up in Deerlaken, he goes to the local bar, the Hosfrau, and orders “a Bud and a burger,” as if that would mark him as a manly regular guy. (In truth, he favors caprese salads on his private-jet rides.) Jack’s longtime rival is Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne), a Republican operative in killer pumps who shows up to manage the campaign of the incumbent, Mayor Braun (Brent Sexton). She’s as ruthless as Gary is, but their face-offs — fueled, of course, by hate-on sexual tension — have the glib proscribed feel of something out of “The Office.”

The rest of the movie does, too. In “Rosewater,” Stewart proved that he could summon a convincing dramatic atmosphere, but in “Irresistible” there’s no discovery to the film’s broad and rather knee-jerk comic attitude. The tone is overly obvious yet pretend subtle, with pauses that keep nudging you in the ribs. (It’s as if Harold Pinter wrote a sitcom.)

More than that, the film keeps telling us what to think. As the campaign ratchets itself up from a homespun political contest to a fake-news war, Stewart flings potshots at a great many targets, and a handful of them hit: a skewering of Fox News in which the right-wing jabs sound as laughably scripted as some of them actually are; a commercial in which Jack fires off a machine gun like Rambo, then turns to the camera to say “I’m Jack Hastings and I approved this message”; a rueful moment when Gary concedes that “It’s not politics anymore — it’s just math.” Yet the notion that Gary has reduced “idealism” to a kind of opportunistic political app is itself, in “Irresistible,” a message that gets reduced to an app. It’s a comedy of signifiers that keeps pointing its finger at the superficiality of signifiers.

Near the end, there’s a big twist that gives everyone their just desserts and the American campaign system a kick in the pants. Stewart’s message: Our politics is being toxified — strangled — by money. And who would disagree? Yet you could also look at the politics of today and say that it’s not that simple — that the Republicans have become the party of authoritarianism, and that the Democrats are undergoing an identity crisis of values that extends far beyond the corruptions of money. “Irresistible” scores points yet feels behind the curve. You wish it were a bold satirical bulletin, or maybe just Stewart’s pricelessly amusing version of a Christopher Guest movie. Instead, the film is a lot like a politician: It makes a big show of leading the viewer, but without rocking the boat.

Reviewed online, June 16, 2020. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 101 MIN.

  • Production: A Focus Features release of a Plan B Entertainment, Busboy Productions production. Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Jon Stewart, Lila Yacoub. Executive producers: Christina Oh, Brad Pitt.
  • Crew: Director, screenplay: Jon Stewart. Camera: Bobby Bukowski. Editors: Jay Rabinowitz, Mike Selemon. Music: Bryce Dessner.
  • With: Steve Carrell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper, Mackenzie Davis, Topher Grace, Natasha Lyonne, Will Sasso, C.J. Wilson, Brent Sexton, Alan Aisenberg, Debra Messing, Christian Adam, Will McLaughlin, Bruce Altman.

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‘Irresistible’ Review: The Voters Are Red, the Message Is Blue

Jon Stewart’s new political satire, which presents a homespun cliché of Middle America, is a lecture on old news.

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irresistible movie review rotten tomatoes

By Jeannette Catsoulis

East Coast slickness meets heartland folksiness in “Irresistible,” a political satire so broad and blunt that it flattens every joke and deflates every setup. Movies like this should skip and jab; instead, this second feature from the writer and director Jon Stewart (after his impressively accomplished prison drama, “ Rosewater ,” in 2014) lumbers and flails. Set shortly after the 2016 election, it feels like an artifact from a particularly contentious past, a stale corn chip trampled into Party-convention carpeting.

Steve Carell is Gary Zimmer, a smooth D.C. political consultant still stunned by his failure to steer Hillary Clinton into the White House. He desperately needs a campaign to help him recover his mojo; and when he sees a viral video of Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper), a widowed farmer and retired Marine, argue for immigrants’ rights at a town meeting in Wisconsin, he believes he’s found the perfect candidate to road-test a message that will entice rural voters into the Democratic fold.

Labeling his discovery “a Bill Clinton with impulse control,” he jets off to the economically teetering town of Deerlaken, a place where Bob Seger rules the airwaves and everyone knows your pastry preference. But convincing Hastings to run for mayor as a Democrat only motivates Gary’s archnemesis, Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne) — a Kellyanne Conway type in lethal heels and curve-cuddling separates — to pull out every stop to defend the Republican incumbent.

Attacking both political affiliations with equal disgust, “Irresistible” seems disappointingly fatigued, its glossy veneer concealing a hollow core. Stewart’s plodding script, far removed from the light-footed political commentary he regularly delivered on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” evinces no apparent zest for its subject. As Gary herds volunteers and directs his candidate in photo shoots, the camera listlessly follows, as if responding to Carell’s unusually subdued performance. Worse, his scenes with Cooper — who has spent a career exuding low-key decency — are depressingly lacking the comedic spark they need to sell the pair’s odd-couple relationship.

Similarly, the absence of sexual tension between Carell and Byrne leaves their verbal jousts, however barbed, feeling fake and overdetermined. As compensation, Byrne (following a strong turn as Gloria Steinem in Hulu’s “Mrs. America”) gives Faith a bitingly droll politesse that tells us she has Gary’s number: She knows he’s as comfortable with his privilege as she is with hers.

In smaller parts that amount to little more than cameos, Natasha Lyonne and Topher Grace share micro-moments as a pair of squabbling analysts, and the terrific Mackenzie Davis is stranded in the pointless role of the novice candidate’s daughter, whose most memorable scene has her plunging her arm into a cow’s rear.

Trafficking in the elitism it purports to deplore, “Irresistible” presents a homespun cliché of Middle America, where Wi-Fi is like gold dust and political ads scream with flags and fear-mongering. This patronizing tone can at times be troubling: A visual gag featuring a severely disabled, robotically enhanced billionaire — a kind of Elon Musk figure called Rocketman who depends on multiple high-tech prosthetics — comes across as more offensive than funny. As does the suggestion that we should be surprised when rural voters recognize the difference between a simile and a metaphor.

Despite an occasional sharp moment (and some post-credits clips that feel more illuminating than anything that precedes them), “Irresistible” is a lecture on old news. Harping on the toxicity of an electoral system whose messages are fattened by money, shaped by focus groups and polished by pundits, its thesis may be too unsophisticated for our increasingly traumatic times.

Maybe that’s why, for me, its most indelible moment features Faith licking Gary’s face with agonizing slowness. Her action might be nauseating, but all I could think was, “Remember when we could still do that?”

Irresistible Rated R for vulgar language and reprehensible behavior. Running time: 1 hour 41 minutes. Rent on Amazon Prime Video , Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.

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Steve Carell and Rose Byrne face off as rival political strategists in Irresistible.

Irresistible review – subtle satire from Jon Stewart

Steve Carell is a political strategist lost in backwoods America in the former Daily Show host’s Capra-esque second film

“I don’t kid,” Donald Trump said last week, when asked if he was (as White House aides had claimed) “joking” about telling his Coronavirus team to “slow the testing down” . By the time you read this, he may well be claiming that he never said any of the words captured on camera. Who knows? Even those rolling news networks sympathetic to the president’s chicanery are struggling to keep up with the tsunami of untruths, falsehoods, and barefaced lies that now pass for policy in the US. As for political satire, it’s largely indistinguishable from the insanity of an administration flailing chaotically through economic, racial and medical turmoil.

Amid such horrors, there’s something reassuringly nostalgic about Irresistible , the second feature from former Daily Show host Jon Stewart . It’s not just that the film was shot in 2019, before the current crises. It’s more that Stewart adopts a gentle Capra-esque tone, looking beyond the ghastliness of the current incumbent, focusing instead on the wider, non-partisan problems that beset American politics.

Steve Carell plays Gary Zimmer, a liberally minded, corporate-mouthed (and typically untrustworthy) political strategist who was blindsided by Hillary’s defeat in 2016. Realising that the Democrats are in urgent need of a non-elite, “rural-friendly” face, he leaps upon a viral video of Colonel Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper, oozing old-fashioned sincerity) standing up to a town council meeting in the remote Wisconsin backwater of Deerlaken. “If you can’t live your principles in the bad times,” Jack tells the council, “I guess they’re not principles – they’re just hobbies.”

A marine veteran, farmer, and (most remarkably) a Democrat, Jack is everything Gary’s party needs, but sorely lacks – a “Bill Clinton with impulse control”, or “a church-going Bernie Sanders with better bone density”. So Gary decides to make Jack run for mayor, assembling a team who descend upon Deerlaken to manufacture a down-home Democratic victory. At which point, Gary’s arch rival Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne, flashing hair and teeth) arrives to fight the Republican corner, turning a local election into a bellwether battle that attracts national attention, and national dollars.

Stewart’s first feature, Rosewater , was a solid adaptation of journalist Maziar Bahari’s account of his detention in Iran shortly after appearing on a spoof Daily Show segment in which Jason Jones pretended to be an American “spy”. The situation may have been absurd, but there was nothing funny about Bahari’s ordeal, powerfully portrayed in Stewart’s film. With Irresistible (the name of which seems to nod toward Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui ), Stewart is back on home ground, opening with a TV show-style segment about the falsehoods of the “spin room” (“I look forward to lying to you in the future”) that we now take for granted.

What follows is a broad-strokes comedy drama pitched somewhere between the satire of Barry Levinson’s Wag the Dog and the fish-out-of-water charm of Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero . As with the former, the manipulation of “truth” into a saleable product allows for much wise-cracking fun, with number-crunching focus-groups mistaking nuns for contraception-conscious single women, and television adverts funded by “Powerful Progressives for Strength” or “Wisconsinites for Religiously Based Compassionate Empathy”. This is familiar fare, the kind of thing Stewart could do in his sleep – entertaining, if unsurprising.

The connection to Local Hero , however, is rather more subtle. When Gary first arrives in Deerlaken, the responses to his search for universal wifi (“good luck with that!”) echo the muffled laughter that greets Peter Riegert’s Mac when he asks his Ferness hosts if they have a charger so he can plug in his briefcase. Like Mac, Gary thinks he’s gone back in time, and we fondly imagine that a few days on the farm will somehow reset his metropolitan compass. But the gorgeous sting in the tail of Local Hero is that the villagers aren’t what Mac imagines at all – in fact, they have the measure of him long before he begins to understand them. Perhaps Gary should have boned up on his movie history along with all those statistical analyses.

“It’s just math,” Gary ruefully tells Diana (Mackenzie Davis), Jack’s 28-year-old daughter with whom he creepily imagines he has made “a connection”. “We need what they get… plus one.” Whether Irresistible is the movie we “need” in such testing times is open to debate, with some already accusing Stewart of having gone soft. But as a non-partisan response to the craziness of “this system, the way we elect people” (which is indeed “terrifying and exhausting”), it gets my vote.

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Irresistible

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Irresistible.

Directed by Jon Stewart

Send in the clowns.

A Democratic political consultant helps a retired Marine colonel run for mayor in a small, conservative Wisconsin town.

Steve Carell Rose Byrne Chris Cooper Brent Sexton Mackenzie Davis Topher Grace Natasha Lyonne Bill Irwin C.J. Wilson Will Sasso Alan Aisenberg Kevin Maier Tom Key Matt Lewis Vince Pisani Kurt Yue Denise Moyé Andre Rodriguez II Neal Reddy Sasha Morfaw Kelsi Macaluso Will McLaughlin Blake Jones William Smith Eve Gordon Seam Fitzpatrick Blair Sams Pat Fisher Christian Adam Show All… Rebecca Ray Nickolas Wolf Robert J. Carlton Ian Covell Gretchen Koerner Russell Davis Matthew Knott Andrea Frankle William Tokarsky Jason Kirkpatrick Aaron Strand Megan McFarland Christopher Hampton Parker Chapin Bruce Altman Debra Nelson Aaron Marcus Lisa Finlayson Zele Avradopoulos Swift Rice Cathy Hope Chelsea Banglesdorf Steve Barnes Kathleen Hogan Annie Cook Sandra Lee-Oian Thomas Jason Davis Pete Burris Ryan Lewis Jason Vendryes Christian Ruiz Katlyn Carlson Desi Lydic Doug Trapp Karl Kenzler Richie Moriarty Andrea Cirie Brandon Rush John Schmedes Richard Garner Amor Owens Chimere Love Nate Stewart Maggie Stewart Brad Lund Candy Crowley Trevor Potter Joe Scarborough Mika Brzezinski Charlotte Deleste Eric Franke Rick Yudt Shane Berengue Gloria Bishop Andrew Blood Fred Galle Charles Green Jennifer Hall Thomas Mark Higgins Jen Nikolaisen Cliff Weissman Russ Williamson Debra Messing

Director Director

Jon Stewart

Producers Producers

Jon Stewart Jeremy Kleiner Lila Yacoub Dede Gardner Catherine Farrell Louis Phillips Caity Gray

Writer Writer

Casting casting.

Meredith Tucker

Editors Editors

Mike Selemon Jay Rabinowitz

Cinematography Cinematography

Bobby Bukowski

Assistant Director Asst. Director

Jonas Spaccarotelli

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Brad Pitt Christina Oh

Production Design Production Design

Art direction art direction.

Brittany Hites

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Aimee Athnos

Special Effects Special Effects

Brendan McHale

Visual Effects Visual Effects

Jake Braver Adam Coggin Sarina De Leon

Stunts Stunts

Lex D. Geddings

Composer Composer

Bryce Dessner

Sound Sound

Davi Aquino Grant Elder Sandra Fox Jack Heeren Goro Koyama Matthew Nicolay Igor Nikolic Dave Paterson Kevin Schultz Don White

Costume Design Costume Design

Alex Bovaird

Makeup Makeup

Brie Puneky Leo Satkovich Kaylee Swisher Sarah Mays Caroline Monge Mary Flaa

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Odalys Núñez Adruitha Lee Melizah Anguiano Wheat Brynn Berg Katrina Suhre

Focus Features Plan B Entertainment Busboy Productions

Releases by Date

01 jul 2020, 06 aug 2020, 21 aug 2020, 17 sep 2020, 01 oct 2020, 26 jun 2020, 14 oct 2020, 14 sep 2020, 24 jun 2021, releases by country.

  • Theatrical 16
  • Theatrical U Universal Pictures International France
  • Digital VOD
  • Physical DVD
  • Theatrical Κ

Russian Federation

  • Theatrical 18+
  • Theatrical 7

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Josh Lewis

Review by Josh Lewis ★ 1

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You ever read about Hiroo Onoda, the Japanese soldier who didn’t know WW2 was over and stayed in the jungle “fighting” for decades after the Imperial Army had surrendered?

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You see folks, there is no left/right political apparatus. There are no ideologies. There is no such thing as material analysis. All these superficial partisan differences are fig leaves preventing us from achieving what Stewart believes are the two most important components of civic duty: finding Common Ground, and most importantly, Decorum™. 

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2020 Releases Ranked- HERE

Irresistible is a 2020 American political comedy film written and directed by Jon Stewart and starring Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper, Mackenzie Davis, Topher Grace and Natasha Lyonne. Irresistible currently has a rotten score of 41% on Rotten Tomatoes. The story follows a Democratic strategist who tries to help a local man win an election in a small right-wing town in American whilst facing completion from the previous mayor and their strategist. 

I went into this film knowing nothing, I didn’t know the plot nor had I seen the trailer so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Coming from England, I don’t know much about American politics so above everything else this film…

Will Menaker

Review by Will Menaker ★½ 6

Abysmal. Further thoughts tk on the pod.

kevinyang

Review by kevinyang ★½ 3

A movie starring Mackenzie Davis and Rose Byrne is not allowed to be this bad

Katie Walsh

Review by Katie Walsh ★½ 1

A dogshit version of "Veep" that feels like it was written by AI fed a diet of cable news, Pod Save America, and right-wing radio. There are a few bits and scenes in here so misguided I was speechless. Just breathtakingly bad.

And guess what?! There's a twist!

www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/sc-mov-irresistible-review-0622-20200623-eaxy2whspnbmra47ofope3u4xm-story.html

Taylor Baker

Review by Taylor Baker ★★★½ 8

Leave it to Jon Stewart to make a "look, there's bad guys on both sides and lots of everyday citizens who don't want to play the game film" that everyone dunks on. I haven't seen any coherent or convincing arguments as to why this is so unanimously disliked. It certainly has it's eccentricities in tone. What I viewed was a heartfelt expression of this frustrated artist, that attempts to channel his problems with a discursive system in a very easy to understand way.

Look Jon is never going to win any auteur awards. His projects look fine, the visual medium is simply the angle to which his narrative cultural criticisms are created. His thoughtful expression of these concerns are absent…

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How to watch Irresistible online: Jon Stewart movie release date, trailer, main cast and more

Everything you need to watch Irresistible, Jon Stewart's new movie starring Steve Carell

How to watch Irresistible online

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. 

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ExpressVPN

Our favorite VPN service,  ExpressVPN , is a top choice for those looking to watch Irresistible. It's got a solid mix of safety, speed and ease-of-use. Plus, you get an extra 3 months free if you sign up for a year. If you've never used a VPN before and are curious and not sure, there's a 30-day money-back guarantee if you just want to give it a try.

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:

Fandango Now

Pre-order Irresistible on Fandango Now for $19.99 on HD or SD. Starting June 26, you'll have 30 days to start watching. Once you begin, you have 48 hours to watch.

Amazon Prime Video

The easiest option for anyone with a Fire TV stick or set is to get Irresistible on Amazon Prime Video . You'll still need to pay, it's not included with Prime, as the rental costs $19.99.

Apple iTunes/Apple TV

You can rent Irresistible from Apple iTunes/Apple TV as well. There it's got the same $19.99 price as on other services, but if you're gonna stream on the Apple TV, you'll get a slightly better experience here.

Plus, most other digital marketplaces including:

  • Google Play

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."

irresistible movie review rotten tomatoes

Kelly is the streaming channel editor for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.

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Irresistible, common sense media reviewers.

irresistible movie review rotten tomatoes

Jon Stewart's profane political comedy lands a bit softly.

Irresistible Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Shows how voters/the electorate can be manipulated

Characters constantly manipulate others in attempt

A couple of rude sexual gestures. Crass sexual com

Strong language, including frequent use of "f--k."

Mentions or visuals of brands, used mostly to defi

An unlikeable character smokes and vapes. A local

Parents need to know that Irresistible is an election comedy directed by Jon Stewart that pokes fun at both of the United States' main political parties. It takes place after Donald Trump's victory over Hilary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race and is about the cutthroat, manipulative behavior of political…

Positive Messages

Shows how voters/the electorate can be manipulated by dark money and outside donors. Cynical look at the way the U.S. political machine works. Integrity is great, but it's usually not enough to win.

Positive Role Models

Characters constantly manipulate others in attempt to win/get ahead. Political consultants are portrayed as selfish, devious. That said, Diana is clever, keeps her perspective in whirlwind situation, speaks up in defense of others. Jack is discovered because he speaks out in support of treating immigrants with compassion, respect. But while Faith is sharp, smart, successful in field often ruled by men, she's no role model. Gary is often condescending to people he meets in Wisconsin. Notable lack of diversity (all major characters are White) doesn't accurately represent makeup of U.S. (especially those who identify as liberal/Democratic).

Violence & Scariness

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A couple of rude sexual gestures. Crass sexual comments fly back and forth during exchange intended to be funny. A couple makes out in an over-the-top way.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Strong language, including frequent use of "f--k." Also "a--hole," "damn," "douche bag," "goddammit," and "s--t." "D--k" and "p---y" are used to mean both genitalia and "jerk" and "weak." "Oh my God" used as an exclamation.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Mentions or visuals of brands, used mostly to define characters, include Aqua Hydrate, Ben & Jerry, Bose, Budweiser, Ford Explorer, Google and Apple products, and Red Bull.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

An unlikeable character smokes and vapes. A local pub is a central meeting spot; one character's beer order is a running joke.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Irresistible is an election comedy directed by Jon Stewart that pokes fun at both of the United States' main political parties. It takes place after Donald Trump's victory over Hilary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race and is about the cutthroat, manipulative behavior of political strategists ( Steve Carell , Rose Byrne ) who will do whatever it takes to win an election of any size. The idea here is that the D.C. political operatives are vile -- they curse (expect frequent use of "f--k" and lots more), argue viciously, and use crude sexual language, as well as treat locals condescendingly. The small-town Wisconsin residents are portrayed as kind but not rubes or hicks. Characters drink at a bar, and one smokes/vapes. A couple makes out in an over-the-top way. The film has a notable lack of diversity. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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irresistible movie review rotten tomatoes

Community Reviews

  • Parents say (3)
  • Kids say (4)

Based on 3 parent reviews

A poor movie!

Humor ranges throughout the movie, what's the story.

Steve Carell stars in IRRESISTIBLE as Gary Zimmer, a top Democratic strategist who finds a secret weapon in his campaign strategy for getting retired veteran Jack Hastings ( Chris Cooper ) elected as mayor of a rural Wisconsin town. Rose Byrne co-stars as Gary's conservative counterpart, Faith Brewster, who fights him tooth and nail in what becomes a high-profile, hugely important election with the highest stakes for their respective parties.

Is It Any Good?

Jon Stewart's directorial chops in comedy are just as sharp as his delivery a decade ago on The Daily Show. Irresistible is a kick in the pants. Stewart is a master of blending reality and parody in the political news world, and his feature comedy writing and directing debut is laugh-out-loud funny, even if you're watching alone. What's slipped a bit is his ability to make ground-breaking, earth-shattering revelations. Political operatives are sleazy? Yep, we know. Small town folk are nice? Uh-huh, nothing new. While the movie's story takes some surprising turns, the big message has been out there for a while: The U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, which made it OK for corporations to contribute as much as they want to political campaigns, has mucked up the ways that campaigns are run, to no benefit of voters. Many viewers are likely to react with a nod, a yup, and a tsk-tsk, but Irresistible is unlikely to spur the activism that Stewart seems to be hoping to stir from both parties. The interview that runs during the last part of the movie's end credits is the only substantial reveal, and even then, it's news most of us already know.

Stewart is known to be a friend of those who identify as liberal, but, if anything, he's always tried to stand with reason. Here, he gives both "sides" of the United States a reason to laugh both at themselves (an excerpt from a real NPR piece is on-the-nose hysterical) and at each other, and he clearly wants voters to see that no one benefits from the way modern campaigns are funded. Greg is a very Carell character: obnoxious, arrogant, and successful despite his obvious shortcomings. Byrne has long shown that she can play terrible people with such flair that you can't imagine anyone doing it better -- and she's in peak performance as GOP strategist Faith Brewster, who has the look of Hope Hicks, the style of Ivanka Trump, and the fangs of Kellyanne Conway. While Gen Z is quickly becoming the most politically active generation since the teens of the late '60s, they're also less familiar with Stewart's work and less likely to bite on this concept, especially because it doesn't even touch on foreign influence in U.S. elections. Plus, the film is coming out at a time when teens are primarily focused on social justice. Stewart delivers an important message, but young people may be less likely to listen to it when they see greater issues at stake -- or, for that matter, when they don't see themselves reflected on-screen.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Irresistible 's perspective on the U.S. political process. Does it offer any hope for change? What do you think the filmmakers want you to take away from the film? To take action? Will you?

Did you notice the lack of diversity in the movie's characters? How did that affect your engagement with the movie's story and messages? Why is representation in the media -- and diversifying the media we consume -- important? Try these resources for talking about race and racism with kids.

How are profanity , smoking, and drinking used to define characters in the film? Is any of it glamorized?

Do you consider any of the characters role models ? Why or why not?

Have you heard about the U.S. Supreme Court's decision known as "Citizens United"? If so, how does it impact U.S. elections? If not, how could you find out more?

Movie Details

  • On DVD or streaming : September 1, 2020
  • Cast : Steve Carell , Rose Byrne , Chris Cooper
  • Director : Jon Stewart
  • Inclusion Information : Female actors
  • Studio : Focus Features
  • Genre : Comedy
  • Topics : Activism
  • Run time : 101 minutes
  • MPAA rating : R
  • MPAA explanation : language including sexual references
  • Last updated : February 22, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Movie Review – Irresistible (2020)

June 22, 2020 by Robert Kojder

Irresistible . 2020

Written and Directed by Jon Stewart Starring Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper, Mackenzie Davis, Topher Grace, Natasha Lyonne, C.J. Wilson, Will Sasso, Debra Messing, and Brent Sexton

A Democratic strategist helps a retired veteran run for mayor in a small, conservative Midwest town.

Former The Daily Show host Jon Stewart stepping back into the realm of political comedy is certainly enticing, but Irresistible turns out to be wasted effort and then some. The talk show host turned filmmaker (he directed Rosewater in 2014 which was a moderate success) has a clever idea for this narrative, which basically boils down to both a Democratic and Republican political campaign strategizer and rivals trying to win over a rural Wisconsin town to help win over the swing state for the upcoming presidential election. It’s just executed so poorly that it leaves the preceding 90 minutes blatantly idiosyncratic and not funny. Even when secrets are revealed, Irresistible doesn’t retroactively become a stroke of comedic genius or passable.

Steve Carell is on the politically left side of things, playing Gary Zimmer. He’s apparently frustrated that he was made out to look like a fool in the 2016 election that saw Donald Trump victoriously upset Hillary Clinton, somehow at the hands of Rose Byrne’s Faith Brewster. Gary is more concerned with his own personal humiliation than the state of the world around him, so when he comes across a viral YouTube speech from a conservative and ex-military serviceman named Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper, who really gives the only good performance in the movie as an honest blue-collar rancher) urging his Wisconsin town to be better, he decides that he can convince the man that he is actually a Democrat and to run for mayor. Except he really just wants to provoke another campaign battle with Faith.

So much of Irresistible plays off of the same one-note joke that Gary, as a hoity-toity snob from Washington, doesn’t know how to talk to lower class citizens and those practicing conservative values. The sane kind of conservative values mind you; this movie is so toothless and safe it genuinely doesn’t give a damn about exploring sensitive or touching material; consider it the Green Boo k of political campaign movies. And this is coming from someone that sort of actually liked Green Book .

Gary’s interactions with the locals are meant to be funny, but not for reasons you would expect. There is a creative direction here heavily foreshadowing that something bizarre is going on in the town as if its a light variation of Twin Peaks. Everyone acts odd, pretty much every dialogue exchange is awkward, it’s never really clear why, and even when it’s explained, it’s more of just a smart idea that goes to waste. The broader comedic moments are actually worse, seeing Gary and Faith at one point making a heated bet where the loser has to perform fellatio on the winner. Steve Carell also appears to be under the direction to play things like he’s in The 40-Year-Old Virgin instead of a grounded political comedy, constantly shrieking and making loud noises and overly expressive facial tics. It also doesn’t help that whatever rivalry Gary and Faith do have is barely explored.

Irresistible is actually aimless (complete with thankless roles for MacKenzie Davison and Topher Grace) until it randomly decides to show its cards and end. Naturally, Jon Stewart is trying to make a political statement here, but it comes across hollow, unbelievable, and too clean. At most, it might be enlightening to someone that doesn’t understand how these races work, and there is a nice photography of small-town America, but that’s about all there is on the recommendation front. One of the last things the world needs right now is a politically safe comedy that barely generates any laughs

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, friend me on Facebook, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , check out my personal non-Flickering Myth affiliated  Patreon , or email me at [email protected]

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Taking the Lead: Jon Stewart

An irresistible story, campaign comedy: the cast of irresistible, deleted and extended scenes, gary alone in hotel, diana questions gary, big mike helps gary, diana and jack on bench, nyc car ride, faces in gary's face, gary gets news coverage, jack and campaign aide, debate prep with tina and kurt, tina knows baseball, ambassador's lounge 2, diana and faith outside ann's, jack and braun debate, gary apologizes in bed, diana and jack, election morning, featurettes, theatrical trailer, rotten tomatoes® score.

Irresistible owns a bold, intelligent idea that despite being unrealistically absurd, it carries an impactful message that I’d love to have seen explored on a deeper level, and not just in the last fifteen minutes.

... Unfortunately, the film can't maintain its cynical and unbuttoned tone throughout and it only appears in flashes. [Full review in Spanish]

The entire purpose of Jon Stewart’s Irresistible seems to be an exercise on how both sides can p*ss into the wind without getting their pants wet.

Irresistible is a clever and consistently comical commentary on the disconnect between today’s political parties and the people they swear to serve, strengthend by Jon Stewart's witty writing.

Stewart draws in an army of bigger-name pals in small parts, each with their own set of great lines. Debra Messing is hilariously obnoxious in an early scene.

It starts off all fresh and funny, until it consumes itself in pursuit of showing up the star-spangled blues and reds of America.

All of these performances though are in service of a film that feels badly out of date, even to the choir it's preaching to who will go out of their way to see it.

The biggest error of Irresistible is that its more concerned with making a point than telling a good story.

A really endearing drama that still delivers plenty of laughs.

Tremendously out of step with the current moment.

Additional Info

  • Genre : Comedy, Drama
  • Release Date : May 29, 2020
  • Languages : English, Spanish
  • Captions : English, Spanish
  • Audio Format : 5.1

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"Simply Irresistible'' begins with one of the more unlikely Meet Cutes in movie history ( Sarah Michelle Gellar chases a runaway crab up the trouser leg of the man she is destined to love). She owns one of those restaurants where all the customers know each other, like in a sitcom. I was settling down for a slow ride when somehow the movie caught hold and turned into an enchanting romantic comedy about people who float to the ceiling when they kiss. It's "Like Water For Chocolate'' meets "Everyone Says I Love You.'' Gellar plays Amanda Shelton, whose restaurant in New York's SoHo is failing fast. (No wonder. She's not such a good cook.) Then one day a mysterious stranger appears in her vicinity and brings a magical crab. Yes, a magical crab. And the beady-eyed little crustacean sets itself up in her kitchen and somehow casts a spell.

She becomes a great cook. An inspired cook. A cook so good that when the guy with the trousers tastes one of her desserts, he falls in love. "We kissed in a vanilla cloud,'' he tells his secretary. "This fog--it was warm, and it was wet, and it was like you could see what we were feeling.'' The movie is as light as a souffle, as fleeting as a breath of pumpkin pie on the breeze from a widow's window. It is about almost nothing at all except a love story, the joy of eating and a final sequence in a room that looks blessed by Astaire and Rogers.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is the star of TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and was in the original "I Know What You Did Last Summer,'' where she was slashed by the Groton's Fisherman look-alike--a wise career move, freeing her from the sequel so she could make this movie. She plays Amanda Shelton perfectly straight, as a woman who is depressed by how she used to be a bad cook and now is a great one. (I am reminded of a story about Laurence Olivier , who moaned after a great performance as Othello, "Yes, but I don't know how I did it!'') Her new love is Sean Patrick Flanery , as Tom Bartlett, the manager of a new gourmet restaurant in the Henri Bendel store. (The second-string romance is between the grandson of Henri Bendel and Tom's secretary. They kiss after eating one of Amanda's eclairs.) Gellar is lovable, but this isn't a movie where the ground shakes, maybe because most of the love scenes take place while the couples are in mid-air. Nor are there any sex scenes, per se. It's all soft, gauzy romance--a valentine in which the idea of great love is disembodied from the old rumpy-pumpy.

When Tom recruits Amanda to cook for the premiere of his new restaurant, the movie generates a scene of simple, pure delight. It's a tough crowd (food critics, sniffy socialites), but after the appetizer they're weeping with joy. After the entree, they're transfixed in ecstatic meditation. Then dessert is served. If there is a heaven, this is its menu.

"Simply Irresistible'' is old-fashioned and obvious, yes, like a featherweight comedy from the 1950s. But that's the charm. I love movies that cut loose from the moorings of the possible and dance among their fancies. When Woody Allen waltzed with Goldie Hawn on the banks of the Seine and she floated in the air and just stayed up there, my heart danced, too. And the closing scenes of "Simply Irresistible'' are like that. It's not a great movie. But it's a charmer.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Rated PG-13 For Brief Sexual References

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Rotten tomatoes' 99%-rated "best movie of all time" is the ultimate insult to its creator.

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10 Superhero Movies Missing From Rotten Tomatoes’ Best Movies Of All Time List

Rotten tomatoes confirms what the best movie trilogy of all-time really is, the mistborn movie's biggest challenge is the part of the books i love the most.

  • Rotten Tomatoes' top movie list sparked debate, even more controversial with author backlash.
  • The methodology behind Rotten Tomatoes' movie ranking to consider diverse criteria.
  • Rating L.A. Confidential as the best of all time received backlash, surprising supporters.

Rotten Tomatoes ' controversial ranking of the 300 " Best Movies of All Time " included some contentious positions and selections, but the number one film's position is even more disputatious when taking into account the original author's opinion of the project. In any ranking of the best films, there are always going to be differences in perspective. However, even though Rotten Tomatoes' list considered a range of criteria, the end result threw up some bizarre findings – especially considering some high-profile objections to top-ranking movies.

The Rotten Tomatoes list used a complex methodology to determine the final results. According to the website, the process " applied (their) recommendation formula, which considers a movie’s Tomatometer rating with assistance from its Audience Score, illuminating beloved sentiment from both sides. " This makes the list more reflective than a straightforward critical composite. Despite this deliberately nuanced approach, however, the list failed to recognize some less obvious issues with particular movies – including (as was the case with number one) objections from the original creator.

Although Rotten Tomatoes' recent Best Movies of All Time list does feature some great superhero movies, there are some notable absences.

James Ellroy Didn't Like L.A. Confidential – Despite Its Ranking

Boasting a 99% critical and earning high praise from viewers, Rotten Tomatoes concluded that the 1997 neo-noir thriller L.A. Confidential deserves the title of " Best Movie of All Time " . However, despite this accolade and well-earned reputation as a modern genre classic, the Rotten Tomatoes ranking fails to recognize that the story's original author, James Ellroy, was very dismissive of the movie . In an interview at the Hay Literary Festival in 2019, via The Guardian , Ellroy said on stage:

"It is about as deep as a tortilla... And if you watch the action of the movie, it does not make dramatic sense. I don’t care how many awards it’s won … I don’t like the bulk of the performances.”

Earning an author's approval is not a prerequisite of a movie succeeding. However, given the strength of these objections, combined with L.A. Confidential 's somewhat surprising position at the top of the list, the fact that the film is now legitimately in the conversation for " Best Movies of All Time " seems somewhat insulting to Ellroy's original vision for his story. While such vehement objection might tarnish another project, the Rotten Tomatoes list seems not to have taken Ellroy's criticisms into account – a presumably frustrating outcome for an author already unhappy with the end result.

Rotten Tomatoes' L.A. Confidential Rating Is Already Controversial

The fact that Ellroy himself is unhappy with the notion that L.A. Confidential is a fair reflection of his story, nor a successful narrative on its own terms, only adds to the sense that its new-found status is somewhat surprising. While it is a much-loved movie, to have it rated above certifiable classics like Casablanca , The Godfather , and Citizen Kane has struck many observers as an injustice. This sentiment is seemingly confirmed by contemporary doubts over its status.

Rotten Tomatoes has produced a definitive ranking of the best movies of all time, revealing the best trilogy ever made in the process.

While L.A. Confidential was met with critical acclaim, there was fierce debate in 1997 over where it ranked in terms of the best films of the year – let alone of all time. For instance, despite being nominated for Best Picture, the film lost out to Titanic , and only won two out of nine Oscars. While Academy Awards are far from the most reliable measure of a film's success, the fact that L.A. Confidential was not instantly recognized as an all-time great speaks to the fact that the Rotten Tomatoes list is a real surprise – before factoring in Ellroy's response.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes , The Guardian

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10 Stephen King Movies That Deserve a Remake

Stephen King's repertoire is irresistible to book nerds and horror fans alike. Whether a book has the King label or the Richard Bachman level, one could likely look forward to a fantastic read. As such, it's unsurprising that King's influence has reached beyond the confines of printed works to touch the film industry. One could argue that Stephen King's life work is a goldmine for horror directors and showrunners, and history has only supported that assessment.

Stephen King is the modern King of Horror writing and has a seemingly endless stream of writings to earn him that title. He sold his first story in 1967, and only a couple of years later, in 1974, he published his first full-length novel, Carrie . Since then, he's written over 60 full-length books and hundreds of short stories. There are no signs of King slowing down as his newest book's release date gets closer by the day. Still, fans would agree that, despite his unequivocal talent, not every Stephen King novel is equal. As such, not every movie or TV adaptation does the source material justice, and even the high-quality ones could benefit from an update.

The Dark Tower is Stephen King's Magnum Opus

The dark tower.

Stephen King's The Dark Tower novel series tells the story of Rolan Deschain, the Mid-World's last Gunslinger. The books follow his journey traveling across Mid-World's post-apocalyptic landscape, searching for the powerful and mysterious building known as The Dark Tower. The 2017 movie intended to launch a film and television franchise and blends certain elements from the eight-novel series, focusing mainly on the first and third volumes. But it's not a faithful adaptation of the series. Instead, the Dark Tower movie is a sequel to the novels, allowing for more exploration that doesn't overwrite or contradict the novels. It follows a little boy named Jake who meets the last Gunslinger as he pursues the Man in Black, seeking revenge for his father's murder and stopping him from destroying the Dark Tower.

The movie got many mixed reviews, and fans of the novels generally disliked the adaptation. It had a stellar cast, including Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey as the Gunslinger and Man in Black, respectively, but the movie was a box office and critical flop. Considering Stephen King considers The Dark Tower his magnum opus, and it has a complex story, there's room for improvement with a future adaptation. Mike Flannagan's Dark Tower adaptation has hovered in production limbo with Amazon Prime Video for a while now. So, King fans can only hope the series executes the beloved story better.

Graveyard Shift Was a Disaster

"Graveyard Shift" is a short story written by Stephen King in 1970 and tossed into his first short story collection, Night Shift, in 1978. The story follows a young drifter named Hall who works at a run-down textile mill in Gates Falls, Maine. It focuses on him after his cruel taskmaster boss recruits him and a few others to assist with a massive cleaning effort in the mill's basement during the graveyard shift. Specifically, the boss wants them to clean up all the rats in the basement. Even though it seems like a simple job, they encounter a sinister monster as they dig deeper underground. The 1990 movie follows the same premise as a relatively faithful adaptation of King's story.

Even though Graveyard Shift doesn't have many total reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the glaring zero percent rating is enough to raise eyebrows. Simply put, the first adaptation wasn't scary and lacked elements to make up for the lackluster scares. Audiences also slammed the poor acting, sloppy directing, and low-quality writing, especially compared to the source material. The story gives an adaptation enough substance to produce a killer creature feature, but as the movie proves, it can turn into a disaster.

Desperation Needs a Bigger Budget

Stephen king: 15 scariest stephen king novels ever, ranked.

Desperation stands out from many Stephen King stories simply because it's not set in Maine. Instead, the novel unfolds in a desolate part of Nevada. It follows various people traveling down Route 50 in the summer heat, heading to different places. The people, including a couple heading back to NYC, a family vacationing at Lake Tahoe, and a Harley-riding literary lion, have no obvious connections until they pass through a small mining town called Desperation. If the dead cat nailed to the road sign wasn't enough to deter visitors, they soon encounter Collie Entragian. The cruel and power-hungry Sheriff Entragian is only the surface of a deep evil infecting the elusive town.

Desperation is another Stephen King adaptation that received mixed reviews. Some viewers criticized the made-for-TV movie for its often overbearing religious elements, as references to faith drowned out anything horror-related by the end. Other than that, Desperation was a solid movie and faithful adaptation, with audiences praising the performance of actor Ron Pearlman, especially. Desperation was notably released as a mirror novel to another King book called The Regulators , which also has a movie adaptation in the works. Not only would it make perfect sense for The Regulators and its companion story, Desperation, to have modern movie adaptations, but Desperation could highly benefit from a theatrical update with a bigger budget.

Dreamcatcher Could Strengthen the Story

Dreamcatcher.

Friends on a camping trip discover that the town they're vacationing in is being plagued in an unusual fashion by parasitic aliens from outer space.

Director Lawrence Kasdan

Release Date March 21, 2003

Cast Thomas Jane, Morgan Freeman, Timothy Olyphant, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis

Runtime 134 minutes

Genres Science Fiction, Horror

Unlike Desperation , Dreamcatcher sits square in the middle of King's Maine-based horror world as it takes place in It's Derry, Maine. The book has other similarities to It , including the storyline, which follows a group of childhood friends bound together by bravery and the supernatural. Dreamcatcher follows the group around 25 years after a significant incident changed them. Every year, the group reunites around their hometown, but on the 25th year, a stranger stumbles into their camp disoriented, mumbling about lights in the sky. It doesn't take long after that for the men to get trapped in a fight against an alien invasion and are forced to turn to their past to survive.

Dreamcatcher is one of the novels that Stephen King isn't a massive fan of, though he wrote it during a difficult part of his life. The movie adaptation hasn't done much better, as it was a box office and critical flop. Despite having a stellar cast and overall high-quality performances, people criticized the half-baked story, constant clichés, and the movie's drawn-out nature. Since its release, Dreamcatcher has gained a bit of a cult following, so a modern adaptation could give it another chance to shine.

Sleepwalkers Could Benefit from CGI

Sleepwalkers is the first Stephen King movie adaptation that wasn't based on a preexisting story. Instead, Stephen King wrote the screenplay, meaning the story is exclusive to Sleepwalkers , with no books as the direct source. It follows Charles and Mary Brady as they settle into a new town where the residents don't suspect anything's off about them. Unfortunately for the townsfolk, the Bradys are the last of a dying breed of twisted vampiric werewolf/cat hybrid creatures known as Sleepwakers. They survive by feeding on virgin women, and when Charles befriends the innocent Tanya, things don't go as planned.

Werewolves are nothing new in the horror genre, but it's not very often that a movie's monster is a blend between a werewolf, a vampire, and a cat. Critics say Sleepwalkers is ridiculous, but it's also a cult classic film, with many considering the movie campy, especially with the low-budget makeup and special effects. Even though it's tricky to readapt cult classic movies, movie technology has evolved so much since 1992 that a remake could turn Sleepwalkers into a terrifying feature, which most Stephen King fans desire.

Maximum Overdrive Could Reinvent the Slasher

Maximum overdrive, 10 most disappointing stephen king adaptations, ranked.

The idea of a killer vehicle is nothing new for Stephen King, and sentient machinery is a common subject in fiction. Maximum Overdrive is one of those stories, as it follows a group of survivors taking refuge in a North Carolina truck stop after a comet causes a radiation storm on Earth and grants every truck sentience. Just like Christine , the trucks become homicidal. As such, the group has to fight for survival while escaping the truck stop.

The 1986 movie Maximum Overdrive and the 1997 film Trucks are based on a Stephen King short story called "Trucks," also featured in the Night Shift collection alongside "Graveyard Shift." It doesn't have a unique premise, even for Stephen King. But killer machinery is a solid angle for an unconventional slasher. It's also a perfect opportunity for a horror movie that's intentionally funny.

Silver Bullet Could Boost the Lycanthrope-Based Mystery

Silver Bullet is based on Cycle of the Werewolf , one of the shortest books in Stephen King's repertoire. It's set in the fictional Tarker's Mills, Maine, and centers around a group of inexplicable and sudden murders in the area. Each chapter is notably set in a different month on the calendar, depicting the monthly sprees and the little boy who encounters the werewolf spilling all the blood.

The 1985 movie follows the same premise, with the residents of Tarker's Mill deciding to hunt down the killer. But many of the vigilantes turn up dead, and the rest have no leads about the killer. So, when young Marty encounters a werewolf and starts connecting the dots, he, his sister, and their uncle start a mission to capture and defeat the wolf. The movie features names like Gary Busey and Corey Haim and takes a slasher-movie approach, framing the kills as a mystery. It's an effective lycanthrope-based film with silly elements, but it's not scary for older audiences, with many considering it a classic cozy Halloween flick . Unsurprisingly, the best approach for a remake would be to dive head-in to either the horror side or the comedy aspect, as Silver Bullet already successfully blended the two.

Cujo Could Scar a New Generation of Dog Lovers

Cujo, a friendly St. Bernard, contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.

Director Lewis Teague

Release Date August 12, 1983

Cast Daniel Hugh Kelly, Danny Pintauro, Dee Wallace

Runtime 93 minutes

Genres Horror

Cujo is a well-known Stephen King novel, and those who haven't watched or read it likely know the premise. It's a simple story set in the peaceful town of Castle Rock, Maine. Cujo centers around Donna Trenton and her son Tad as they take their car for repairs at Joe Cambers' garage. But they soon get trapped in the vehicle by the Cambers' once-friendly Saint Bernard dog, Cujo, who turned into a bloodthirsty beast after getting bitten by a rabid bat.

Stephen King found the 1983 film to be a terrific adaptation of his novel, and despite a slightly different ending, it's a faithful one, too. One of the biggest flaws pointed out by the audience is a pacing issue, as the beginning of the film draws out a bit too long, and the time the Trentons spend in the vehicle doesn't feel as long as expressed in the book. Still, Cujo is effective in its storytelling, and a remake could improve some of the low points. There's, unfortunately, no way for a remake to make the premise easier for a dog lover to sit through, though.

Cat's Eye is a Stephen King Anthology Movie

10 best stephen king screen adaptations, ranked.

Cat's Eye is one of the few Stephen King movie adaptations that blends mainly unrelated stories into one cohesive movie. It's based on "Quitters, Inc.", which follows a man named Dick Morrison who discovers the brutal enforcement methods used by the titular organization which he uses to quit smoking. It's also based on "The Ledge," which follows Stan Norris, who, after carrying on with an affair with a Mafia boss's wife, gets offered an impossible-to-refuse offer: walk around the penthouse and survive in exchange for his freedom. "Quitters, Inc." and "The Ledge" are both short stories featured in the Night Shift collection, and the third story featured in Cat's Eye is "General," which Stephen King wrote specifically for the film.

The movie follows a kitty named General as he ventures through a smoker's clinic, onto a penthouse ledge, and into a little girl's bedroom. Of course, the first two locations follow the stories of "Quitters, Inc." and "The Ledge" as mentioned. In the little girl's bedroom, General must save a child named Amanda from a small, troll-like creature trying to steal her breath. Cat's Eye doesn't have a horrible rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with many enjoying the story. But others criticize the movie as disjointed and poorly framed. As such, it could benefit greatly from a remake to tie the anthology together more.

Misery is one of King's Best Adaptations

After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.

Director Rob Reiner

Release Date November 30, 1990

Studio Columbia Pictures

Cast Richard Farnsworth, Kathy Bates, James Caan

Runtime 107 minutes

Misery follows bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon, who makes a bold career shift by killing off the protagonist, Misery Chastain, in his beloved romance series. He intends to broaden his creative horizons after feeling trapped by the romance genre. However, his fans don't like this decision, especially his self-proclaimed number-one fan, Annie Wilkes. In retaliation for the decision, Annie kidnaps Paul, holding him hostage in a secluded cabin until he rewrites the story to fit her expectations.

Unlike many Stephen King stories, Misery is completely based in reality, and it's a situation that could unfold, which makes it one of King's scariest novels. The movie follows the story and creates a masterpiece in the psychological thriller genre. Both Misery's movie adaptation and the original novel are widely considered masterpieces. It has near-perfect ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and stands out as the only Stephen King adaptation to win an Oscar, which actor Kathy Bates won for her role as Annie Wilkes. While many would understandably argue that Misery is perfect just the way it is, it's one of the few Stephen King adaptations that hasn't received the remake treatment. Considering the story comments on celebrity culture and the often-toxic influence of fandoms, it's as relevant as ever. So, a modern take on the beloved tale certainly wouldn't hurt anything.

10 Stephen King Movies That Deserve a Remake

10 Nearly Perfect Movies With a 99% Score on Rotten Tomatoes

Stunningly great movies on the edge of perfection.

Some might say that there are no perfect movies, but there are some outstanding few that come exceptionally close. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, there are some movies that have been positively reviewed by nearly all approved critics, obtaining the rare yet coveted achievement of holding a 99% approval rating on the site.

Some of these are considered among the very best films of all time, like Casablanca , while others are modern classics loved by virtually anyone who sees them, like Paddington 2 . What they all have in common is that almost all critics thought they were worthy of the utmost praise . Few movies are able to confidently say that they're close to perfection, but these have earned that honor and then some.

10 'Finding Nemo' (2003)

Directed by andrew stanton.

The third-ever winner of the Best Animated Feature Academy Award, Finding Nemo is the charming story of a timid clownfish who embarks on a journey to rescue his son, who was taken by a diver. He'll get the help of Dory, a blue tang with a bad case of short-term memory loss. Their journey will prove to be full of dangers, laughs, and — of course — plenty of emotional payoffs.

A beloved Pixar classic, the movie tugs at the heartstrings as often as it thrills and gets laughs. Although it may seem like a rather simple film on the surface, its impressive animation, vivid cast of characters, and complex narrative about fatherhood and courage all make it an amazing experience. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes evidently agreed, calling the film touching , humorous, and surprisingly full of artistic merit.

Finding Nemo

*Availability in US

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9 'Lady Bird' (2017)

Directed by greta gerwig.

Lady Bird is Greta Gerwig 's outstanding sophomore directing effort and the highest-rated A24 comedy on Rotten Tomatoes. It's a tender and often hilarious coming-of-age comedy about a seventeen-year-old who calls herself Lady Bird. The story follows her as she grapples with the tribulations of her senior year in high school in Sacramento, California. Heavily inspired by Gerwig's own experiences coming of age in Sacramento, the film is one of the most intimate and profoundly affecting in the genre.

The movie gracefully maneuvers across themes like growing up and feminine adolescence. In the process, it delivers all kinds of emotions, from sincere laughs to bittersweet tears. It's one of the most enjoyable and relatable coming-of-age films of recent years , and more than worthy of the approval of 99% of Rotten Tomatoes critics.

8 'Goldfinger' (1964)

Directed by guy hamilton.

Even after a whopping sixty years since the beginning of the 007 franchise, Goldfinger (the third movie in the series), where Sean Connery 's James Bond uncovers a conspiracy to raid Fort Knox and obliterate the world economy, is still considered by many to be the best of the whole franchise. Thrilling, delightfully self-aware, and the origin of many of the series's most iconic trademarks, it's a spy classic for all those who love the genre.

The movie is fully conscious of what makes spy movies so fun and uses those elements to their fullest potential . It has one of the best Bond girls, one of the best Bond villains, one of the best Bond songs, and Connery at his best in the role. Critics very much appreciated the movie's perfect balance between seriousness and camp, which they thought resulted in an unforgettable evolution of the character.

7 'How to Train Your Dragon' (2010)

Directed by dean deblois and chris sanders.

The How to Train Your Dragon trilogy is one of the highest-rated movie franchises on Rotten Tomatoes, but the best entry is undoubtedly the first movie. Here, the teenage son of a Viking leader from the dragon-hunting village of Berk secretly befriends one of the beasts, discovering that there's a lot more to them than he used to think.

The world-building, characterization, and nuanced story are all top-notch, resulting in one of the most fun and acclaimed fantasy films of the 21st century so far , animated or otherwise. High fantasy at its very best , How to Train Your Dragon obtained the approval of critics who thought that the animation was impressive, the characters were really endearing, and the script had a surprising amount of depth and nuance.

How to Train Your Dragon

6 'the third man' (1949), directed by carol reed.

The classic film noir The Third Man is a thoroughly engrossing movie about a novelist traveling to post-war Vienna as a guest of his old friend Harry Lime, only to discover that his pal has mysteriously died. One of the best noirs of all time , The Third Man soars thanks to Carol Reed 's atmospheric direction, Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles 's intrepid performances, and the script's perfect understanding of noir elements and what makes them work.

With surprising twists and turns, a captivating story, compelling characters, and the inexplicably magical charm of Welles and Cotten, The Third Man is unsurprisingly considered one of the best movies not only of its genre, but of all time . Critics on Rotten Tomatoes loved the film's Viennese setting and the way Reed turns it into a whole other character, allowing it to function as the playground of these fascinating characters and their gripping story.

The Third Man

5 'all about eve' (1950), directed by joseph l. mankiewicz.

Though he's best known as one of the most prolific and outstanding screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age, Joseph L. Mankiewicz also directed quite a few incredible movies. His best is usually agreed to be All About Eve , the Best Picture Oscar-winning drama about a secretly ruthless ingénue who insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of friends.

The critics' consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is that All About Eve is intelligent, elegant, and "devastatingly funny." Offering some outstanding writing and directing from Mankiewicz, as well as the legendary Bette Davis 's best work , the movie left an indelible mark on Classical Hollywood and film history at large . The tone is incessantly witty, the dialogue flows like honey, and the characters are nothing if not riveting.

All About Eve

Rent on Amazon

4 'On the Waterfront' (1954)

Directed by elia kazan.

Winner of 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, On the Waterfront is an Elia Kazan classic about a man who dreams of being a prizefighter while running errands at the New Jersey docks. Elvis Presley himself was obsessed with the film , and it isn't hard to see why. It's a brilliantly written and directed film, resulting in an electrifying study of the corruptive potential of power.

Unsparingly realistic with a fascinating narrative and really effective elements of character study, the movie makes itself entirely deserving of all the praise at every turn . It also features one of the most jaw-dropping acting performances ever put on screen, by the landmark in film history that was Marlon Brando . With this revolutionary performance, the thespian broke new ground in showing the things that film acting could do.

On The Waterfront (1954)

Watch on Amazon Prime

3 'Paddington 2' (2017)

Directed by paul king.

For those who have been having a tough day and need a hug, Paddington 2 is a movie that feels just like that much-needed warmth. In it, Paddington the bear picks up a series of odd jobs to get his aunt a present, but it gets stolen by a master of disguise named Phoenix Buchanan, played by an intoxicating Hugh Grant in what might be one of his best performances ever.

Simple in its scope and gentle in its approach, this is one of those movies that are practically impossible to hate (save for a couple of killjoy critics, that is) . It's funny, it's sweet, it's wonderfully paced, and it improves on everything that made the first film so adorable. Family comedies don't often join the ranks of the best movies ever made, but for Rotten Tomatoes critics, Paddington 2 earns the title magnificently.

Paddington 2

2 'casablanca' (1942), directed by michael curtiz.

In this beautiful romantic drama, a cynical American ex-patriate running a nightclub in Casablanca during early WWII faces unforeseen challenges when a former lover shows up at his doorstep. Casablanca is universally agreed to be one of the best Oscar-winning World War movies , thanks to magnetic performances by Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart and one of the best screenplays ever written.

Casablanca is by far one of the best movies of Hollywood's Golden Age, full of quotable dialogue, intriguing plot points, and richly layered characters. It's not only the writing that shines, though. It's masterfully crafted all around, a visually and aurally arresting experience bolstered by a wonderful narrative that's just the cherry on top.

1 'Citizen Kane' (1941)

Directed by orson welles.

It has been over 80 years, and yet this spellbinding mystery drama chronicling the rise and fall of a journalist magnate is still considered by many critics and audience members to be the absolute best movie ever made. Citizen Kane needs no introduction, since it's virtually always found in discussions of the most revolutionary and influential films of all time.

Packed with complex depth and a narrative style way ahead of its time, Citizen Kane grabs audiences' attention from the moment it starts and doesn't let go until the credits roll . It's intriguing, thematically rich, amazingly directed, and it has stunning visuals and a talented cast. If there's any film deserving of being considered nearly perfect , critics think that it's this one.

Citizen Kane

NEXT: The Best Movies With a Perfect 100% Score on Rotten Tomatoes

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COMMENTS

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  17. Irresistible

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  18. Irresistible (2006) Movie Reviews

    Irresistible (2006) Critic Reviews and Ratings Powered by Rotten Tomatoes. Close Audience Score. The percentage of users who made a verified movie ticket purchase and rated this 3.5 stars or higher. ... Review Submitted. GOT IT. Offers SEE ALL OFFERS. EARN 3X LOYALTY REWARD POINTS image link. EARN 3X LOYALTY REWARD POINTS. Buy a ticket for The ...

  19. Irresistible (2020) Movie Reviews

    The Hunger Games 5-Movie Collection for $5 Off Buy a Ticket to Hunger Games; 50% off the Trolls: ... Irresistible (2020) Fan Reviews and Ratings Powered by Rotten Tomatoes Rate Movie. Close Audience Score. The percentage of users who made a verified movie ticket purchase and rated this 3.5 stars or higher. ...

  20. Simply Irresistible movie review (1999)

    "Simply Irresistible'' begins with one of the more unlikely Meet Cutes in movie history (Sarah Michelle Gellar chases a runaway crab up the trouser leg of the man she is destined to love). She owns one of those restaurants where all the customers know each other, like in a sitcom. I was settling down for a slow ride when somehow the movie caught hold and turned into an enchanting romantic ...

  21. Rotten Tomatoes' 99%-Rated "Best Movie Of All Time" Is The Ultimate

    Boasting a 99% critical and earning high praise from viewers, Rotten Tomatoes concluded that the 1997 neo-noir thriller L.A. Confidential deserves the title of "Best Movie of All Time".However, despite this accolade and well-earned reputation as a modern genre classic, the Rotten Tomatoes ranking fails to recognize that the story's original author, James Ellroy, was very dismissive of the movie.

  22. 10 Stephen King Movies That Deserve a Remake

    Book Release Year . Adaptation Year . Rotten Tomatoes Rating . 1982 . 2017 . 15% Tomatometer / 45% Audience Score

  23. 10 Nearly Perfect Movies With a 99% Score on Rotten Tomatoes

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