Month: July 2020

This review contains mild spoilers, so if you prefer to avoid them, let your main takeaway be that Irresistible is an unfunny comedy, an uneven production, and a toothless satire with a message about as clarifying in the current political climate as a Check Engine light in a demolition derby.

The second film from writer-director Jon Stewart, Irresistible follows Democratic strategist Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell), who’s attempting to reconnect his party with the voters it lost in 2016. Battered by that defeat, he finds hope in Deerlaken, Wisconsin, the source of a viral video showing Marine Colonel Jack Hastings (Chris Cooper) standing up for the immigrant population of his hometown. Seeing an opportunity, Zimmer flies to Wisconsin, and convinces Colonel Hastings, aided by his daughter Diana (Mackenzie Davis), to run as a Democrat against Republican Mayor Braun (Brent Sexton). That campaign catches the eye of Zimmer’s nemesis, Republican strategist Faith Brewster (Rose Byrne). Soon, the town becomes a battleground for the soul of America, gaining national attention, and outside money.

The premise isn’t terribly original, but there’s room enough for a savvy storyteller to fill it with good characters, witty repartee, and a few choice jabs at worthy targets. Though the entire cast is talented, there’s precisely one notable character—Byrne’s Brewster—and almost no jokes worth remembering. Much of this stems from the film never figuring out how it wants to treat the audience. Are we in on the joke? Are we supposed to find it mind blowing that our political system is corrupt? There’s a broad tone that never gels with the inside baseball shenanigans, and the amount of effort Stewart exerts to avoid pandering is itself patronizing.

Even when satire doesn’t land, there’s always the possibility that the narrative might make things worthwhile. Sadly, it doesn’t. Zimmer is wholly unsympathetic, and the film isn’t mean enough to make him an antihero. Natasha Lyonne and Topher Grace appear as analysts who do mostly the same thing, but have contempt for the other’s methods. This ought to be a terrific pairing, and the two have excellent chemistry, but the material gives them little to work with. The funniest moments in Irresistible barely rise to a chuckle, and when they’re over, it’s back to the pointless stuff. The bigger gags are often years too late to be of worth anything, like CNN’s grid of far too many pundits at once, or Fox juxtaposing the Hastings campaign with Al Qaeda training footage. Might as well throw a Bill-Clinton-likes-McDonald’s reference in there while we’re at it.

Stewart’s tenure on “The Daily Show” is one of the greatest combinations of the right host with the right platform at the right time. He helped cut through the noise of the Bush years, emboldening those who felt disconnected and hopeless, pinpointing exactly how our institutions were failing us and how our discourse became fractured. He did it by being funny, and by being right. Over time, though Stewart remained as funny and intelligent as ever, a negative trend found its way into more episodes. Too often, he favored individual targets over broad analysis. As the topics became murkier, like the financial crisis, the show became less bully pulpit and more soapbox, less call to action and more preaching to the choir.

The post-credits sequence of Irresistible indicates that this film might have sprung from the latter sensibility. Stewart interviews Trevor Potter, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, and the two discuss a key plot point of the film. Potter explains a legal loophole, Stewart explains it back to him, and the two laugh at its absurdity. That’s it. No strategy, no next steps. People watching this movie will either already know what a PAC is or be lost about what they’re supposed to do about it. Folks who do engage in these practices won’t be shamed out of doing so. It is no revelation that there’s money in politics, political strategists lie, and partisanship blinds us to the bigger picture.

It’s certainly not Stewart’s fault that American discourse devolved the way it did, and he could not have anticipated releasing the film during a global pandemic and nationwide rebellion. But his decision to return to political satire with Irresistible is disappointing. He’s funnier than this, he’s smarter than this. He’s affected real change, especially with his fierce advocacy for 9/11 first responders. For many years, he was the face of bold political comedy. So why is this project such a dud?

Stewart’s previous film, Rosewater, had a sense of purpose that carried it through any problems it might have had. He felt an obligation to the film’s subject—journalist Maziar Bahari, who was arrested and tortured in Iran after appearing on “The Daily Show”—and to the viewers. It appealed to our empathy, raising real questions about unintended consequences of our actions, and keeping hope alive no matter what. It’s hard to imagine why he felt the need to reemerge five years later to tell us what we already know. It’s a bit like the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. You can see the talent and respect the intentions, but why so much pageantry to say so little?

Irresistible

R, 102 minutes/Streaming (Amazon Prime)

Royal viewing: Queen is the theme of the 2020 Maupintown Film Festival, the annual showcase of narrative movies and documentaries by and about African Americans. It’s all online this year, and programming will honor the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, with a selection of women-centered films such
as Byrdland: From Being Property to Owning Property. Byrdland tells the story of the descendants of the five Byrd siblings, who, in 1865, pooled their money to buy land from their former slave owner in Albemarle County. Also showing is Little Forest Space, a dance installation celebrating the beauty of the local landscape, produced by two sisters.

Through 7/12. $20 for all access viewing. maupintownfilmfestival.com.

Double take: Sharon Harrigan’s debut novel, Half, tells the story of identical twin sisters who are so close they can barely distinguish the boundary between their minds. In Harrigan’s poetically crafted prose, the women narrate as one, and, through the death of a father that towers over their lives, as two separate people. Dealing in grief, complicated family relationships, and magical realism, Harrigan presents a complex and emotional tale of intertwined lives. The author participates in a virtual discussion of her work with fellow author Kristen-Paige Madonia.

Saturday, 7/11. 7pm. Zoom required. ndbookshop.com.

For fledgling artists, the Incubator Studio at McGuffey Art Center is an opportunity for growth. Each spring, renting artists Susan Northington and Eileen French select up-and-coming area talent to use the Incubator for a calendar year that runs from July to June, and ends with a group exhibition. “The studio has been set up to nurture and help grow these artists in their artistic practices,” says French.

This year’s show is titled “Cracked,” and like nearly all current gallery openings, it’s online due to the social distancing requirements necessary to control the spread of coronavirus.

French says the show reflects the artistic growth experienced during the artists’ time in the creative space. “At the end of an incubation period, the egg cracks open and the new life emerges,” she says. “So we felt that ‘Cracked’ was an apt title for their end-of-year show.”

The exhibition features the work of Piers Gelly, David Joo, Logan McConaughy, Lisa Philipps, Hannah ThomasClarke, and Abigail Wilson, and the artists chose their own submissions for the online gallery.

Gelly’s oil on canvas pieces are both vivid and intimate, especially “Confession,” which depicts two men in what appears to be a hushed conversation.

McConaughy’s multiple submissions become revelatory through their intricate, orderly patterns, described as the “interpretation of connections between neurons and the intersections between human intent and the energetic flow of our planet.”

In her ongoing project about endangered species, Philipps’ oil on canvas entries, such as “Last Call: Red Fox,” are bright and endearing, and gently balanced by monotypes that include large abstract florals, and a pair of lacy panties in black and white.

ThomasClarke uses embroidery to craft complex scenes that capture “the intersection between the expectations of traditional 1950s-era family dynamics and contemporary society.” “Dishwasher Chronicles” is a busy, thought-provoking caricature that twists and turns through domestic stereotypes.

Wilson’s unique interdependent style is based in symmathesy, exploring a natural order of connection using linoleum block prints, watercolor, pen and ink, and cut paper.

While it’s impossible to declare any one of the diverse works as a favorite, French says the submission that surprised her the most is Joo’s “Imaginary Landscape lll,” a sculpture created with handmade paper. “I was a witness to his process of papermaking, and was fascinated with the amount of effort that went into just that,” she says. “But to then have such a stunning work of art emanate from that was very thrilling to me.”