I like Steve Carell, most usually in his comedy roles. (I thought the American version of The Office went downhill after he left). He’s also good in his dramatic turns. The Big Short, Marwen, and The Morning Show all were excellent and gave him a chance to show off his serious chops. Add to that — Irresistible is, at one hour forty, a relatively short film — then I wasn’t too worried about any commitment issues.
So how was Irresistible?
Well, I know I’m probably the soft touch when it comes to grading films: I half think that Jill’s recent articles on how movies earn A or B grades were aimed at me to try and make me buck up my ideas, but I found myself thinking that there was something missing. It’s a shame really, because it should have been fantastic. I like political themed films and TV shows, such as The West Wing, House Of Cards, Wag The Dog, The Death Of Stalin, and Primary Colours. I was expecting Irresistible to join that group.
I mean it should do! Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper, and Mackenzie Davis having words put into their mouths by Jon Stewart… It should have been amazing. But in fact it was only adequate. There were flashes of humour but, sadly, they were few and far between. The twist at the end was telegraphed as soon as the polls opened. There were times when it threatened to fall into mawkish sentimentality. The best part by far is the representation of the opposing strategists (Carrell and Byrne) and how they use and are used by the media. Sadly, those bits aren’t satire.
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Not bad, not good, just middling and a bit of a disappointment.
Grade: C+
About The Peetimes: I found two decent Peetimes for this movie.
There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Irresistible. (What we mean by Anything Extra.)
Rated (R) for language including sexual references
Genres: Comedy, Drama
What makes a B grade movie rank at RunPee (using the Rock as an example)
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Former teacher, lecturer, homelessness administrator, pharmacy dispenser now happily retired, happily married, and a very happy granddad. I live next to the Mersey but on the side Daniel Craig and Taron Egerton come from rather than the side the Beatles came from!
Jill Florio Administrator
I’m sorry your film wasn’t any better! Sometimes Carell makes a dud. Like Get Smart, or his one with Tina Fey.
HA! You know my secret: I wrote those How to Grade articles for you! BWHAHAHA…okay, actually, I really didn’t, but to say so makes me sound deliciously evil.
I’m working on my C Grade And Below article now, but I doubt I’ll have it for this week’s newsletter. I’m packing to leave Brazil on Monday/Tuesday and go home to San Diego for a while. (30 hours of travel, plus I have a doctor call a few hours after I get home, so I can’t go right to sleep. I will have been awake 50 hours!)
I’ll have a lot of time at airports, so I plan to respond to lots of your excellent comments then. Keep them coming! Yours are the kind I treasure the most. 🙂
Rob Williams Administrator
Typical! The dud with Tina Fey was on offer and I’ve bought it for one night this week! Ah well, so it goes.
Do you actually need any help to sound deliciously evil? I just had you down as an enthusiastic amateur! Always worrying when someone says to keep doing something! It’s a bit like when you walk into a meeting and everybody turns, looks at you, and says “ah, good…you’re here!”
Hope you have an easy and safe trip home and everything’s ok with the doctor.
Take care
Jill Florio Administrator
Thanks – home safe. Doctor was great — I like these phone consults the virus has forced on us. I’m now in self quarantine for two weeks, so I hope to write daily.
What makes a villain good? There are all types, but the fun ones are easy to spot. You have to have a good evil laugh. You temple your fingers and say “Yesssssss.” You need henchmen. You tell the hero your evil plans before you try to kill them. You leave them alone to die in absurd ways with two incompetent guards. You wear black or have a distinctive outfit. Sometimes you stroke a cat.
What am I missing? This could be a fun article.
Jill Florio Administrator
Here’s the C Grades article for you…and the D/F Grades one is coming next:
https://runpee.com/how-movies-get-c-grades-at-runpee/