One of America’s Fiercest Media Critics Is Back With a Warning

The film is the second that Stewart has written and directed, after 2014’s Rosewater, a somber true-story drama about a journalist who was tortured by the Iranian government. Irresistible is more along the lines of what people might expect from the former host of The Daily Show, taking aim at the excesses of the American two-party system. But the story has a major twist, a Twilight Zone­–esque shift that drastically challenges the viewer’s perspective. Without revealing too much, it’s obvious that Stewart wants his audience to think about both the limitations of U.S. electoral politics and the media narratives that come with them.

I talked with Stewart about his conception of Irresistible, the strange but fortuitous timing of its release amid political turmoil, and what has changed about the media landscape since he left The Daily Show. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. (Irresistible is available for rental on video-on-demand services on June 26.)

Jon Stewart: What’s happening, man?

David Sims: Oh … you know …

Stewart: [Laughs] Just in a bunker, surrounded by cans of soup, like everyone else.

Sims: It’s shocking how many cans of soup I have. There were two weeks right at the start of the pandemic where you’d buy them on every shopping run.

Stewart: I always wonder about survivalists. Do they hope that shit goes down, because otherwise they’re just a crazy person with underground soup?

Sims: I guess you could just rebrand. “I don’t have a bunker; I have a soup basement.” Like a wine cellar.

Stewart: [Laughs] Sure, like a wine cellar. You’re seeing those now in a lot of the trendiest houses.

Sims: I’ll have to eat it someday. I guess I’m glad it didn’t come to that.

Stewart: Hey man, it ain’t over yet! I hate to tell you this, but do not get rid of the soup.

Sims: How do you feel about your movie coming out in this weird way, given how we’re watching movies right now?

Stewart: Look, I love movie theaters; I certainly would have preferred that kind of experience. But I also feel like, hey man, maybe it’ll bring [people] some comfort. Though it is a little like showing up to a plane crash with a chocolate bar. People are really struggling, and I show up in the middle saying, “Does anybody want some Pez?” But maybe there will be a couple people who are like, “You know what? I would like some Pez! Thank you!”

Sims: The first thing I thought of when watching Irresistible was John Kerry accepting the Democratic nomination in 2004, in the midst of the Iraq War. He took the stage and saluted, and said he was—

Stewart: “Reporting for duty!”

Sims: That imagery that they were trying to present, of a perfect candidate, a war hero for that moment—that quest for an image-friendly candidate for a moment hasn’t gone away.