Harmless and Predictable
Summary
Yes Man is harmless fun, but with the concept, they should have done more with it than they did.
Plot: Carl Allen (Jim Carrey) is convinced to say yes to everything after living a dull, boring existence, following his divorce from his wife, due to saying no to everything.
Review: Years ago, a colleague of mine was talking to me about movies and said to me, “You know a movie I watched that I really liked? Yes Man. I recommend watching it.” I filed that away, and like most things, it got lost in the vortex of other things to watch that is my existence. That being said, I never forgot the recommendation, and last night, I finally sat down and watched the thing.
So, I can understand why he liked it. I understand why anyone likes this movie. It has a very positive message and can be considered uplifting. The leads are likable, Jim Carrey is mostly toned down (for once), and it all turns out well in the end. If someone approaches me and says that Yes Man is a great movie that they enjoy watching whenever they’re feeling down, I totally get it.
For me, though, I found this movie very ho-hum. Part of the problem is how close this is to Jim Carrey’s movie, Liar Liar. The lead character has an unsavoury characteristic and is forced to act against their nature, which ultimately benefits their life. The difference is, in Liar Liar, Jim Carrey’s character does not want to stop lying, and is shocked and horrified that he can’t lie. It’s hilarious to see the outrageous lengths he’d go to do what once was so easy for him. In Yes Man, he’s ambivalent to saying yes. There’s no conflict, no tension, he says yes all the time, and things are great for him instantaneously. He tries to stop saying yes a couple of times, but reverts to form almost instantly.
That results in the film not being funny often. The laughs generally revolve around what he’s saying yes to, and there are a couple of funny moments, like when he randomly has an Iranian woman with him while having lunch with friends. However, Jim Carrey is at his best when he’s being manic, and in this movie, he rarely is. There are a couple of physical bits, and he does the whole stretching thing with his face once or twice, but that’s it. It’s subdued Jim Carrey, and that version is just…meh.
Shockingly, Zooey Deschanel is the best part of this movie. I say shockingly because I usually am not a fan of her. Yes, she’s attractive and talented; that isn’t in question. She just annoys me in movies for some reason. She tries too hard to be cool, weird, or cynical, and it doesn’t come off well. In this movie, she’s sweet and charming; she’s the emotional centre of the film, and she’s damn good at it. The rest of the cast is…there. I kind of enjoyed Rhys Darby’s earnest, enthusiastic nerd attempts, but his schtick rarely hit. Terrence Stamp is terrific (he’s Terrence Stamp, after all), but he’s barely in the film.
When the conflict does come up in the film, it doesn’t make any sense. You know that there’s going to be tension between Carrey and Deschanel’s characters at some point; isn’t that most romantic comedies? The two leads have a falling out because getting back together is so…tingly? Anyhow, it happens, and it makes no sense. Of course, minutes of film are wasted in the inevitable reconciliation, and if it were better written, it would resonate. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
With all that, Yes Man is harmless. Yes, there’s a tasteless joke around a senior citizen’s sexual prowess, which unfortunately is revisited later in the movie, but for the most part, it’s something your family can watch and enjoy. However, if you’re looking for something clever here, keep looking. This isn’t he movie you’re looking for.