Yes
Man
Jim Carrey stars as Carl – a sad man trying to hide from the
world after a rough patch in life. While his friends constantly invite
him to go out and have a good time, Carl chooses to lie around his
apartment watching DVDs (in his defense, it’s a sweet pad and
nice TV). One day, his old buddy, Nick (John Michael Higgins), tries to
convince Carl that one word can save his life,
“yes.”
Nick brings Carl to a meeting led by self help guru Terrence (Terence
Stamp), who forms a covenant with Carl. If our hero says
“yes” to everything, his life will become amazing.
If he says “no,” only bad results will follow (and
HIGHlarity will ensue).
Will Carl be able to keep to his word and say “yes”
to everything?
Really?
Everything?
Will it lead to true love with Allison (Zooey Deschanel)?
Yes Man is Liar Liar
Part 2, and has its entertaining moments to make you giggle,
but part of me feels a little sorry for Carrey. He’s a
talented guy who people don’t take seriously enough. Carrey
will always be known as the plastic faced funny guy who acts silly and
makes us laugh at his physical comedy, and it pays well, but he can be
more than that.
He doesn’t have any real challenges in Yes
Man and it’s kind of creepy to see a guy well into
his 40’s supposedly dating a lady not all that well into her
20’s (but not creepy if, you know, she might want to date a
movie critic in his 30's). Carrey could play this role in his sleep and
rarely has
any moment where the audience is amazed or shocked. It’s just
a run of the mill character who has predictable results, when more
could have been added to his story to give Carrey a chance to show
something more than a contorted face or kooky voice.
Director Peyton Reed and the three writers (based on the novel by Danny
Wallace) make Yes Man into a series of wacky
situations, but have
trouble coming up with an ending. Sure, we’re going to laugh
as Carrey takes on all sorts of tasks and responsibilities that we
would never agree to unless forced by a covenant to say
“yes,” but that will only take you so far.
Eventually, Reed and the gang have to come up with a way to end the
movie and the big conflict they insert feels forced and weak.
You can say “yes” to Yes Man,
but don’t expect too much.
Yes Man is rated PG-13 for crude
sexual humor, language and brief nudity.
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