Yes Man
2 Waffles!

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.