Yes, Yes Man is a safe studio
comedy that was likely made with the expressed goal of offering
unobjectionable, mainstream humor – not a strong foundation for
a good film. Yes, the movie seems a little too familiar
when one considers that a previous Jim Carrey effort—Liar,
Liar—thrust the actor into situations in which he could not
tell a lie, just as he must say “yes” to every proposition made
in this one. Yes, it would be easier for me to dismiss the movie
as an insipid affair because of its questionable reason to exist
than it will be for me to defend it because I liked it, but I
won’t let that cloud my judgment. Yes, the whole “yes” framing
device I’m using to be cute and (not so subtly) play off the
movie’s title is really lame and adds nothing to this review.
With different actors and a different
director, Yes Man likely would’ve been as irritating as
the above paragraph. After all, its plot practically defines
comedic triteness: it consists of a long chain of daredevil
stunts and life-changes fostered by a once-pessimistic
protagonist (Carrey) who is convinced by a mega-church-esque
leader (Terrence Stamp) to practice the sole value the
organization’s congregants hold—saying “yes” to everything. But
the movie works because it features the right talent hitting the
right notes, proving that even the most generic, least edgy
Hollywood material can work if properly nurtured.
Carrey is, of course, the biggest
reason why Yes Man works as well as it does, playing
essentially the same character as always but providing his
reliably likable, funny presence. The movie moves in every
predictable direction and yet Carrey infuses entertaining
zaniness at each step of the way. Consider an expected scene in
which his Carl is confronted by a shady hobo who hangs outside
the “yes”-church to rip off new converts by forcing them to
oblige in driving him wherever he wants, lending him all their
cash, and so on and so forth. The viewer knows exactly what will
happen and Carrey milks this sense of situational irony in every
way he can, engaging his exaggerated facial expressions and
“Dumb and Dumber”-derived idiocy to foster an outrageous
situation. And when the scene repeats itself over and over again
with slightly changed elements, the actor never ceases to do
something that’s funny in a different way.
There are great supporting
performances, too. “Flight of the Conchords” actor Rhys Darby
makes a hilarious turn as Carl’s boss, who throws elaborate
dress-up parties that Carl has no choice but to attend when
invited. And oh boy does Yes Man soar with its choice of
an obligatory love interest. While Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad
Paul, and Andrew Mogel’s script doesn’t make Allison, the pretty
“running-photography instructor” who Carl fatefully forms a
relationship with in his “yes”-quest, into an interesting
person, Zooey Deschanel’s charming performance does. Ms.
Deschanel is sweet, attractive, offbeat, funny, and perfectly
complementary to Carrey. Even when Carl’s titular “yes man”
attitude inevitably begins to have negative consequences when
Allison learns of the vow in the second act, Deschanel’s
charisma is enough to get the audience through the ensuing
unoriginal scenes needed to keep the plot moving along.
And what a feat the movie is for
director Peyton Reed, who feels at home making inconsequential
fluff totally enjoyable. After his failed 2006 attempt at drama,
The Break Up, it’s good to see Reed return to the frothy
goodness that made his earlier films Down with Love and
Bring it On some of the more entertaining ones of their
kind. Finishing the picture off with a goofy, wowing street-luge
sequence shared by his main characters, the skilled director
reels Yes Man in at a quick and enjoyable
hour-and-44-minutes, making it a perfectly appeasing and
never-boring (if not extraordinary or inspired) date-flick for
the masses.
-Danny Baldwin, Bucket Reviews
Review Published on: 12.18.2008
Screened on: 11.20.2008 on the
Warner Bros. Studio Lot in Burbank, CA.