I’m not sure why, but I’ve never found Jim Carrey all that interesting. Watching Yes Man last night, I couldn’t help but find myself appreciating his effort while simultaneously not liking the results. Carrey is certainly the type of comedic actor gifted with the ability to sell himself and his shtick on a wide scale, that’s for sure, but what’s he’s offering is often lukewarm rubber-faced nonsense with little context or substance.
It stands to reason, then, that he needs one hell of a script to deliver something special. Unfortunately for Carrey, Yes Man doesn’t have it. Directed by Peyton Reed (The Break-Up, Bring It On), this 2008 comedy is loosely based on a rather interesting true story and life experience by British humourist Danny Wallace. In Wallace’s experienced, published in his book of the same name, he took it upon himself to “say yes” to things he’d ordinarily “say no” to. The results were surprising, as you might imagine.
Carrey stars as a loans officer named Carl Allen. Since his divorce, he’s become withdrawn and has turned into quite a “no” person. Always ducking out on plans with friends and generally keeping to himself, Carl’s negative outlook on life is threatening his relationships. One day, he is convinced to attend a motivational seminar led by Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp). The idea is to enter into a covenant with himself that causes him to accept the affirmative and, of course, to become a “Yes Man.”
This sends Carl on a remarkable series of comic adventures, starting with saying “yes” to a homeless guy who wants a ride. This leaves Carl in the middle of nowhere, but as we all know the middle of nowhere is the best possible place to locate a film’s love interest. Upon meeting the eccentric scooter-riding Allison (Zooey Deschanel), Carl realizes that accepting the affirmative has had a positive effect on his life and proceeds to transform things by saying “yes” to everything, including bank loans. The usual complications occur, of course, and are resolved by the third act to much cheesy fanfare.
Yes Man is generally going to please people who are fans of Carrey’s stuff, but it probably won’t earn him any new looks from those on the fence. The unfortunate thing about the movie is that it doesn’t really put Carrey in any conflict, even with himself. He takes on the affirmative because he wants to and because he desires the results, whereas other similar “behaviour comedy” pictures often leave the main character more conflicted and/or estranged from societal norms.
While Liar Liar will certainly come to mind for some as being similar to Yes Man, the comedy also shares some points with the underrated Shallow Hal. But unlike both of those films, Yes Man enters in to its quandary willingly and is a tale of sudden, willing transformation more than it is a truly comic tale of reluctant change. This gives the picture a fluffy, weightless quality, creating little energy or consequence.
Deschanel is probably the movie’s bright spot, as her performance as the weird but likeable love interest helps draw things out away from the formula. While their love is certainly unrealistic and feels forced, she manages to pull off something special thanks to her natural charisma and charm. Her scenes with Carrey work well enough but remain elusive and unconvincing overall, although that’s not her fault. Perhaps with a stronger script, Yes Man could have made more out of the romantic angles.
Overall, Yes Man is far from an awful picture. The problem is that it’s far from a good one and is about as middle-of-the-road as it gets for a comedy. Carrey simply kind of exists on screen, drawing on his well of tricks as per usual and offering little of consequence to the film. While there were some chuckles here and there, this movie is far from memorable or impactful as a comedy.
3.7/10
Trailer:
