Yes Man

"Yes Man" is surprisingly good, and here the punch line is everything. Jim Carrey is great in Director Peyton Reed's hysterical romantic comedy. Zooey Deschanel is amazingly charming and quirky. In "Yes Man" Carrey plays Carl, who has been divorced for 3 years from Stephanie (flighty and hot Molly Sims) and has an uninspired job as a loan officer at Brea Savings in Los Angeles. Carl has pretty much checked out in life. To that end he says "No" to all invites. Carl even forgets to attend his best friend Peter's (funny Bradley Cooper) engagement party. An old buddy invites Carl to a seminar given by Tony Robbins-like self help guru Terrence Bundley (charismatic Terrence Stamp). Terrence invites Carl to accept the "covenant" to say "Yes" to everything in life. Reluctantly, Carl accepts.

However, there is a point to the screenplay by Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul, and Andrew Mogel based on the book by Danny Wallace. In a great conversation with Carl and Terrence later in the story Carl asks, "So this is bullsh*t?" Carl has been so not present in his own life. Obviously, saying "Yes" mindlessly to everything is ridiculous. What if taking on saying "Yes" as an operating practice is a way of practicing being enrolled in life. When you are enrolled in life, and become enrolling, you are now open to a new realm of possibility. Reed and his writers present this transformed perspective in both a hysterical and touching manner.

Saying "Yes" immediately does not seem to make a difference for Carl. Carl ends up giving a ride and all of his money to Homeless Guy (funny Brent Briscoe). With his cell phone dead and his car empty on gas, Carl ventures miles to a gas station where he meets free-spirited scooter girl Allison (Deschanel). Allison gives Carl a ride, and leaves an indelible mark on his heart. In not the most linear or obvious ways, Carl soon embraces saying "Yes". Peter asks, "So you say 'yes' to everything?" Carl confesses, "I wasn't open to stuff. Now I am…"

Carl eventually is fated to meet up with Allison. Carl tells Peter that "…She is so not me." There in lies the genius. There is a quiet moment at the Hollywood Bowl where Allison tells Carl, "The whole world is a playground. Somewhere along the way everyone forgets that…" Here Reed is unexpectedly poignant. Carrey and Zooey's sweet and funny chemistry give "Yes Man" its big heart.

"Yes Man" is hysterical. Carrey is at his best playing outrageous comedic with an underlying humanity, instead of straight up serious drama. He is amazingly hysterical as he serenades a Jumper (funny Luis Guzman), takes a drunken beating from an angry boyfriend, and jacked up on Red Bull in a jogging photography class. Zooey Deschanel is Carrey's amazing romantic foil. There is a nice scene as she and Carrey walk side by side along a barren Nebraska road. She is cute and has such a radiant spirit and vulnerability. So her Allison must touchingly reconcile for herself whether Carl is just saying "Yes". "Yes Man" is about what's in your heart and being open to all the possibilities of life. That's not a bad message for a hilarious and outrageous comedy from Jim Carrey and Peyton Reed. Say "Yes" to "Yes Man".

I always get excited about a new Jim Carrey movie. In my opinion, he has rarely done anything unwatchable in whatever genre from The Mask to Liar Liar via Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind. Yes Man is an excellent feel-good comedy with an outstanding turn from Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel & Terence Stamp. The movie is unfortunately predictable (like most Jim Carey flicks) but very enjoyable with a hard-to-ignore message about how people should live their lives. Don't be surprised after seeing the film to start saying yes a bit more often and how much of a difference it may have on your daily life. Yes Man is a worthy addition to Jim Carrey's filmography.

This movie is a fun one has good humor and is interesting until somewhere before the end. I mean don't expect the best work of Jim Carrey here but it's better than Bruce Almighty in my opinion. The humor is understandable by anyone but not one in a dozen, it is keeps it freshness throughout.

Unfortunately there are some problems with this movie as well, the movie keeps strict to the formula of a Rom-Com so you aren't surprised anywhere and can guess the plot from the beginning to the end. This is not to bad if you can switch off your mind and just enjoy the movie.

Worse is the need to have a moralistic end. Without telling how or what I will just say that this forced moralistic ending upsets the whole flow of the movie and it would have made a better movie if it had been left out. The moral is to obvious and just bad.

The last flaw I really noticed was the enormous amount of products which were being endorsed by the film. It was almost funnier to watch every product which came by then the jokes of the film itself. Anyway it would make a great drinking game if you would drink every time anyone saw a product endorsement. One scene particularly would get you loaded when Jim Carrey shout a brand name at least ten times.

Again in short it was a good film but it could have been better. And if you need a drinking game this movie is bound to get you loaded.

When I first saw that my two sisters wanted to see this film, I was not that motivated initially, thinking it would be a substandard and predictable comedy with contrived romance. I don't know why I thought that, despite starring Jim Carrey who is quite likable anyway and an intriguing concept, part of my brain was telling me it wasn't going to be good. But I watched it anyway, as I always give films a chance even if the film turns out utter rubbish. After watching, I was pleasantly surprised; it has its flaws but it was an above average film. The romance isn't as good as Carrey's enjoyably wacky antics though, the pacing is sometimes uneven and there was one scene when Carl's neighbour makes sexual advances towards him that I felt wasn't needed. That said though, the concept about what would happen if you answered every question with the answer yes is very intriguing, and the script is good. Also well done is the pleasant cinematography and very good performances from Carrey and the beautiful Zooey Deschanel, who gives her Allison free spirit and charm. Howver it is Rhys Darby as the geeky, Harry Potter-obsessed bank manager who comes very close to stealing the film. Not to mention Terrence Stamp as Terrence, the quasi-religious seminar leader. Overall, flawed, but intriguing and surprisingly likable. 7/10 Bethany Cox

After seeing "The Number 23" I was beginning to wonder if Jim Carrey had renounced his trademark physical comedy roles he played to such great effect in "Bruce Almighty", "Liar, Liar", "Dumb & Dumber", etc.

Carrey is back in form with "Yes Man". While the plot was lacking and somewhat formulaic, it was fun to watch the best physical comedy talent of our generation doing what he does best for two hours. Zooey Deschanel was good as the love interest (and she did a nice job singing to).

If you liked Carrey's earlier works, you'll find plenty to like in this movie. I hope Carrey keeps on doing these comedies. It's what he was born to do.