Release Date:
Friday, December 19, 2008
Directed by: Peyton Reed
The Skinny: Jim Carrey plays a recently divorced Angeleno sinking slowly into a depression that keeps him on the couch, away from friends, and in a perpetual state of pathological negativity. He eventually decides to attend a seminar held by a self-help guru (Terence Stamp) who instructs him to say "yes" to every opportunity he is presented with in order to rejoin the living.
The Good: Despite the concept being a slight reworking of Liar, Liar, for the most part, Yes Man succeeds in its modest ambitions. Carrey could have played his character as an insufferable douche, but he manages to make him likeable, and his decision to turn to new-age help is definitely more plausible than making his condition the result of a child's birthday wish. There's no magic, just desperation. Zooey Deschanel is adorable as always, and Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchord's Murray) is hilarious.
The Bad: Again, there are enough chuckles to make the experience bearable, but you won't be busting any guts. It's a pleasant movie, nothing more. But you get the sense that it's only aspiring to be pleasant, so you get what you paid for. And while Carrey avoids douchiness, his character's best friends (Danny Masterson and Bradley Cooper) do not.
Yes, Man: Sure, it's a brief scene, but we applaud the return of actor Patrick Labyorteaux, star of such seminal comedies as Summer School, Heathers, and, best of all, Ski School. Welcome back, man.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? This is a good rental for those nights when you want nothing to do with your friends.
The Skinny: Jim Carrey plays a recently divorced Angeleno sinking slowly into a depression that keeps him on the couch, away from friends, and in a perpetual state of pathological negativity. He eventually decides to attend a seminar held by a self-help guru (Terence Stamp) who instructs him to say "yes" to every opportunity he is presented with in order to rejoin the living.
The Good: Despite the concept being a slight reworking of Liar, Liar, for the most part, Yes Man succeeds in its modest ambitions. Carrey could have played his character as an insufferable douche, but he manages to make him likeable, and his decision to turn to new-age help is definitely more plausible than making his condition the result of a child's birthday wish. There's no magic, just desperation. Zooey Deschanel is adorable as always, and Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchord's Murray) is hilarious.
The Bad: Again, there are enough chuckles to make the experience bearable, but you won't be busting any guts. It's a pleasant movie, nothing more. But you get the sense that it's only aspiring to be pleasant, so you get what you paid for. And while Carrey avoids douchiness, his character's best friends (Danny Masterson and Bradley Cooper) do not.
Yes, Man: Sure, it's a brief scene, but we applaud the return of actor Patrick Labyorteaux, star of such seminal comedies as Summer School, Heathers, and, best of all, Ski School. Welcome back, man.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? This is a good rental for those nights when you want nothing to do with your friends.