Average Carrey Comedy

Rating: 5/10 (1 January 2009)

There's not much to get with a film like 'Yes Man'. It's the kind of vehicle you would have expected from Jim Carrey some ten years ago in the thick of his one-trick pony concept films. It's not a bad movie, and it's actually very entertaining, but it's the sort of movie you forget about ten minutes after walking out of the theater.
It's the concept of 'Yes Man' that just screams utter lunacy. A man who says 'yes'. To everything. If he says 'no', awful things will happen. How on earth can a film sustain such a flimsy and empty plot for 100 minutes? Thankfully, 'Yes Man' is so harmless and lofty that Jim Carrey barely has to sell us anything for us to willingly go along with it. He seems right at home here, even if it feels like an attempt to rekindle prior hit machines. Though quite honestly, I'll take this Carrey over 'The Number 23' any day. But after seeing his potential in films like 'Eternal Sunshine', he's better than this.
Carrey's routine works well enough to garner a few laughs. Not many, and I really can't recall any gut-busting jokes, but 'Yes Man' will get you chuckling to the point where you won't feel like the money spent was a complete waste. And once again, the gorgeous Zooey Deschanel finds herself in a film that really has nowhere to go. But she makes the best of what the script gives her, and like many of the films she participates in, she's the life of the party. Proving once again that she can also hold a note, 'Yes Man' should have been a better vehicle for her singing career than Carrey's goofball antics.
I have perhaps saved the best for last. In case you ever forgot that Warner Bros. does have a stake in this silly thing we like to call Hollywood, 'Yes Man' is practically a 100 minute infomercial advertising their many products. There are no less than a dozen references to all things related to this film's parent studio. And in case you're the subtle type, Warner Bros. doesn't hesitate to hit you over the head with their involvement with 'Harry Potter', '300', 'The Goonies', and yes, even Third Eye Blind. Who were, in case you didn't know, signed onto Warner's music label. So even if 'Yes Man' rings mostly hollow despite its good-natured attempt to teach us a life-affirming message, Warner Bros. has another issue on their agenda. They make movies, and even music, and they hope you don't take the shortcomings of a film like 'Yes Man' too personally.
The joke's on us.
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