Yeah, why not?

Rating: 7/10 (7 January 2009)

When was the last time Jim Carrey was really funny? Yep, that would be back in 2004, when he delivered a double mixture of creepy (Lemony Snicket) and touching (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, his best role to date), both paired with his natural comedic talent, which was significantly watered down in the disappointing Fun With Dick & Jane and consistently missing in the excessively weird The Number 23. Yes Man is the perfect antidote, then: a typical Carrey comedy, where the gags abound and the soul department is a little empty. Not that we're gonna complain that much - it's just that the source material indicated the film could have been a little more... you know.
The material in question is Danny Wallace's eponymous autobiographical book, in which he recounts what happened to him after he attended a "Yes Men" seminar and vowed to say "yes" for six months. In the movie, the action is moved from England to Los Angeles, and Wallace is replaced by Carl Allen (Carrey), a bank employee who hasn't had a real life since his marriage ended. Instead of hanging out with his friends (Bradley Cooper and Danny Masterson, both criminally underused) or helping his neighbors, he spends his days working or renting movies he subsequently disses during the viewing. Everything changes when an old friend invites him to a "Yes" convention where the British host (Terence Stamp, who else?) advises him to greet every offer that crosses his path with the same answer. Any need to guess which that is?
From then on, it's just like Liar, Liar or Bruce Almighty: a torrent of gags which stem from the absurd (yet undeniably plausible) premise. The jokes range from predictable (Carl replying to spam messages) to somewhat original (Carl learning Korean) to quite outlandish (Carl preventing a man from committing suicide in a most unusual way; Wallace has pointed out this never happened to him, by the way). Throw in a sweet, enthralling romance with free spirit Allison (the always charming Zooey Deschanel), and you've got a comedy that ticks practically every box. The most important, of course, is the one concerning Carrey, who mixes full-on comedy and heartfelt seriousness with the ease one could expect after his marvelous turns in The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine. Too bad he's also stuck with a director who can't give the serious bits the dignity they crave (but hey, what can you demand from the guy who did Bring It On?). And that's without mentioning the obvious contrivance that is used to get to the third act.
Still, Yes Man has enough ingredients to make for a nice, though not entirely satisfying viewing: there's a relatively good central idea, Deschanel and Stamp in supporting roles and Carrey going ballistic. Would die-hard fans of the comedian really ask for more?