It Just Doesn't Get Creative Enough.

Rating: 7/10 (19 December 2008)

Carl is a loner who never wants to do anything with anyone. This includes his best friend who is about to get married. After missing a few important dates in his friends life and having a bizarre dream about being dead and nobody caring, he decides to attend a YES MAN seminar. He is challenged to say YES to EVERYTHING, or else bad things will happen to him.
This kind of sound like Liar Liar and that is the film most people will be comparing it to, even though both of them are almost completely different. The only similarity is that the main character HAS to do something. One is to tell the truth, the other is to say yes. Well, the similarities stop there. I want to say that this film is funny, and I will, but it wasn't funny enough. I got a few chuckles here and there but not one scene stands out in my mind as the funniest or the most memorable. Which is a bad thing for a comedy.
Jim Carrey does his usual and brings the funny faces and physical comedy. At some points it seems unnecessary and forced, like when he is having a weird face making competition with his boss. At other times, it just simply works cause it's Jim Carrey and he's being doing it for years. As Carl, who is played by Carrey, soon finds out that saying yes leads to good things in his life, he embraces the idea. Unfortunately that idea is never fully realized and we never really see where this could take us. It felt like they were playing it safe this time, which is really odd considering the amount of adult material in here.
There are a few swear words, I remember hearing the F-BOMB a few times, which surprised me. Also there is a scene in which my girlfriend found completely gross and it involves an elderly lady taking out her teeth to 'perform' on Carl. The scene is used to show that when he says NO, bad things happen to him, but at the same time it seems completely like it should belong in another film.
Everything you see in the trailer is pretty much what he says yes to. The Korean, the guitar lessons, the plane lessons. There are only a few that you don't know about but they aren't that funny. Driving a homeless man home is one of them and it never got a laugh from me.
The supporting cast helps the film immensely. Zooey Deschanel is wonderful as always. I find her always to be charming and cute with a funny side. Carl's boss and new friend due to him having to say yes to everything is Rhys Darby. People may recognize him from the TV show Flight of the Conchords as the band manager. He steals the show in every scene and is far more funny then Jim Carrey. It's a shame because I always liked Jim Carrey. It seems that the older comedians are losing it while the newer ones seem fresh and hot. Terence Stamp has three scenes in the film, two of which are at the seminars. He doesn't really add too much to the film and the role could have been played by anyone.
The film is indeed a romantic comedy, so I warn you. Be prepared for every romantic comedy cliché. This one has them. Boy meets girl, loses girl and races against time to win her back. What makes it not really work is that I can't see Deschanel really hooking up with Carrey. It must be the age gap. Even though these two work well together, I just can't see them romantically involved. Maybe best friends would work better.
I wanted more from Yes Man, it could have really done some funny things with it's premise but it plays it safe. I do find the film to be one of Carrey's better ones of late. Fun with Dick & Jane was horrible and let's not even mention The Number 23. Yes Man is a film you want to be able to laugh constantly at, but will only find yourself laughing every now and again. I recommend Yes Man as a rental and nothing to rush to see.