Free-spirited fun!

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2009)

Yes Man is free-spirited fun! Yes, it's a bit of a romantic comedy between two polar opposites 18 years apart but it wasn't all that gross. Yes, it's formulaic but it's also seriously funny.
Carl Allen (Jim Carrey) is a recently divorced junior loan officer. Wallowing in his misery, his vocabulary is comprised of all variations of 'no'. He meets an old acquaintance, who convinces him to attend a life-changing seminar that is centered on saying "yes". Carl gives it a try, and ends up meeting Allison (Zooey Deschanel) as a result of his newfound way of life. Whenever he says no, though, things seem to take a turn for the worse. Or do they really? Deschanel is great for this sort of quirky role, and while the rubber-faced Carrey has aged a lot, he can still deliver the punchlines and play the role of leading man. When Carl breaks into song ("Jumper" by Third Eye Blind), and the onlookers yell the power line back, "Put the past away!" it's priceless.
It's uncanny how much I can relate to Yes Man. Even before I heard of the movie (which was only this year) or of the book (a biography by Danny Wallace), I had already tagged the year 2008 as the Year of the Yes for me, which meant accepting all sorts of dates and invites to trips and doing things I would not normally do. Just like Carl, this little change of perspective worked wonders for me. More than a little excursion out of my comfort zone, it opened up possibilities. It wasn't all good all the time, but it's definitely worth extending to 2009 as the Year of the Why Not!