Film Reviews

Yes Man

• Rating:
• Director: Peyton Reed
• Starring: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Danny Masterson, Bradley Cooper
• Details: US / 104 mins (15A)

During the Great Depression of the '30s, Hollywood fired out a lot of musicals and comedies to help buoy some spirits; with a multitude of musicals on the way for 2009, when the economic downturn will really pinch, audiences can also expect a lot of life-affirming high concept comedies like Yes Man. Carrey plays the sarcastic Carl Allen, a mid-level loan approval bank officer who is used to saying no. This attitude has spilled over into his social life and, because he has let down his friends so often, Carl agrees to attend a seminar by a self-help guru (Terrence Stamp) where he promises to say yes to any proposition. This has immediate problems: Carl gives a homeless guy a lift into the wilds where his car runs out of gas. Bummer. However, Kooky Allison (Deschanel) comes to the rescue and the two start up a relationship. Hooray. Things continue like that for a while until his mates begin to take advantage of his positivity and Carl's life goes a little pear-shaped… Yes Man is fun without being hilarious. Carrey fans will love to see their favourite comedian doing, arguably, what he does best - pulling a million faces while falling down a lot. This comedy works best when Carrey and Deschanel are on screen (they make a cute couple) but feels flat when they aren't. Carrey needs someone to bounce off and his sidekicks - Masterson and Cooper – don't have anything funny to do, and in a comedy you have to wonder what they're doing there. The plot, as with most high concept movies, runs out of steam two-thirds of the way through and the messy wrap-up feels contrived, blurring the movie's message.

Review by Gavin Burke