Starring: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper
Directed by: Peyton Reed
Rating: ★★★★
Begin the year with smiles by persuading yourself to go and see Yes Man. Jim Carrey is back on form playing Carl, a loan advisor at a bank who is desperately miserable after a rocky divorce, and so hates his life. Finding joy only by renting DVD’s and watching them alone, his best friend Peter (Cooper) tries his hardest to make him have a social life and enjoy himself. One day at work, Carl runs into an old friend who tells him about a self help seminar which commands people to say yes to everything they are asked, and after attending the meeting and then running out of petrol after it, Carl bumps into Allison (Deschanel), a free spirited and easy going photographer. After this unforgettable encounter, Carl decides to become a Yes Man, and soon finds himself doing things he wouldn’t normally dream of.
The movie is based on a book by English comedian and writer Danny Wallace, who decided to say yes to situations he would normally say no to for a year to make his life more interesting. This idea was taken and turned into a Hollywood film, and very successfully too, as Yes Man is a hilarious feel good comedy that is big on laughs and low on cheese- something that this reviewer greatly appreciates.
Jim Carrey gives a great performance, one that is reminiscent of his 90’s glory, although slightly toned down for a contemporary audience. The supporting cast are also really likeable and funny: Zooey Deschanel is appealing as a sexy but quirky girl next door leading lady; Bradley Cooper is witty and compelling as his best friend and New Zealand comedian Rhys Darby almost steals the show with his geeky and hilarious character Norman.
The script sparkles and feels original, mainly because the dialogue is realistic and bubbly, and most of the set pieces are extremely funny to watch. Some of the best moment are completed unexpected, for example the opening scene in a video rental store, a Harry Potter party, Carl’s elderly next door neighbour, and a fight outside of a bar, although the overall sarcastic tone of the film helps make each joke run seamlessly into one another.
It is not often that I see a film that makes me laugh the whole way through, especially one that borders on chick-flick territory, but Yes Man is a well-plotted and unique film that takes a funny idea and runs with it.
Want to chase the blues away this year? Then I recommend kick-starting 2009 with this very enjoyable and uplifting comedy.
Just say Yes to Yes Man!
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