Yes Man: Movie Review

Yes Man: Movie Review

Rating: 6/10
Cast: Jim Carrey, Rhys Darby, Zooey Deschanel
Director: Peyton Reed

Yes.
A simple word - but one which is fraught with so many issues so often.
Jim Carrey stars in this film, one which takes the idea of UK author Danny Wallace's much loved book  grabs its central premise and runs with it - albeit in a different direction.
Carrey is Carl Allen, a guy whose life is passing him by because he doesn't want to socialize with friends (he rejects every call which is coming in with an array of excuses); his marriage ended 6 months ago and since then Allen's spent his time working in the bank (where he's always been as a loan (dis)approver) and in Blockbuster renting films.
The flashpoint comes when Allen forgets his best friend Peter's engagement party and he starts to realize he has to do something after they walk away from him.
A chance meeting with a former schoolmate outside his bank, sees Carrey's character encouraged to take a seminar hosted by Terrence Bundley, (played by Terence Stamp) which pivots around the idea of saying Yes to everything which comes his way.
Practically bullied into saying Yes, Carl Allen starts to open himself up to more opportunities - and that's where the fun (and the problems) begins.
As a real fan of Danny Wallace's book, I had real misgivings about Carrey (and his manic tendencies) stepping into this role.
But director Peyton Reed (The Break Up, Bring It On) has managed to do a good job of reigning Carrey in and indulging him in only a few select scenes of idiocy.
Granted there are moments when saying Yes leads to Carl Allen finding himself in ludicrous situations (such as a sex scene with an elderly neighbour) but there's always the emphasis that staying positive in life will bring good things your way (such as when helping a homeless guy ends with Allen having a chance meeting with Zooey Deschanel's character Allison)
And Rhys Darby manages some good laughs as Carl's boss - even if he does appear to be channeling the same character as Murray the inept boss from Flight of The Conchords.
The end result is that the film is a likeable beast.
It may suffer at times by veering away from Danny Wallace's original intentions (Carrey's character is slow to adopt the Yes outlook); but with an occasionally sullen Jim Carrey showing a bit more depth, Yes Man succeeds in being good value entertainment.