Yes Man (2008)

"...a terrific feelgood comedy, with Jim Carrey in brilliant form.  Mark Adams, Daily Mirror
"...a strong premise, a handful of laugh-out-loud moments and a superb supporting cast.  Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
"Carrey's most satisfying live-action effort since "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."  Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter
"...a love story that just happens to make you laugh.  Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
"...full of goofy, joyful moments, anchored by the sweet chemistry between Carrey and Deschanel...  Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper

Editor's Note Jim Carrey returns to hilarious form with this romantic comedy in the same vein as the Carrey classic LIAR LIAR. After a few stints in more serious features like ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and THE NUMBER 23, Carrey seems right at home playing Carl, a divorcé who starts out the film depressed and withdrawn, scared of taking a risk. Pressured by his best friend, Peter (Bradley Cooper), to get his act together or be stuck with a lonely life, Carl attends a New Age self-help seminar intended to change "no men" like Carl into "yes men" willing to meet life's challenges with gusto. Carl is reluctant at first, but finds the seminar to be ultimately life-changing when he's coerced into giving the "say yes" attitude a try. As the first opportunity to say yes presents itself, Carl hesitantly utters the three-letter word, setting the stage for a domino effect of good rewards, and giving Carrey a platform to show off his comic chops. But over time Carl realizes that saying yes to everything indiscriminately can reap results as complicated and messy as his life had become when saying "no" was his norm. The always-quirky Zooey Deschanel adds her signature charm as Carl's love interest, Allison. An unlikely match at first glance, the pair actually develop great chemistry as the story progresses, the actors playing off each other's different styles of humor. Rhys Darby also shines as Carl's loveable but clueless boss, and THAT 70s SHOW's Danny Masterson appears as another one of Carl's friends. While YES MAN marks no major departure from Carrey's previous work, the sweet crowd pleaser manages to showcase two sides of its leading man.

	Bradley Cooper
	John Michael Higgins
	Fionnula Flanagan
	Rocky Carroll
	Terence Stamp
	Danny Masterson
	Patrick Labyorteaux
	Luis Guzmán
	Rhys Darby
	Brent Briscoe
	Anna Khaja
	Sasha Alexander
	Jim Carrey
	Zooey Deschanel
	Molly Sims
	Robert D. Yeoman - Director of Photography
	Andrew Mogel - Screenwriter
	Eels - Music
	Nicholas Stoller - Screenwriter
	Danny Wallace - Source Writer
	Bruce Berman - Executive Producer
	Richard D. Zanuck - Producer
	Jarrad Paul - Screenwriter
	David Heyman - Producer
	Marty P. Ewing - Executive Producer
	Peyton Reed - Director

USA Today
"Carrey is back to elastic-faced form and zany physical humor..." 12/21/2008

Entertainment Weekly
"[A] nerd-loosening-his-tie romantic comedy done in the manic-compulsive mode of LIAR LIAR." 01/01/2009

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "[Carrey] still shows himself capable of going over a parked car and coming of the floor as if he's on fire with considerable aplomb in this adaptation of Danny Wallace's bestselling book." 02/01/2009

Hollywood Reporter
"Carrey's most satisfying live-action effort since ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, the Peyton Reed-directed concept comedy finds its star in a notably relaxed place..." 12/15/2008

ReelViews 8 of 10
At first glance, Yes Man appears to be yet another high-concept Jim Carrey comedy...Over the years, we have gotten used to these kinds of movies from the guy who was once best known as a Pet Detective, so one could not be faulted for assuming that Yes Man would be a lot like Liar, Liar and Bruce Almighty in tone and intent. However, while a viewer might be expecting a screwball, he/she ends up with a changeup. Because, despite all the funnyman Carrey trappings, this is, in essence, a fairly generic romantic comedy. Carrey does enough mugging at the beginning to fool us into thinking Yes Man is something other than what it is, but the minute Zooey Deschanel appears, the movie takes a left turn. Deschanel isn't just a token female love interest in a Carrey movie. She's a legitimate romantic foil. And that makes the movie a little different from how it's being sold...One of the best things Yes Man does is give the leads enough screen time together to make their growing attraction believable. A growing trend in recent romantic comedies is to clutter the story with so many extraneous elements that the protagonists have only a few token scenes in each other's company. The film also provides a nice satire of near-religious self-help philosophies, and Terence Stamp is the perfect spokesperson - creepy yet strangely compelling...No one is going to argue that Yes Man is Oscar-caliber material, but it fills a necessary lower-brow niche when there are so many prestige offerings on screens. Just as during the summer, when it's nice to get something smart to provide relief from the non-stop barrage of spectacle, so it's pleasant to watch something a little less intellectually taxing between all the would-be Oscar contenders. Yes Man is that movie - undemanding, light, and enjoyable on its own terms. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 6 of 10
Jim Carrey made a movie in 1997 titled "Liar Liar" in which his character is a lawyer who suddenly finds he cannot tell a lie. Now here is "Yes Man," with Carrey playing a bank loan executive who cannot say "no." If the movie had been made just a little later to take advantage of the mortgage crisis, it could have been a docudrama...Every time there's a set-up in "Yes Man" we know what must happen. If a homeless guy comes along and asks for a midnight ride to a forest preserve, of course Carl must say "yes." We also can foresee what will happen when Allison doubts his love because maybe he only said "yes" because of his vow. Allison's doubts come perfectly timed to supply the movie's third-act crisis. In fact, the whole story plays as if written by a devout student of the screenplay guru Robert McKee, who also fills rented ballrooms but has the advantage of being smarter and more entertaining than the Guru of Yes...Jim Carrey works the premise for all it's worth, but it doesn't allow him to bust loose and fly. When a lawyer must tell the truth and wants desperately not to (even pounding himself over the head with a toilet seat to stop himself), it's funny. When a loan officer must say "yes" and wants to, where is the tension? The premise removes all opportunity for frustration, at which Carrey is a master, and reduces Carl to a programmed creature, who, as long as he follows instructions, lacks free will...As I watched "Yes Man," I observed two things: (1) Jim Carrey is heroic at trying to keep the movie alive, and succeeds when he is free to be goofy and not locked into yes-and-consequences. (2) It is no news that Zooey Deschanel is a splendid actress and a great beauty, but this is her first movie after which two of my fellow critics proposed marriage to the screen. And I thought they only sat in the front row to better appreciate the film stock. - Roger Ebert