Yes Man

Reviewer: Erin Donovan
Rating (out of 5): ***½

Loosely based on the true story of British humorist Danny Wallace's attempt to inject more positivity into this life, Yes Man stars Jim Carrey as Carl
Allen, a mid-level loan officer whose strategy for promotion is to take no
risks with his bank's money and suck up to the boss. His lackadaisical approach to work has bled into his personal life, Yes Man opens on a scene that is both funny and melancholic as Carl makes up a series of elaborate excuses to a friend for why it is imperative he stay in and rent videos that night.

After a huge blowout with his best friend, pushed to the limit with Carl's obstinance (coupled with a dream depicting dying alone and having his face eaten by bugs) Carl decides to choose life and attends a self-help seminar led by Terrence Bundley (played by Terence Stamp). Bundley, an oddly effective combination of Tony Robbins, Mr. Miyagi and Robert McKee uses a delicate blend of emotional blackmail and mild hypnotism to convince Carl to, you guessed it, answer in the affirmative when his initial response would've been the negative.

Out of the gates his first adventure is driving a congenial homeless man out to the far reaches of the city where he runs out of gas in the middle of the night. Through the all powerful magic of the Romantic Comedy meet-cute, he encounters and charms Allison, a Manic Pixie Dream Girl musician played by Zooey Deschanel. Combining her zest for life and his recent case of pathological optismism the pair lend themselves well to montages of the sweet and tender moments of a blossoming romance. In fact, Carrey and Deschanel have such great chemistry together, you may not even notice the 18 year age difference between the actors.

Unfortunately, the Yes Man philosophy knows no moderation. Seeing Carl's embrace of doling out high-interest loans for useless consumer goods that pay off illogical dividends can feel like either a sickening reminder of our collective doom or a pleasant invitation to a parallel universe.  One scene
where a representative from the bank's corporate management comes down from Mount High bearing the message "we don't know how you're doing it, but keep doing it" is especially unfortunate. And when his girlfriend learns his entire personality is essentially constructed on a self-imposed dare she is none too pleased.

Director Peyton Reed and Jim Carrey, two greatly undervalued purveyors of comedy, are perfectly matched here. They each have an affection and deftness for the both broad comedy (Bring it On and Down with Love for Reed, Ace Ventura for Carrey) and the existential, middle-life crisis  (The Break Up and Eternal Sunshine) the story demands. The film is genuinely funny throughout, and even with the treacly nature of central romance and fiscal recklessness, never feels overly obvious or broody.

Rounding out the cast is the always charming Bradley Cooper, having eked out a place for himself as Hollywood's go-to for affably preppie sidekicks, here he gets a bit more screentime to underline Carl's progress for the audience. Rhys Darby, Murray the manager from Flight of the Conchords, is quite the scene stealer has the bank manager with a penchant for uncomfortably-themed parties. And Christopher Guest mainstay John Michael Higgins is briefly memorable as a true believer.

DVD extras are surprisingly solid and include two very amusing featurettes on Carrey shot during the film's production, and two bonus features centered around the fictional band in the film, Munchausen By Proxy (which put Deschanel in with San Francisco electropunk trio, Von Iva), especially worthy for anyone who enjoyed their music performances seen in the film. Oh, and there's an actually funny gag reel, as well.



Posted by cphillips at April 6, 2009 8:25 PM