Jim Carrey Yes Man: Say yes

Carrey it all

Yes Man will get you laughing and send you home smiling! There was a time when we knew what to expect from Jim Carrey. He made a name for himself with the broad, oft ridiculous Ace Ventura and Mask-style laughs.

As his career has grown, however, he's reached for changes of pace -- or perhaps a different sort of respect from fans -- and turned to darker, more serious, introspective flicks, like The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and even the thriller 23.

The beauty of Yes Man is that as his character Carl is thrust back into life, Carrey gets a chance to give fans his everything -- from the broad laughs and mania to the reflective chuckles and aha moments.

The pace of Yes Man starts with the chuckles, all at the expense Carl, a Gloomy Gus in desperate need of an emotional makeover. You know the guy: The one who hasn't moved forward personally or professionally since a major breakup and just won't get involved in life?

Carrey masterfully turns those blahs into audience laughs until Carl gets the shakeup he needs in a string of events that land him in a self help movement predicated on unleashing the power of 'yes.'

Elf star Zooey Deschanel (the real-life little sis of Bones lead Emily Deschanel) helps along the way.

With one word, the world opens up for this veritable 'no man' and as Carl's new take on life grows, putting him in both mundane and wild adventures, the laughs become closer to the lighter fair of a love story. It's the experiences and the words that come out of funny Carl's mouth, rather than Carrey's mania and pliable face, that get the audiences going.

As mentioned, however, Carl's adventures also give us a taste of the mania and the face we fell in love with. His first Red Bull high is the hysterically, over-the-top Carrey of old, while the bar scenes may offer the funniest drunk I've ever seen.

No man is an island

Central to the success of this movie, however, is the ensemble on this journey with Carl and Carrey. It's hard to steal the show when Carrey is involved, but several big names in Yes Man do their best.

Madcap John Michael Higgins (Kath & Kim, Best in Show, Fred Claus) is goofy, good fun as the full blown Yes Man who entices Carl to this new way of thinking; veteran Terence Stamp is brilliant as the guru who clinches it. Hunky Bradley Cooper shines as the straight man who forces Carl to admit he has a problem, then joins Danny Masterson in having some fun with his best friend's new favorite word.

Fans of the cable hit Flight of the Concords will get a real kick out seeing of Rhys Darby work his pathetic magic on the big screen as Carl's boss, but Yes Man also gets first-rate laughs out of less recognizable faces, like the miserable Korean American shop girl (Vivian Bang), Carl's talented old neighbor (Fionnula Flanagan) and former NCIS star Sasha Alexander as Lucy.

The crucial, shiny piece in drawing Carl out of his den of misery, however, is Zooey Deschanel, who is simply adorable as Allison -- the perfect embodiment of that quirky, east LA Indie rocker girl. While the lead singer for Munchausen By Proxy has little in common with Carl, the pair has surprisingly light, natural chemistry that has you rooting for them from the first wild moped ride.

Get the message

While Allison (Deschanel) is a key element in Carl's renewal, Yes Man is more than just a boy meets girl love story. The primary romance at stake here is the one between Carl and his life. All those yeses force him to grab onto the proverbial horns and against his will, he finds himself hooked on living. His returning joie de vivre is so inspiring that even when things take a disastrous turn, one can't help but ask, 'Do I say 'yes' enough?'

 

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