'Yes Man' Gets A Thumbs Up
Carrey Caper Sees Return To Form For The Rubber Faced Canadian
Feb 14, 2009
Jim Carrey has emerged in the last two decades as probably the greastest living comedy actor of the 21st century (with the possible exception of Bill Murray). Whether doing flat out comedy roles, i.e. The Mask and Dumb And Dumber, or experimenting with more serious, emotive roles, i.e The Truman Show, Carrey has always remained highly under-rated as an actor. So identified with being the "funny man", he is often over-looked in performances where he is usually exceptional, and certainly deserving of praise, such as Man On The Moon and The Truman Show (both of which to be fair did earn him Golden Globe awards). Despite this, Carrey remains under-valued as one of the most inventive and experimental comedy actors, displaying a wide range of ability.
Transitional Period
Carrey has experienced something of a transitional period in his career in the last few years. Since his last major hit, 2003's Bruce Almighty, the comic has had a dotted, experimental few years of ups and downs. From high points, such as the masterpiece Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004), to low points with the highly under-whelming and largely disappointing Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2004). And then there are those projects which sit somewhere down the middle, such as Joel Schumacher's thriller The Number 23 (2007). Whatever people thought of the latter - and there are strong opinions on both sides of that argument - at least Carrey was branching out a la The Truman Show and exploring his acting range by doing drama, as well as his regular comedy niche, unlike most of his contemporary "comedic" counterparts (Adam Sandler anyone?).
Yes Man And Back To Basics
Yes Man is his latest effort and sees him return to form, back in his comfortable shoes of comedy. Though this is a lot more than just a simple comedy, it is intelligent, well acted, with a good moral, and very engaging throughout. Adapted (loosely) from Danny Wallace's book of the same name, and moving the location from the UK to Los Angeles, Yes Man centres around the character of Carl Allen (Carrey) who is a "life-dodger", too comfortable in his misery, and too scared of failure (following his divorce), Carl is a constant downer to be around.
Then, as fate would have it, a chance meeting with an old school colleague leads Carl to a seminar led by self-help guru Terence Stamp, where Carl is convinced to say yes to all opportunities that arise in his life, and his life will dramatically improve as a result. The exercise re-invigorates him and his life gradually begins to improve. A job promotion follows, as does a new romance with cute-as-a-pixie Zooey Deschanel.
Carl discovers that it is ok to say yes, but that there has to be a limit, and he learns one or two valuable lessons along the way.
Sure, many of the gags are old, and yes, Carrey can do (and has done) a lot better, but ultimately this is a highly enjoyable, funny, feel-good romp, with just enough of a storyline to jokes ratio to keep it engaging. Carrey's Carl transforms from mildly irritating loser to genuinely likeable, larger than life, fun guy. Anyone looking for an excuse for some harmless fun...say Yes!
