Yes Man
3 Stars (Out of four)

Review by Keith Cohen, "The Movie Guy"

Fans of rubber-faced comedian Jim Carrey (“Bruce Almighty,” “Liar Liar”) have cause for celebration this holiday season. Carrey brings his signature brand of physical humor to this very funny and sentimentally sweet romantic comedy.

Carrey plays Carl Allen, a junior loan officer stuck in a rut since his divorce three years ago. He makes excuses in turning down every invitation to get back into circulation. He would rather spend his nights alone watching DVDs.

He runs into an old friend (John Michael Higgins from every Christopher Guest film including “A Mighty Wind” and “Best in Show”) who tells him about something that can change his life. He attends a self-help seminar given by Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp), a charismatic philosophy guru. Bundley gives stirring pep talks to large gatherings that act as mind grenades. He encourages Carl to make a covenant to say “yes” to every opportunity that presents itself for an entire year.

Carl turns into the character described by the title. He starts in a new direction by giving a ride to a homeless person. This leads to meeting Allison (the charming and bubbly Zooey Deschanel from “Elf”), a free spirit riding a motor scooter. The tried-and-true romantic formula kicks in. Boy meets girl. They fall in love.

The fly in the ointment occurs when she learns that his new way of life makes him agreeable to just about anything. Has he really made a conscious decision in choosing her? There are some ridiculous and silly situations in this joy ride. One of the funniest scenes involves Scotch tape.

This movie contains crude sexual situations and references. It is geared toward mature audiences and should not be considered wholesome family entertainment.

The movie earns high marks for presenting a very positive and optimistic outlook on life. It encourages doing good deeds to help others who are less fortunate.

The cinematography makes good use of famous Los Angeles landmarks that include the Hollywood Bowl and Griffith Observatory.

If you have any ties to Nebraska, this movie must be on your list of holiday films to see. Carl and Allison go to LAX, walk up to a ticket counter and ask for the first flight out of town. Their mystery destination turns out to be Lincoln, Neb., the capital city and home of the state university. Wait until you see Carrey spray-painted red and white wearing three plastic ears of corn on a typical football Saturday cheering Big Red on to victory.

Carrey is back in top comedic form. Deschanel is very likeable and you will fall head over heels for her character. This movie offers a nice cheerful change of pace from all the serious, dark and dreary Oscar contenders.

Yes Man
2 Stars (Out of four)

Review by Jolene Mendez

Almost three years from his last comedy success, Jim Carey returns to the big screen with his latest box of tricks. Carey stars as Carl Allen in “Yes Man”, a film where Allen is challenged to change his way of living by saying yes to everything no matter how ridiculous it is. Before attending the YES seminar he is a very reserved single guy looking for anyway to avoid his friends and spend many nights home alone. Not too much surprise Carl is in a dead end job with no promotion in sight and has been divorced for a couple years now. With not much to look forward to Carl is down in the dumps. Until he runs into an old friend, Nick (John Michael Higgins) who seems to have no fear and has completely changed his life.

Nick informs Carl of the YES seminar he attended and urges him to come to it. It takes sometime, but Carl eventually gives in and goes to see what all the fuss is about. At first a skeptic Carl still wants to use the word No, but with the help of YES guru Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp) he gives in and decides to try it out. Saying yes to everything does not come quite so easy. His first task is saying yes to a homeless man, giving him a ride and all of his money. In the process of doing so he runs out of gas and gets stuck in the park. Taking a walk to the gas station he meets an interesting girl, Allison (Zooey Deschanel). Allison gives Carl a ride back to his car on her bike and he even gets a kiss in exchange. So could this yes game be a winning game after all?

The film was funny, but isn’t anything with Jim Carey funny? I think I was expecting a little bit more. It was a standard comedy with the same funny jokes from the same funny man, nothing fresh or new to offer the audience. Zooey Deschanel and Terence Stamp offered an interesting and comical addition to the show. The film did offer some great scenic views of California. Don’t expect much more out of this film than what you have seen in Liar, Liar. There are similarities and unfortunately the film did not surpass any expectations I had. Yes Man is sadly another standard comedy.

Review By: Jolene Mendez