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I had been wondering what had happened to Jim Carrey because I hadn't seen much of him, but I have a feeling that his career has been seriously affected by comedies like Yes Man, a dull and unimaginative comedy which just doesn't work due to a storyline premise that just doesn't make sense and all we're left with is Carrey's prowess at physical comedy, which is utilized but is not enough to carry the proceedings.
This 2008 comedy casts Carrey as Carl, a bank loan officer who is a social hermit and commitment-phobe who is constantly lying to everyone about everything in order to be left alone. Carl is persuaded to attend a seminar by a famous author (Terrence Stamp) about the power of saying "yes" and Carl is persuaded to change his life by saying "yes" to everything for a year and the positive and negative impact this life-altering commitment has on him.
This story, incredibly based on a book by Danny Wallace, just doesn't hold water because I don't buy the fact that this character would continue to say yes to everything after all the ridiculously negative things that happen to him. I found myself flashing to a far superior Carrey comedy called Liar Liar which had a similar premise, but that one worked because Fletcher, Carrey's character in that film, was under the control of a wish made by his son, he had no choice but to tell the truth for 24 hours. Unlike Fletcher, Carl has a power of choice here and the fact that he keeps saying yes just doesn't make sense and neither do some of the over-the-top outrageous situations that Carl's commitment creates.
The screenplay, which actually took three writers, is all over the place and Peyton Reed's undisciplined direction doesn't help either. Carrey works very hard at making Carl likable but it is a real chore. I never bought the relationship with leading lady Zooey Deschanel, which just seemed to get in the way of the primary story. Bradley Cooper and Danny Masterson do provide some fun as Carl's BFF's despite their severely underwritten roles. I do have to give a shout out to Luis Guzman, who has a very funny cameo as a jumper who Carl prevents from committing suicide.
I've always liked Jim Carrey but getting through this film was a real chore...I almost turned it off about halfway through, but didn't think it would be right to review half the film. I think I also was hoping for some unforeseen rewards for sitting through the first half; however, they never came. For hard-core Jim Carrey fans only.
I had been wondering what had happened to Jim Carrey because I hadn't seen much of him, but I have a feeling that his career has been seriously affected by comedies like Yes Man, a dull and unimaginative comedy which just doesn't work due to a storyline premise that just doesn't make sense and all we're left with is Carrey's prowess at physical comedy, which is utilized but is not enough to carry the proceedings.
This 2008 comedy casts Carrey as Carl, a bank loan officer who is a social hermit and commitment-phobe who is constantly lying to everyone about everything in order to be left alone. Carl is persuaded to attend a seminar by a famous author (Terrence Stamp) about the power of saying "yes" and Carl is persuaded to change his life by saying "yes" to everything for a year and the positive and negative impact this life-altering commitment has on him.
This story, incredibly based on a book by Danny Wallace, just doesn't hold water because I don't buy the fact that this character would continue to say yes to everything after all the ridiculously negative things that happen to him. I found myself flashing to a far superior Carrey comedy called Liar Liar which had a similar premise, but that one worked because Fletcher, Carrey's character in that film, was under the control of a wish made by his son, he had no choice but to tell the truth for 24 hours. Unlike Fletcher, Carl has a power of choice here and the fact that he keeps saying yes just doesn't make sense and neither do some of the over-the-top outrageous situations that Carl's commitment creates.
The screenplay, which actually took three writers, is all over the place and Peyton Reed's undisciplined direction doesn't help either. Carrey works very hard at making Carl likable but it is a real chore. I never bought the relationship with leading lady Zooey Deschanel, which just seemed to get in the way of the primary story. Bradley Cooper and Danny Masterson do provide some fun as Carl's BFF's despite their severely underwritten roles. I do have to give a shout out to Luis Guzman, who has a very funny cameo as a jumper who Carl prevents from committing suicide.
I've always liked Jim Carrey but getting through this film was a real chore...I almost turned it off about halfway through, but didn't think it would be right to review half the film. I think I also was hoping for some unforeseen rewards for sitting through the first half; however, they never came. For hard-core Jim Carrey fans only.