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Capone says 'No, man' to YES MAN!!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
Let me be clear right up front. I will always, always be grateful to director Peyton Reed for making BRING IT ON, one of the finest cheerleader tease films in recent memory. Reed also made the very funny Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston work THE BREAK UP, but really, it's BRING IT ON that solidifies him as a filmmaker of quality and integrity. Ahem. So when I say that his latest work, the Jim Carrey vehicle YES MAN doesn't live up the high standards that Reed set for himself with his 2000 masterpiece, you understand what I'm saying. But even ignoring that comparison (and how could you, really?), YES MAN is largely a disappointment.
I won't lie and say I didn't laugh, because I did a few times. Carrey throws every silly voice, weird body contortion and goofy face he possesses into this performance as bank loan officer Carl Allen, who decides his passionless life is wrecking his friendships and sending his life spiraling toward a very dark and unhappy place. Since his divorce three years earlier, he has avoided as many forms of human contact as he can, even with his best friends. When he is dragged to a motivational speech delivered with hilarious flair by Terence Stamp, playing a positivity guru who believes his followers should say 'Yes' to every opportunity that comes their way, Carl takes this to heart and begins literally answering every request from anyone and everyone in the affirmative. If this is beginning to sound like a one-joke premise, you've noticed early on the film's deepest problem.
Despite a few missteps, saying yes to everything seems to work out pretty well for our hero. He meets a sweet, eccentric Allison (Zooey Deschanel), who falls for Carl's passion for life. He doesn't bother to tell her about his recently acquired philosophy of life, and of course, this comes back to haunt him when things start to get serious between the two. In fact, it's this little plot element that typifies the problems I had with this movie. Carl tells everyone about his "say yes" way of life except Allison. Why? Because if he did, the story couldn't move forward, and it sets up the inevitable conflict between them toward the end of the movie. The entire film is designed this way. Characters are introduced for the sole purpose of moving the story forward and not because they are particularly interesting or worth getting to know in any way.
Here's an example. Carl has a neighbor named Tillie, an older woman played by the great Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan, who has a bit of a libido. Prior to adopting his new 'Yes' philosophy, Carl easily rejects her advances without too much trouble. Guess what happens later in the film? It's bad enough that this great actress is reduced to the worst kind of cliché, but the character literally serves one purpose that is telescoped from the opening minutes of the story. The same can be said for the character of Carl's nerdy boss Norman (played by New Zealand actor Rhys Darby from "Flight of the Conchords"), whose awkward attempts at palling around with Carl are rejected initially. But once the transformation happens, hilarity ensues. The entire film is this mild form of torture, with every comic moment, conflict and plot turn so obviously predictable that it actually hurt my brain.
I know what you're thinking: It's a Jim Carrey movie; what the hell do you expect? The sad answer is: Not much. Let's be honest: with his comedies of late, Carrey has been coasting, building up a head of steam (and fistfuls of cash) so he can try something out of the ordinary (THE NUMBER 23; LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS; THE MAJESTIC; ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND). As you can see, most of these non-traditional efforts were not successful or even very good (ETERNAL SUNSHINE being the standout exception), and so Carrey gets pigeon holed into works like YES MAN. He knows he can be funny in these sort of vehicles, but that doesn't make them any less of a struggle to sit through. I don't mean to imply that this film is as torturous as FUN WITH DICK AND JANE; it's certainly not. And while I did laugh a few times at YES MAN, I just didn't find the experience of watching it all that fulfilling. If you are someone who doesn't mind shutting down your brain to watch a film, you could do worse, I suppose, but don't make it a habit.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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Oh well.. his time has passed.
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Lemmony Snicket was a great movie... or at least I thought so. Well It was very pretty. I'll probably see this out of boredom anyway, coz zoey is in it and all.
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Go Bring it on
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Been there.
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Dec 19, 2008 9:18:29 AM CST
Jim Carrey should have been "Oscar winner Jim Carrey" by now.
by derlanghaarige
Too bad he wasn't even nominated for Man On The Moon and Eternal Sunshine.
Even worse that THIS is his comeback movie! What is he doing next? I hope something better. -
The trailer had me laughing. I miss the old Carrey, so I will probably be seeing this.
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I will say that I saw a commercial where he's all contorted and looks dead and a fly lands on his eye and I spit my drink out. I would love to see him in more Rated R comedies or something, not these "rule" movies he keeps being in, like can't tell a lie, has to say yes, has to be god for a bit. They're just lame ideas.
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where exactly would the humor come from if he didn't say no to people at first who he said yes to later? Would it have been funnier if he said "maybe" at first? I don't understand your critique. You seem to be blasting the very premise of the film, which is clearly stated in the trailer, poster, etc.
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this movie as a "George Costanza B story". I think that sums it up perfectly.
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and obvious way in which it was done. Because we know the premise going into it, everything and everyone he says "No" to earlier we know will come back later in the film. The humour doesn't have to come from him having to say "Yes" when we know he wants to say "No"; it can come from the situations he finds himself in from always saying "Yes".
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So if that's your idea of a good movie, then maybe Yes Man will be decent. Also, Fun with Dick and Jane had a lot of laughs.
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...minutes of the story?...not "telescoped"?
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I'm holding out for an epic Plainviewesque character study of Dr. Phil.
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Not surprised by the review at all. When a TRAILER has like 30 seconds of product placement, you kind of have an idea of how obnoxious the movie is going to be.
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Break-up sucked ass and Vince Vaughn is an unfunny one-trick pony. At least Carrey can pull laughs doing physical comedy, unlike Vaughn. I'll be there when it comes out.
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I caaaaaaan't lieeeeeeeeeeeeee!
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Seen it and it is better than the trailer lets on. Rhys Darby is fucking hilarious as a Potter/Spartan lovin' nerd. It would be a good date movie, not too taxing but defintely not as bad as Capone makes it out to be and infinitely better than the Break Up. The guy from the 70s show is pretty useless in it but Zoe is hot so it kind of equals out as long as Kurt Russell is laughing.
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if it had anything whatsoever to do with the book which was an autobigraphical story written by Danny Wallace. But then they tried to make it "wacky" and change everything and now it sucks warm puke through a short straw. They should have just fessed up and called this movie "Dance, Monkey, Dance! starring Jim Carey."
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Too bad Lemony Sniket never got a sequel. He really gave it with that movie. And the kids were great. Sad. This kinda stuff makes the wife laugh though and you get likely parlay that into a blowjob later so not a total loss.
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I have considered her teh hot since the shower singing scene in Elf. I forgive her for being part of the whole "insufferable music nerd indie music" scene.
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Dumbest plot device EVER.
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Is getting pretty desperate. He's starting to become Robin Williams sort of desperate. He was on Kimmel last night, and Tom Cruise was far funnier then he was.
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Dec 19, 2008 11:09:12 AM CST
Rhys Darby is brilliant. I'm glad he's getting bigger gigs.
by mr nicholas
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Slocking his stuff and the only thing that the audience really got excited about was when he announced that In Living Color season 2 was on DVD.
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Think that the funniest part of Bruce Almighty was the deleated scene in which Jim was making Steve go crazy on camera and then added getting his hair on fire and blood run out of his nose? The fire and blood were the deleted scene (hence why Steve is happy to have his hair back at the end of the theatrical cut of the movie that didn't make any sense). That was one of the funniest things I've seen. That picture of Steve screaming with this head aflame and blood all over his nose is classic, too bad nothing else in that movie is worth remembering (or worth putting on the screen if your universal).
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Damn that movie was hot.
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First off, I hope you brother Drew is doing well. That game show gig is probably a fun diversion for him.
anyway, If anyone hands you a script, and you read it thinking, "hmm this is something Adam Sandler would probably love to do" then you need to say 'no' -
I love her persona more than her films (and her music isnt bad)cos in interviews evidentally she likes a lot of the same things I do and shes pretty nice to look at....but as far as I recall shes been in four properly good films-Almost Famous, Elf, The Assasination Of Jesse James and All The Real Girls. and in the first and third of those, shes in like 5 minutes of the film tops...which is a damn shame cos I can see theres potentially a good actress in her that hasnt had the time to shine yet...and as much as I like her, it cant make me want to watch this film. I mean I might have a gander on a sunday afternoon if its on tv for free, Im hungover and theres just plain nothing better on.
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should go back where they belong - 1996. Comedies that people give a shit about nowadays are driven usually by wit, dialogue, and (at least perceived) spontaneity. I liked Ace Venture, the Mask, Liar Liar when they came out. So in extension I like them now, as relics of comedy past. The only Carrey comedy of that vein that would really still work today is probably Dumb and Dumber because that movie is hysterical due mainly to it's funny lines. People like comedies now that are just funny people being funny. We don't need or want some outrageous plot or concept. Jim Carrey needs to start finding better projects.
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that think Carrey's work in Snicket was just shy of brilliant. His line readings as Olaf, the ultimate stage ham, were great. "I'm sorry, I don't speak monkeee".But this "guy with relationship issues, who changes when he is forced to behave outside his normal self" stuff, is as tired as the Dense White Guy In Sports cycle Will Farrell was stuck in.
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I did enjoy David Hyde Pierce channeling Tony Randall in that flick.
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Only one of those that was bad was Number 23.
All joking aside, I think everyone can agree that The Truman Show is by far his best film. -
I will never go see a movie I am supposed to 'Turn my brain off' to enjoy. I see maybeye 3-4 movies a year as a result, and even then, maybeye one of those truly made the time fly. Most of the time I'm wanting to get out of the theater before the rush, or in some cases I just up and leave. Lifes too short.
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I love ya buddy, Mein deutscher Sprachen bruder, but you've been going on and on about how Heath Ledger is a terrible actor, and now Carrey deserves an Oscar? yeesh!watch the interrogation scene again, where the Joker is explaining his philosophy to Batman, how his entire speech is like a carefully orchestrated symphony to get Batman where he wants him, angry and ready to change into something darker...it's amazing. he hits these high notes "like me" "like a leper", then the careful pauses...Ledger has to act a thin line between making the Joker believable, but making it just smart enough that on repeat viewings you can see he has a good deal of his speech planned out very carefully, even down to the timing (since, you know, explosions are involved).and now, watch Ace Ventura 2, When Nature Calls...
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I wonder if that is ever going to happen?
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if only Carrey had more roles like that. He could have been the next Robin Williams (or at least the Robin Williams of 10 years ago).
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The fan base has all but halted in raving about him in...well...anything, so far as I can tell. I am with Capone when I second the vote for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind being the exception of Carrey stepping out of his funny man persona. But then why is it he doesn't seem funny any more even when he's trying? Dick and Jane wasn't funny to me. I remember liking Liar Liar, but then perhaps so many of us have moved on that when Carrey goes to the well it just doesn't do it for us anymore.
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Oscarworthy performances by someone who is only known for making funny faces.
Ledger as Joker was just a gimmick. It wasn't even acting. It was linereading with a creepy voice and dozens of little tics. "I'm licking my lips, rolling my eyes and wave my hands. Look, I'm crazy!" Johnny Depp made this work for Pirates Of The Caribbean (to be fair: this was a comedy, so it was easier.) but Heath Ledger felt totally out of place and show-offy. -
He should stick to being a serious actor he's actually better at that IMO.
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotle... whatever. I saw it. I get the love for it. But come on, really? Masterpiece? Suck my balls. Ace Ventura is a masterpiece that speaks to me where it counts... the ass.
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Every comic actor has a peak. Carrey took over where Robin Williams left off. (Remember when Robin Williams used to get every role under the sun? Jumanji, etc...? Now he's stuck in Steve Martin territory, bad family comedies and cartoon voices like Robots.) Whether you liked the performances or not, Carrey peaked when he got iconic roles like The Riddler and The Grinch. After a while the public kind of gets fatigued by the same schtick over and over again and they move on to the next guy. Will Ferrell is the guy right now and even he may be post peak, perhaps to be replaced by Steve Carell.
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Make this HAPPEN.
Speaking of Zooey, pray for me as I attempt to watch The Happening Blu-ray that just came in the mail from NetFlix. -
Someone had to be Captain Obvious
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I don't dislike Carrey, and I loved Eternal Sunshine, and he was great in it. but an Oscar? why should we give someone an Oscar just for acting different than they normally do? isn't that why Jack Nicholson won for As Good as it Gets? was that really the best performance of the year? or did he win just because he was a little lees Jack-y?you're entitled to your opinion about Ledger, but you do realize you are HUGELY in the minority opinion, right? someone can say, "Juwanna Mann was the best film of that year by far, it's a fact.", but that's a pretty far-fetched claim. and claiming Ledger was "out of place" is almost as far-fetched. Nolan tried to take a comic book sensibility, with the outlandish situations, and give it a sort of real world (albeit messed up real world) backdrop, and it succeeded. Ledger's Joker had to be equal parts comic book and real world schizo, hence the ticks, the mannerisms, the odd choices. it wasn't meant to be REAL, as you seem to deride it for not being, it was meant to be a sort of caricature of comic book villains, as well as normal hollywood villain. you end up with this manic and utterly intriguing villain, that people almost root for. isn't that the mark of a great "bad guy" performance? when you find yourself almost hoping he wins?
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of this generation. He fucked it up terribly. Or his agent. Terrible choice after terrible choice. Which is sad because he is so fucking talented. Maybe after Yes Man, he'll realize that he has to pick better movies to star in. He was awesome in Truman Show and Man on the Moon.
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...absolutely no plot (which is why it has to have the prerequisite boy loses girl moment that Capone hates, when she finds out about his "yes" philosophy)...but the movie is very funny. Funniest Carrey has been in a long long time. The alley fight, the suicide scene, even little moments like Carrey fainting are hilarious. And the movie has a bit of a heart too. Sure, it's no genre-redefining film, but if you want to laugh for an hour and a half go see it.And it's NOT Liar Liar...trailers are a bit misleading...he doesn't HAVE to say yes (like in Liar Liar when he is cursed to always tell the truth)...he just CHOOSES to.
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Yes, I'm serious about an Oscar for Jim Carrey. In both, Moon and Sunshine (huh? I just realized something about the titles.), he not just convinced me that I'm not watching Jim Carrey (although I technically was), but also made me really feel for and with him, Okay, I would say that he deserved it more for Man On The Moon. Not because he acted like Charlie Kaufman. I mean, impersonating celebrities is something that we see every week on Saturday Night Live. But because he made a celebrity impersonation AND made me believe that I'm watching a real person. And yes, I think giving Oscars to people who just act different than normal is wrong, which is why Heath Ledger doesn't deserve one. And oh hell yes, I know that I'm in the minority and that it's difficult to convince people (especially in an AICN talkback) that this is really my opinion and I'm not just saying this to be different than the mainstream. The thing is: Ledger didn't create anything. The make up made him look scary (and less pretty, which is one of the reason why I think that this was a gimmick) and his tics made him entertaining (for some people more than for others), but that doesn't necessarily mean that he did a good job. He was a playground clown. Like Bluto from Animal House, always entertaining us audience with lots of little skits. I'm a zit! Food Fight! The only difference was that he killed someone from time to time. But he didn't scare me. He annoyed me. How could anybody be shocked that he really blows up a hospital, when he is doing his silly act in a nurse dress in front of it? He was no Hannibal Lecter, who is even intimidating when he makes a cheesy pun (I'm having an old friend for dinner), he was Wesley Snipes in Demolition Man!
PS: I go to bed now, so it can take a while till I post my next reply. Don't think I'm just running away ;) -
Was when he was on Connan promoting Bruce Almighty. Outstanding.
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I agree that "The Truman Show" is the best Carrey movie. With "Eternal Sunshine" as a close second. Anyway I saw the trailer to this "Yes man" and decided no to go see it - but after reading this review I might give it a rental, solely to see Terrence Stamp as a motivation guru.
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SNL. Jimmy Tango's Fat Busters. RIDE THE SNAKE!
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All the love about Ledgers performance, seems people did really like it. BUT how can anyone honestly say he was SCARY!? The Joker was about as scary as Bales growling voice- not at all. I mean, here's a guy who first pops up and puts a mobsters bodyguard down with flair and ease. But later on he's almost comically kicking at Batman. Cmon, they covered up his handsome looks for the film, but they clearly want him to be LIKEABLE. He's not scary. He's not even that likeable. Want likable through facial damage and makeup? Rourke in The Wrestler.
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Dec 19, 2008 4:59:31 PM CST
This is lazy work for Carrey, and I say this as a former fan.
by orbots commander
YES MAN is just Carrey taking a paycheck. I don't get it; it's not like he needs the money. He had that run in the late nineties where he commanded $20 Million plus back end profits, per movie. Did he spend it all on blow or something? I don't get why he doesn't produce and seek out better material.
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Oh well, I'll wait for this on Netflix.
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it can't be worse than The Number 23, which is one of the worst movies I've seen in the last several years.
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I really liked Majestic and Lemony Snicket (in all fairness, the j-bait with those DSL's helped a bit)
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I rented the DVD and I still want my four bucks back. It had an interesting premise for a creepy supernatural thriller, and it just crapped all over it by making it this wannabe-noir/evil twin/amnesia killer thing. I still can't tell you what that movie was really about.
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So.. there.
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Such a beautiful, watchable screen actress relegated to 'girlfriend' roles in rubbish like this THE HAPPENING and this.
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Maybe Capone just wasn't in the mood or this type of movie isn't his thing, but the audience I saw it with laughed their asses off. Was it award worthy? Of course not. But it was FUNNY!! My wife my brother and I all loved it. We'll happily buy it on Blue Ray when it releases. It was on par with Liar Liar. So, if you like Liar Liar then you'll like Yes Man. If not, well, then, sorry, you are missing out on the fun.
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his character doesn't pop the question to Jennifer Aniston in Bruce Almighty. Okay, I know it's a movie, but still......
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That both Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler both have "We're losin' him"/ "We're NOT losin' him!... CLEAR!" ZAP! desperation comedies opening within a week of each other. They both shot their remaining wads back in 2003, Carrey with "Bruce Almighty" and Sandler with "Anger Management". When your schtick becomes as stale as a mummy's tomb... it's time to step aside. A plague on both your funhouses!Actually, that should be the next movie for BOTH of them. A "JCVD"-type cathartic exploration of When The Laughter Died, and how to dig it up from the ruins and give it new life. And I *don't* mean "Happier Gilmore" or a "In Living Color" reunion special. OK, maybe *begin* the movie that way, but then veer off accordingly.
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I will be seeing this for him alone.
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... Now America's Sweetheart! (thanks, The Onion!)
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Zooey's character's band in this flick. She sings lead, and the lyrics alone had people falling out laughing last night at the showing I went to. She's a silly chick when you get down to it, and I commend her for making somewhat of a fool of herself in that sequence.
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Dec 20, 2008 2:14:03 PM CST
"it's BRING IT ON that solidifies him as a filmmaker of quality
by mayorofsmpleton
Sorry, all credibility goes out the window when I read a statement like this...
Go rent Sugar & Spice if you want a well written cheerleader film (and even that one is really only good at being a cheeky teenage satire)
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It must be pretty depressing being a film critic. What is the point really? What purpose does it serve?
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Apparently the band Von Iva are in this movie. (They're a trio of hard-rockin' hotties.) Is this true?
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It must be depressing to be a film critic. What is the point really? what purpose does it serve?
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For a film like Yes Man you are specifically meant to shut down your brain and just watch. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Capone you're wrong on this one.
Jim is great in this movie and Zooey is absolutely adorable in it.
For the record, aren't most characters and instances in a movie there solely to move the plot forward?
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