Friday, December 19, 2008

Movie review: Yes Man

It's positively funny.

By John P. Meyer

I bear glad tidings about Yes Man, the Peyton Reed-directed Jim Carrey comedy: it's pretty dang funny.

Further, it's the kind of movie that plays to Mr. Carrey's strengths: off-the-wall visual humor delivered by offbeat characters who you can almost recognize as your wacky devil-may-care around-the-corner neighbors. (Particularly if you happen to live in So Cal.)

One problem: it takes a while to gear up, spending rather too long establishing Carl Allen's (Mr. Carrey's) bona fides as a lovelorn guy who's withdrawn from the social scene thanks to being dumped by his girlfriend. (Yes, we get it, he's dysfunctional already. Move it along, please.)

Carl's favorite sort of evening involves a trip to the video store followed by a recline on the sofa and a double shot of ignoring incoming phone calls, even ones originating from his best bud, Peter (Bradley Cooper who has a knack for these unrequited relationship gigs). Carl has become expert at extemporizing excuses to back out of friendly get-togethers, but when he tells Peter that he's stuck at home working on some stuff for the office - even though Peter's standing outside the video store watching him prevaricate - the jig is up, and it's off to the Bigfoot Lodge for drinks with Peter and his new fiance (Sasha Alexander, as Lucy) - who recognizes in Carl's character a strong propensity for being a thoroughly lost cause.

"He's a total loser, isn't he?" "Yeah, pretty much."

Carl's profession requires him to be a "no man" - he's the loan officer at a bank. One day during a lunch break he runs into an old acquaintance (John Michael Higgins, as Nick) who starts spouting new-age gibberish about opening oneself up to new experiences without any sort of critical thinking. He then throws a rock through the bank's front window and takes off running from the armed security dudes who frown on such things, but not before handing over a business card to Carl.

This card leads Carl eventually to what seems like an old-fashioned mass-hysterical spiritualist revival, but soon resolves itself into the sort of motivangelical rally advocated by upper-level business managers to take their employees' minds off the fact that their shitty jobs are accompanied by minuscule paychecks and bare-bones benefits. It's run by a charismatic chap named Terence Bundley (Terence Stamp, also making an appearance in the upcoming Valkyrie). Bundley's premise: by saying "yes" to everything, without reservation or consideration, the world becomes one's oyster.

Carl: guitar god

Did I mention that the film takes too long revving up to humor speed? Well, from this point things finally start to get interesting, amusing, and even occasionally hilarious, as Carl - having pledged to respond in the positive regardless of context - finds himself bungee jumping, taking guitar lessons and studying Korean, among other random undertakings. (Cleverly, scripters Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel succeed in working his new skill set into the skein of the narrative in surprisingly elegant ways.)

One of the first benefits of Carl's boundless acquiescence involves a chance meeting with a girl named Allison (Zooey Deschanel, exuding her peculiar wide-eyed goofy allure). They share a spontaneous kiss before parting - presumably forever - but, by caprice (and thanks to his new mandate for acceptance), Carl finds himself attending a performance by a local band called Munchausen By Proxy - in which Allison sings lead.

It's the stuff that fractured fairy tales are made of, and so is Allison, whose day job involves hosting community workshops which combine jogging and photography. (Think blur.)

"We're thinkin' Lincoln."

Carl's self-imposed spontaneity charms Allison, and they soon find themselves embarking on a weekend trip to Lincoln, Nebraska - that destination having been selected by asking the airport ticket clerk where the very next scheduled flight is going. (Did you know that Lincoln is home to the Frank H. Woods Pioneer Telephone Museum? Well, neither did they.) Carl and Allison end up on a country road among endless rows of corn as a thunderstorm cuts loose; they take refuge in a barn and make good use of the hay. (Hey, hey!)

Leave it to Homeland Security to spoil a good thing: turns out Carl's flying lessons, combined with his odd choice of travel destination, have put him on their radar, leading to the couple's detainment and questioning.

"Whadda ya say we blow this pop stand and check out your chamber of secrets?"

Along the way to the uproarious concluding segment - which finds our protagonist stunt-cycling across town on a Ducati, hospital gown flapping in the slipstream - we meet up with an assortment of oddball characters, the most entertaining of whom turns out to be Norman (Rhys Darby), Carl's boss at the bank. This wacky Brit is fond of hosting theme parties requiring guests to show up dressed as their favorite - for instance - Harry Potter characters. Nerd to the max!

Also unforgettable (in a cringe-inducing way) is Fionnula Flanagan as Carl's aging neighbor, Tillie, who gums her way to notoriety amongst Carl's circle of (male) drinking buddies. 'Nuf said, I trust.

Be sure to stick around for the closing credits, during which you'll have an opportunity to find out what results from Carl saying "yes" to one of the many loan applicants who benefit from his newfound laissez-faire lending policy.

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