April 17, 2009

• Yes Man, a review

  Finally, after all this wait, I went out of my way to see the new Jim Carrey movie Yes Man. Twice I tried to see it in theatres, but at the last minute decided to see something else, and regretted both instances. Now I finally took that chance to rent it, watch it, and feel my hopes and dreams crash around it. In true movie review fashion, this movie can best be described with a sound-byte. This movie is...

  "A glorious display of mediocrity" – Jimbotainment Weekly

  I'll admit to liking most Jim Carrey movies (I'll pretend The Number 23 never existed). I like his high energy, slapstick humor shtick. Liar Liar is one of my favorite movies of all time, and Bruce Almighty is right up there. This movie, however, seems to lack most of the energy of his previous masterpieces. It gets so bogged down with social commentary that the "humor" feels out of place. I put quotes around "humor" simply because there were never any truly laugh out loud moments. There were a few chuckles, but never the knee-slappers of yesteryear. Sigh... I hope Carrey clears things up before the release of the new Three Stooges in 2010.

  The plot is, to put it lightly, awkward. It is so unrealistic that I felt my inner statistician screaming "this is some BULLSH~T" at the television. To its favor, the movie is like a long lesson on Chekhov's gun. In the first half of the movie, Carrey's character, whose name isn't important enough to remember, says "yes" to a bunch of seemingly random things. These things eventually play a much bigger role in the latter half of the movie, as they help him to save a suicidal man, plan a bridal shower, and even get accused of terrorism. I told you the plot was awkward.

  I'm not too sure how I feel about a very obvious facet of the movie. Almost constantly, the film seems to advertise other Warner Bros franchises with all the subtlety of a volcanic eruption (or Obama-based media coverage). You will see frequent allusions to 300, the Harry Potter film series, and, if you look closely, The Goonies. Most of the time I saw these advertisements as hilarious. Why would Warner Bros even need to do this? At the same time, it was troublesome. Why would Warner Bros even need to do this?

  The ending is the only pro worth mentioning. I don't mean the plot string tying ending; I mean the silly final minute that has nothing to do with the plot, but was inserted purely for, if you'll allow a bit of modern vernacular, "the lulz." I thought it was very clever. No, I won't reveal it, but it's probably not safe for work.

  Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this movie is bad. It's just tepid. It earns a thoroughly average 7.50000/10.23. If you want to see it, go ahead. If not, I won't blame you.

  

  • 6:06 am
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