Yes Man!

How many opportunities are missed simply because we say “No” to a simple suggestion?  Yes Man is a not so serious movie with a thought-provoking undertone that would have been better suited as a serious film as apposed to a comedy.

Yes Man star Jim Carrey plays Carl Allen, a recently divorced man whose life has been stuck in a rut for several months.  He says no to everything, which has lead to the neglect of his friends, work and personal wellbeing.  It takes an old acquaintance to get him to question, whether or not this “No” life is what he wants.  As a result Carl attends a “YES!” conference where he makes a covenant with himself to say “Yes” to everything.

At first his “yes” ventures seem to lead him only to trouble, but as Carl begins to embrace the concept, more positive results start pouring in, like a new girlfriend, and a promotion at work.  But nothing good lasts forever.  Carl must learn that the classic rule of “everything in moderation” the hard way.  You shouldn’t say yes because you have to, you should say it because you want to.

Zooey Deschanel plays Allison, Carl’s love interest.  Allison is a classic Deschanel character, quirky and against the grain.  I love this character.  Maybe its because I feel I can relate to it, but whatever it is, Deschanel plays it perfectly.

Carrey did everything that he possibly could with his role, but still the film felt lacking.  The laughs were cheap and not well thought out.  I feel as though so much more could have been done with this movie, but instead it decided to skate by

Rating: 2.0 ★ stars (out of 5)

Recommendation:  Wait until this comes to TNT or USA.  I wouldn’t see it in a theatre or at least not for full price.  It’s a good movie to watch with the family.

Role Models

What do you get when you cross an ultra depressed man and an extremely chipper sex-crazed co-worker?  You get a classic comedy duo and two very unlikely role models.  Paul Rudd plays Danny, a seriously depressing man, who despises his job as a representative of the energy drink company set to keep kids off drugs, Minotaur.  Scott plays Danny’s co-worker Wheeler, a frat boy who never grew up.

The drama begins when Danny’s girlfriend breaks up with him.  His day continually gets worse resulting in a nervous breakdown that leads both Danny and Wheeler into trouble.  What kind of trouble?  The kind you get when you mount a Minotaur truck on a high school’s Trojan statue.

The two men are sentenced to 60 hours of community service at the mentor program Sturdy Wings.  The men are matched with two troubled kids whose back-stories are as unique as they come.  A dark undertone sets the stage but the laughs mask any unfriendly feelings.

Role Models is one of the most quotable movies that I have ever seen.  Stupid humor and sarcasm litter the dialogue.

Rating: 3.5 ★ stars (out of 5)

Recommendation:  The film is definitely aimed at the college and young professional demographic.  Males everywhere will love the film, and I would recommend it as a date movie.