Yes Man the Underrated Film We All Need Right Now

People today are stressed and struggling more than ever to find what makes them happy and how to live a rich life. Films likewise are often struggling to provide the simple joy and meaning they once did. I don’t know if Netflix and the slow death of theater’s caused this or is a result of this, but films today just don’t hold a candle to the blockbusters of the 80s-early 2000s. We want authentic plots, which means more realistic artsy films that can be long, dull and leave you in a state of questioning whether the world has any good in it. That’s no fun even if the film is good, but many aren’t that good.   Where is that classic plot experience, where the hero might win just as you expected snd the end is neatly wrapped in a bow, but you don’t care because your comfortably engages and wrapped up in the story the entire time. Jaws, Jurassic Park, Star Wars (I know it’s slightly before the 80s), ET, Gremlins, Indianapolis Jones, The Mummy (only the first one and only rhetorical original), Independence Day, MIB, just to name a few. In all these films we had simple plot tactics that followed the book (Save the Cat) exactly and characters that were not over developed, but clear and beloved. The endings were always happy and you always left the theater feeling like you were part of something awesome. Now I’m hardly ever leaving a theater, but it’s mainly because no film really feels worthy of the call to go in the first place. When I watch them at home I’m all too often thankful I didn’t waste $25-50 seeing it in theaters, if I finish it at all. 

That is why I find rewatching old films to sometimes be a better use of my time and this week when I was feeling sick and low I decided to watch my favorite film, a film that received mixed reviews from critics, but was a box office success. It didn’t win many artsy awards and it doesn’t stand out today as the best Jim Carrey film to most people, aside from me. It is my favorite film for its ability to be funny, follow the simple classic plot structure and lift me with hope everytime. In a world where people are struggling to find themselves it has a message on how to let go and be happy with a simple word “Yes”. In a world where films are too cool and take themselves to seriously, it is light hearted and predictable, but in the best way man. It’s Jim Carrey and Zoey Deschanel’s 2008 Rom-com “Yes Man” and I think this amazing film is far too underrated. It’s the kind of film people need today that entertains through a plot we can follow, lifts the spirits with laughter and has a plain and poignant message that everyone can learn from. 

Yes man is my favorite movie, it has the perfect set up. It follows the rules of plot so perfectly and it does it simply and well without trying to rewrite the book, yet still so enjoyable. Even 10+ years later I still love watching this movie and find it just as funny, heart warming and delightful as ever. They don’t make movies like this anymore. I know I sound like my dad or some other old timer who has nostalgia for their own time without recognizing the good of the current times, but in this case I think it’s actually true. It’s not just rose colored glasses, good movies today feel like a dying breed. Everytime a new one comes out it’s either a remake of an old film, a sequel, or another marvel or dc film. Really there are few new films out there. Oppenheimer I think was the last time I saw a film that wasn’t disappointing, but I cousin say the same for its twin box office “hit” Barbie, a film that was overhyped on pizazz and under delivered on story. People today want to rewrite the book and switch up plot tactics to keep us on our toes, but sometimes a good story goes and ends exactly how it’s supposed to. Sometimes it’s ok to be predictable if you do it well. That’s what Yes Man is, its format is the same as any great story. Person with a problem or personality quirk is introduced, in this case Carl’s problem is he says No to everything to his own detriment. We are introduced to the important characters, his friends, ex-wife, boss, and the various settings, his home, the city of LA, his workplace and we see how his problem effects each of these things. There is not a ton of character development and it’s not in depth, but it’s just enough that you understand this characters predicament and what’s at stake. His habit of saying no seems connected to some trauma he had from his divorce 3 years ago, his friends are getting tired of him letting them down and his lack of effort has gotten him passed over for a promotion at work. The problem builds to a point where he is faced with a real need to do something about it. He missed an important event with a friend for the last time and it’s clear his friend is not going to stick around to be let down again. Then he has an existential crisis of sorts through a dream where we realizes he isn’t doing anything with his life and not being there for anyone. It’s a great set up and we know exactly what his problem is and we even have an idea of the solution. Right before the big fight with his friend he had run into an old buddy who told him about a seminar where he says “yes” to everything and it changed his life. In classic story format the character is presented with a quest of sorts, an invitation to take the journey and attend the seminar, but the hero of the story first has to be reluctant. Carl says no thanks as usual to the seminar. However, something must happen to give that hero urgency and a reason to take the risk of the quest journey. That was the fight and the subsequent dream. The thing is watching this back compared to modern television and film I don’t think our audiences would buy or allow for such a simple transition that one little fight and a dream would cause the character to do something completely out of character. We want things to be so realistic or authentic these days that they end up being boring. Maybe in real life it would take a Carl a lot more to convince him to attend a seminar. I know stubborn people like Carl in real life and sometimes nothing short of a near-death experience would cause them to make the slightest of changes, but that’s the beauty of a good story, its ultimate a caricature of life, telling and showing us a sliver of something true through story. It doesn’t have to be 100% realistic or likely, it just has to be possible within the realm of that story’s world. I find myself even after years of more gritty and realistic story of today’s television and film still finding this premise completely plausible and compelling. I wish for Carl to completely change his ways and solve his problem and I’m down for the ride. I’m not questioning the realism of this at all because it’s simple, not overdone and has all the ingredients to a good story. It’s a great recipe that doesn’t need to be changed or fixed. Let other films have their variations, but this one brings me joy. It’s like a simple chocolate chip cookie, it’s not going to win awards for the best dessert or most creative dish, but it’s never going to disappoint and it’s going to be a delight that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. That’s how I feel about Yes Man and its simple heartwarming plot. Now add to that the delightful humor of Jim Carrey and the quirky cuteness of Zoey Deschanel and you just can’t find a better inspirational rom-com than this. Though the simplicity of the plot and the lovability of the characters and the actors who play them are huge reasons I love this film, my final and most important reason why I love this film is the concept of a No man to Yes Man transition. It always inspires me to watch how a persons life can do a complete 180 for the better without changing anything other than their mindset and openness to the world around them. The character starts out pushing everything and everyone away from his life and he acts like he prefers it that way. I know so many people like that and we’ve all been this way at some time or another. Telling ourselves we are fine when really we are stuck and scared to make a new move. It’s easier to tread the same exact path you always tread than to risk forging a new one. Even if that path is something as seemingly simple and safe as going out with some friends to a bar. The truth is to our human psychees anything that takes us out of our comfort zone slightly is dangerous. This was confirmed for Carl when going out with his friends led to him running into his ex-wife, causing embarrassment, pain and other emotions he’d rather not face. This is something that could happen to anyone and is fairly commonplace, but to our mind it feels like death. That embarrassment may as well be a gun pointed at your face. We are not typically consciously aware of the decisions our mind is making like “I’m never going to that bar or leaving the house again”. Instead we just feel the negative emotion and try to avoid it or move past it. Then next time someone asks us to go out we just don’t really feel like it. Just like Carl when he gets passed up for the promotion and says “I didn’t really want it that much anyway” he’s convinced himself he doesn’t care in order to protect himself from the negative emotion of disappointment. Our subconscious is very good at giving us thoughts and feelings to distract us from what we really want or feel in times when that might lead to pain. And that’s why this film is so powerful to me because in such a simple way it depicts all that really in-depth emotional gymnastics our mind is doing. When Carl is trying so hard to avoid going out with friends that he ignores the call, until his friend calls back with a blocked number, pretends to be a different person, lies about where he’s at and what his plans are, and then even when his friend finds him out and literally is staring at him he still tries to act like a different person, it shows just how far we will go to avoid pain. We can get delusional about our reasons for avoiding something if we don’t stop to think about it on a deeper level. Chances are when you don’t feel like doing something there is a deeper reason linked to pain. Often times it’s somewhat harmless like we don’t feel like cleaning our house, so we put it off, but eventually we get to it later. Procrastination is just a method of our subconscious trying to avoid uncomfortable feelings like boredom, dread or embarrassment. However, there comes a point in everyone’s life I think where we realize our avoidance and procrastination are having negative effects on us in the long term as well. That’s when we realize we can’t just let the mind and its desire to avoid all pain have its way all the time. This film takes this concept and blows it up in a big way to make it more obvious. Rather than an average person who says no sometimes out of avoidance, we have an extreme example of someone who always says No and it’s ruining his career and relationships. This more extreme example with a more extreme solution and a backdrop of funny situations makes the story fun, palatable and easy to relate to. We don’t want to see ourselves exactly get lectured at, we want to watch someone way worse than us get things turned around for the better because if that loser can turn things around than surely we can too. That’s why I find this film so inspiring and fun. It always reminds me that things could be worse and then gives me a way to make things better, just say yes a little more when you’re afraid to. I don’t think we should all go around saying “yes” to every opportunity, but more so saying “yes” to ourselves and “yes” to doing the things we already know we should do and just haven’t felt like it. We also could probably benefit from every once in a while saying “yes” to some opportunity that we typically wouldn’t go toward at all. Just like Carl we might be surprised at how much we learn and how much fun we have. Plus you never know where each step will lead you next. This simple truth is why this film is so hopeful and brings me joy. It’s why when I’m feeling down I like to stop and rewatch this film and it’s why I will keep watching “Yes Man” for years to come.