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Yes Man

Yes Man (2008)

tomatometer

45

Average Rating: 5.3/10
Reviews Counted: 152
Fresh: 69 | Rotten: 83

Jim Carrey's comic convulsions are the only bright spots in this otherwise dim and predictable comedy.

39

Average Rating: 4.9/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 19

Jim Carrey's comic convulsions are the only bright spots in this otherwise dim and predictable comedy.

audience

72

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 278,968

My Rating

Movie Info

Based on Danny Wallace's autobiographical book, Jim Carrey stars as a man who decides to spice up his life by saying yes to everything in his life that he would normally say no to. Fun With Dick and Jane's creative team of director Peyton Reed and writer Nick Stoller head up the production. Zooey Deschanel co-stars as the romantic interest, with Bradley Cooper appearing as Carrey's best friend. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

PG-13, 1 hr. 44 min.

Comedy

Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel

Apr 7, 2009

$97.6M

Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow

All Critics (152) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (71) | Rotten (84) | DVD (6)

I think this movie needs to be skipped.

December 22, 2008 Full Review Source: At the Movies | Comments (2)
At the Movies
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Contrived and silly to say the least.

December 22, 2008 Full Review Source: At the Movies | Comment
At the Movies
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's a small, nice return to form by Jim Carrey.

December 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | Comment
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The first time I saw Yes Man, I thought the concept was getting kind of stale toward the end. As it turns out, that was only the trailer.

December 19, 2008 Full Review Source: New York Post | Comments (5)
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

If you own the superior Liar Liar, you might as well stay home and watch it again. When Hollywood can't be both-ered to come up with new ideas, we have every right to just say no.

December 19, 2008 Full Review Source: New York Daily News | Comments (2)
New York Daily News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There are flat performances in the film, false situations and bad lines, but the laughs are there and the message about personal transformation is timeless.

December 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Comment
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

As self-help comedy, the movie is no more overdetermined than its own highbrow counterpart, Happy-Go-Lucky.

October 6, 2011 Full Review Source: Time Out Chicago | Comment

It's a decent enough time-killer for Carrey fans and those after something light and non-taxing after a heavy Christmas Day feast.

July 14, 2011 Full Review Source: Digital Spy | Comment
Digital Spy

I have to admit that it was pretty funny a lot of the time.

April 4, 2011 Full Review Source: Movies.com | Comment
Movies.com

As much as I try to convince myself I'm tired of Jim Carrey, darn it, he almost always amuses me.

April 4, 2011 Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | Comment
EricDSnider.com

A ready-made Christmas-time crowd-pleaser that pretty much plays it safe, even in its cruder moments, and will be in circulation on cable soon enough.

December 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinematical | Comment
Cinematical

Mr. Carrey's performance is a return to the rubber-faced roles that dominated multiplexes in the mid- to late '90s, and that's not necessarily a good thing.

August 30, 2009 Full Review Source: Washington Times | Comment

Yes Man is proof that reverse psychology works; No, it's not worth seeing because, no, it's not that funny.

August 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Moviedex | Comment
Moviedex

The benefits of grounding comedy in reality are never-ending, and Yes Man takes advantage of most of them. Peyton Reed is officially one of my favorite comic directors.

May 31, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinerina | Comment

[The] writers...pay lip service to the dark side of 'yes,' but don't do enough to explore what could have made the film more than a bouncy entertainment. [Blu-ray]

May 25, 2009 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | Comment

...Jim Carrey's most entertaining comedy since 1997's Liar Liar...

May 21, 2009 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews

I found myself having a few pleasant chuckles but still frustrated at the movie for not bothering with telling a story that hasn't already been told a million times before.

April 24, 2009 Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | Comment
Window to the Movies

A film that has little plot until the last act, yet Carrey rises above it to bring it to an acceptable level.

April 19, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Views | Comment

who wouldn't want to be in a position to say 'Yes' to everything - from learning Korean to bungee jumping?

April 18, 2009 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | Comment
7M Pictures

...a feel-good movie, and while it may not become a classic, it is quite disarming and passes a pleasant few hours. (Blu-ray Edition)

April 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

...a pleasant surprise: a romantic comedy that is cute, amiable, and winning without being excessively tedious, saccharine, or gross.

April 3, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Is Yes Man a riot? Yes, and no. Zooey doesn't have much to do except the laugh track thing to Carrey's antics. And on a positive note, Carrey gets to make out with three women and also moon the audience biker style, if that's your thing.

March 29, 2009 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | Comment
NewsBlaze
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Yes Man

Not a completely terrible pass of time and the message is probably an admirable one ("say YES to life!") but the work suffers from the heavy hand of formula romcom, never altering course, and for that I found myself resisting the too obvious twists and turns, the too obvious characterizations. Blah.

April 10, 2012
moonrivers

Super Reviewer

Really quite adorable. The fruition of Carl's Korean and guitar lessons is jubilant and moving.

February 12, 2012
aliceinpunderland

Super Reviewer

    1. Allison: Have you met my friend Ian? He's a computer hacker. He helped me erase your MySpace page, and your band's MySpace page, and your FaceBook page. Happy networking asshole!
    – Submitted by rob g (13 months ago)
    1. Allison: The world's a playground. You know that when you are a kid, but somewhere along the way everyone forgets it.
    – Submitted by rob g (13 months ago)

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