From a wacky pet detective to a lawyer incongruously unable to fib, Jim Carrey has played all sorts of comedic characters in a film career that is, if not exactly brilliant, still worthy of appreciation.
Though the rubber-faced comedian incessantly mugs for the camera, he has the endearing quality of being disarmingly funny in his frequent bursts of anarchic humor. For example, “Dumb and Dumber” is arguably a frontal assault on good taste, but riotously funny.
But then, like all mortals, Carrey has had some flops. I, for one, never did catch on to the weirdness of “The Cable Guy.”
Carrey’s latest venture into the arena of screwball comedy finds him as a hapless mope in “Yes Man,” a film so blatantly inspired by “Liar Liar” that a sharp copyright lawyer could make a credible infringement claim. Then again, Carrey wouldn’t be the first person recycling his comedic material.
After a hiatus from comedy, Carrey’s return to form is most welcome.
We first see Carrey working in a Los Angeles bank as loan officer Carl Allen, stiff and unbending to the pleas of loan applicants. He delights in saying “No” to just about everything and everyone, including his handful of friends.
Divorced and living by himself in a modest apartment, Carl would never dream of doing anything spontaneous. Even a best friend (Bradley Cooper) about to get married cannot convince Carl to attend his bachelor party.
But then Carl’s life changes when he encounters former colleague Nick (John Michael Higgins), who has been liberated from the conventions of society. Nick convinces Carl to attend a self-help seminar run by a New Age-type guru (Terence Stamp) who insists that the key to happiness is to say “Yes” to every opportunity that arises.
Of course, taken to the extreme, as happens here, this pliable state of mind leads to all sorts of mischief.
Under the spell of the “Yes” state of mind, Carl gives a lift to a homeless man to a remote area of Griffith Park. Having given away his money to the homeless guy, Carl becomes stranded by car trouble.
The only upside to the terrible start of his new impulsive attitude is that he has a chance encounter with perky, eccentric artist Allison (Zooey Deschanel) at a gas station. Though she seems far too willing to live life with wild abandon, Allison is oddly enough the right person for the new Carl, and together they spark some genuine romantic chemistry.
As a result of the serious attraction, which appears to defy the odds, the chemistry between Carl and Allison develops into more of a romantic comedy than might be expected. They do some wild and wacky things together, such as breaking into the Hollywood Bowl just on a whim.
Nothing tops the unplanned visit to the airport when they decided to visit the destination of the first available flight. Their impromptu trip lands them in Nebraska where they cheer for the Cornhuskers at a football game and visit the local telephone museum. This sequence of the visit to Middle America is both touching and very funny.
Seeing that this is a comedy that seeks at times to channel the Farrelly Brothers, “Yes Man” is victimized by some crude low-brow comedy.
It sinks to its lowest point with a sequence involving Carl’s randy, elderly female neighbor, oral sex and dentures in a glass of water. Less disturbing is Carl’s date with a traditional Persian woman he encounters online.
Funnier still is Carl’s goofy boss Norman (Rhys Darby), a Brit who enjoys staging costume parties. Now that he can only say “Yes,” Carl starts accepting invitations to Norman’s parties, which are ridiculously themed to such movies as “Harry Potter” and “300.”
Jim Carrey is not really at the top of his comedic game in “Yes Man.” That is not necessarily due to a failing on his part, considering that the focus on the love story with the appealing Zooey Deschanel takes center stage.
In striking a balance between comedy and romance, “Yes Man” is a definite maybe insofar as the film does not commit fully to the full-blown screwball comedy that the premise suggests.
Nevertheless, Carrey delivers some of his trademark humor. For some lighthearted fare during the holiday season, “Yes Man” may be worthy of affirmative support.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
It seems odd that around Christmas time, some of the DVD releases are far from the holiday spirit.
Take, for instance, “Pulse 3,” the horrifying nightmarish fright-fest starring Rider Strong and Brittany Finamore. As a sequel, “Pulse 3” takes place seven years after the phantom invasion, and the survivors on Earth have settled into a primitive lifestyle completely devoid of technology, until Finamore’s character is lured into the city and unleashes the deadliest digital invasion yet.
The “Resident Evil” franchise now spawns “Resident Evil: Degeneration,” an animated thrill ride that takes the franchise’s terrifying zombie action to a whole new level with jaw-dropping visual effects and heart-pounding suspense. Hordes of zombies are unleashed at a major airport in a plot masterminded by a revenge-seeking terrorist.
Your enjoyment of “Resident Evil: Degeneration” is theoretically enhanced by its release in Blu-ray High-Def, DVD and PSP.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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