Yes Man: Critic Reviews

It has more chuckles than guffaws, maybe because Carrey has always been a comic actor who says yes yes yes. Literalizing that impulse only robs it of surprise.

Not far from that of Liar Liar, one of Mr. Carrey's biggest hits of the mid-'90s...That film was a philosophical tour de force compared with this one.

Sort of ho-hum stuff, but nice to see a cameo from Rhys Darby, from TV's Flight of the Conchords.

The combination of the familiar scenario and his broadly comic style seems stale.

In a comedy era ennobled by the crackling wit of Vince Vaughn, Steve Carell and Tina Fey, Yes Man comes across as innocent, quaint, pitiable, as one-note as borscht belt humor and not committed enough to support great slapstick.

It's a cynical attempt, ultimately, to make obnoxious people palatable by throwing them into a tub of romantic comedy.

Nothing more than warmed-over holiday seconds, a repackaged best-of for those who already own the hits.

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.

Jim Carrey's new comedy is enjoyable enough for what it is, a clever idea developed by fits and starts.

Jim Carrey works the premise for all it's worth, but it doesn't allow him to bust loose and fly.

Yes Man starts out wobbly but ends up quite nicely, primarily because Carrey has a wonderful acting partner in Zooey Deschanel, the singer-actress with the saucer eyes and unpredictable, behind-the-beat comic timing.

It's nice to see a high-concept comedy with such a generous concept.

Given the gloom of this season's holiday releases it is positively cheering just to see a character turn his frown upside down.

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.

It's obvious Carrey still has the juice; he just needs someone to give him the right squeeze.

Is Yes Man worth the trouble, then? Not to belabor the point, but yes.

Genial but slim.

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.

It's an often engaging romance shot through with sweetness, a movie that hangs on a handful of simple, magical scenes.

Some of it is funny. Much of it isn't. The committee-written plot seems tired and recycled.

Yes Man puts him back in the same old quandary and, once again, Carrey lacks an identity. Alas, this time, he also lacks a script.

With Yes Man, Carrey has bled the well dry, doing everything he knows how to do, over and over again, just to prove that he still knows how to do it.

Perhaps Yes Man's writers got confused by the film's tag line, 'Yes Is the New No.' In honor of that convoluted axiom, here's my one-word review. Should you go see Yes Man?: Yes.

It's pleasant to watch something a little less intellectually taxing between all the would-be Oscar contenders. Yes Man is that movie -- undemanding, light, and enjoyable on its own terms.

Jim Carrey's back in the zone with this agreeable concept comedy.