Yes Man (film)
Encyclopedia
Yes Man is a 2008 comedy film
directed by Peyton Reed
, written by Nicholas Stoller
, Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel and starring Jim Carrey
, Zooey Deschanel
, Bradley Cooper
, John Michael Higgins
, Rhys Darby
, Maile Flanagan
, Danny Masterson
, and Terence Stamp
. The film is based loosely on the 2005 book Yes Man
by British
humourist Danny Wallace
.
The film was a box office success despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. It was released on December 19, 2008, opening at #1 at the box office in its first weekend with $18.3 million and was then released on December 26, 2008 in the United Kingdom
going straight to the top of the box office in its first weekend after release. Production for the film began in October 2007 in Los Angeles, California
.
). Routinely ignoring his friends Pete (Bradley Cooper) and Rooney (Danny Masterson) for hangouts at their local bar where Stephanie regularly visits, he has grown used to spending his spare time watching DVDs alone in his apartment, and has an increasingly negative outlook on life. One day, Nick (John Michael Higgins), an old colleague of Carl's suggests that he goes to a "Yes!" seminar with him, which encourages its attendants to seize the opportunity to say "Yes!" Carl considers the option while watching a film that night, but subsequently misses Pete's engagement party at the bar. An irate Pete turns up at his house and berates him, telling him that he will end up completely lonely if he does not change his life around. Carl decides to attend the seminar and he meets inspirational guru Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp), who publicly browbeats him into making a covenant with himself. Carl reluctantly promises to stop being a "No Man" and vows to answer "Yes!" to every opportunity, request or invitation that presents itself thereafter.
After the seminar, saying yes to a homeless man's requests only leaves Carl stranded in Elysian Park with his phone battery dead, no cash, and his gas tank empty. Disillusioned, he hikes to a gas station where he meets Allison (Zooey Deschanel
), an unorthodox young woman who rides a scooter. She gives him a hair-raising ride back to his car and kisses him before she rides off. After this positive experience, Carl feels more optimistic about saying yes. However, he refuses oral sex from his elderly neighbor Tillie (Fionnula Flanagan) which results in almost getting attacked by a dog. Seeing the repercussions of saying no, he goes back to Tillie. While initially disgusted with the thought, Carl is ultimately pleasured by Tillie and thoroughly enjoys his time spent with her.
Carl starts to seize every opportunity that comes his way. He renews his friendship with Pete and Rooney, builds up a major friendship with his boss, Norman (Rhys Darby), assists Pete's fiancée, Lucy (Sasha Alexander
), by throwing her a bridal shower after Pete asks him to, buys himself a mattress, invites in two members of the Latter Day Saint movement, takes flying lessons, attends Korean language
classes, learns to play the guitar, takes part in charitable work, and even joins a Persian dating website called persianwifefinder.com. Saying yes constantly works to Carl's advantage. He earns a corporate promotion at work after his many approved loans open new territory for the bank in the area of microcredit. Making use of his guitar lessons, he plays Third Eye Blind
's song "Jumper
" to persuade a man not to commit suicide by jumping off a ledge. Accepting concert tickets from a promoter, he sees an idiosyncratic band called Munchausen by Proxy whose lead singer turns out to be Allison. He is charmed by her quirkiness; she is charmed by his spontaneity and the two begin dating.
As their relationship develops, Carl and Allison meet at the airport for a spontaneous weekend excursion. Having decided to take the first plane out of town, regardless of its destination, they end up in Lincoln, Nebraska
, where they explore the Frank H. Woods Telephone Museum, go skeet shooting
, and attend a University of Nebraska-Lincoln football game. As they take shelter from the rain in an isolated barn, Allison asks Carl to move in with her. He hesitantly agrees. But while checking in for the return flight, Carl and Allison are detained by FBI agents who have profiled him as potential terrorist because he has taken flying lessons, studied Korean, approved a loan to a fertilizer company, met an Iranian, and bought plane tickets at the last minute to what they deem to be an unlikely holiday destination.
Pete, his attorney, travels to Nebraska to explain Carl's odd habits, lessons, and decisions. As she finds out about Carl's motivational covenant, Allison begins to doubt whether his commitment to her was ever sincere. Deciding that she can no longer trust a man who is always obliged to respond in the affirmative, regardless of his true feelings, Allison leaves Carl at the airport and refuses to return his phone calls.
Carl's life takes a turn for the worse and he is unable to feel happy even after passing his flying test. His only distraction comes in a negative way when he is tasked by his new boss with informing Norm that he is among the layoffs in a shutdown of branches, and when he almost forgets about Lucy's shower. Carl just manages to arrange a major surprise shower at their favorite bar after pretending to them that he had forgotten it, all the while setting Norm up with Soo-Mi (Vivian Bang), the Korean girl who supervised the wedding store, and Rooney with Tillie. He then agrees to come to dinner with Pete because he wants to. After the party, Carl receives a tearful phone call from Stephanie whose new boyfriend Ted has walked out on her. When Carl goes to Stephanie's apartment to comfort her, she kisses him passionately and asks whether they can get back together. After Carl emphatically says no his luck takes a turn for the worse. The elevator in which he tries to leave Stephanie's building malfunctions in between floors, a black cat crosses his path, causing him to jump onto a car and set off its alarm, and his own car gets clamped and towed. To his horror, the tow-man, who closely resembles him, turns around declaring "No man, no man, no man!", in response to Carl asking "Can't you give me a break?", and he decides to end his commitment to the covenant.
Carl goes to the convention center where the "Yes!" seminar is held and hides in the backseat of Terrence's convertible so that he can beg to be released from the covenant. Carl emerges as Terrence drives off, and the startled Terrence collides with an oncoming vehicle. The two are taken to a hospital, injured slightly. After Carl recovers consciousness, an already conscious Terrence tells Carl that there was no covenant. The starting point was merely to open Carl's mind to other possibilities, not to permanently take away his ability to say no if he needed to.
Freed from this restraint, Carl finds Allison and admits that he does not want to move in with her just yet, but tells her that he genuinely loves and wants her, and has not been with her just because he was compelled to say yes. The couple kiss while Allison's fellow runners snap pictures.
At the end of the movie, Carl and Allison are seen donating a truckload of clothes to a local homeless shelter. Cutting to the scene of the "Yes!" seminar, Terrence is seen walking onstage to several hundred naked audience members. It is implied that the participants have said yes to donating their clothes to charity.
Halfway through the credits, Carl and Allison are seen donning on 31-wheel roller suits and racing down a hillside. The suits are fictionalized as invented by one of the people Carl had approved a loan with. The suits are a real life invention of the French designer Jean-Yves Blondeau
.
.
Carrey declined an upfront salary for his role in the film. He was instead paid 36.2% of the film's gross after its production and marketing costs were recovered.
During shooting of a scene where Carrey's character bungee jumps
off a bridge, Carrey interrupted and asked to do the stunt himself. Carrey stated to the stunt double that he intended to do it in one take. When he jumps off, he is seen taking out a cell phone for the scene.
While shooting the scene in the bar where Carrey's character turns around into a waitress and falls flat on his back, Carrey executed the stunt incorrectly and fell to the floor harder than he expected, breaking three ribs in the process. Carrey himself revealed this in an interview for Moviefone
in response to a viewer-submitted question about the film's stunts.
Carrey also mastered basic Korean
for a scene. A language coach was hired to help Carrey learn the language accurately. This was the same process for the scenes in which Carrey's character learns to play the guitar
; Carrey tried to play during the years of his childhood, but "quit before ever learning a chord". Carrey said in an interview with HBO: "Just learning the basic chords was maybe the most challenging part of any movie I've worked on in my career. Peyton [Reed] even joked about the guitar part being dubbed, or just cut altogether." Reed played the song "Jumper
" by Third Eye Blind
, which had a high number of digital downloads after the film's theatrical release. After the final date of filming, Carrey "retired" his set guitar, and Zooey kept it. When asked about this, Carrey said: "I'll never need that, or any guitar ever again; guitar is not for me! Never has been, never will be!"
The film's soundtrack features original music by "Munchausen by Proxy", a fictional band named after the Münchausen syndrome by proxy
, a psychological disorder. In the film, the band consists of actress Deschanel on lead vocals and the San Francisco-based all-girl band Von Iva
, a trio of vocals, keyboards and drums. Von Iva's members collaborated with Deschanel, a singer-songwriter and one half of the duo She & Him
, on writing and recording the band's songs for the film. Von Iva
got the part of the fictional ensemble in the film after the movie's music supervisor, Jonathan Karp, saw the cover of their CD in Amoeba
in Hollywood. For the DVD/Blu-ray release of the film, Deschanel and Von Iva filmed a spoof MTV
music show-style documentary on the band for which they filmed mock music videos for several of the songs; the home video release also includes full-length performances by the group that were not included in the film.
The soundtrack also features nine songs by Eels
, including a brand-new song entitled "Man Up".
The introduction music at the beginning of the movie from Carrey's ringtone comes from the song "Separate Ways" by Journey
. It is also featured when Carrey's character bails out from the hospital to catch the joggography at 6AM.
reported that 43% of critics gave positive feedback, based on 141 reviews. Many critics thought that its plot was too similar to Carrey's 1997 work, Liar Liar
. Metacritic
also calculated a 46/100 approval rating based on 30 reviews.
In his review for The Miami Herald
, Rene Rodriguez wrote, "Yes Man is fine as far as Carrey comedies go, but it's even better as a love story that just happens to make you laugh," while Kyle Smith of The New York Post countered in his review that, "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." Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film 2 stars out of 4.
To date, the film has taken in more than $220 million worldwide, surpassing Carrey's previous comedy Fun with Dick and Jane
, but falling short of his 2003 film Bruce Almighty
.
2009 Taurus World Stunt Awards
2009 Teen Choice Awards
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Peyton Reed
Peyton Reed
Peyton Reed is an American television and film director.Reed was born in Raleigh, North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Reed directed the motion pictures Bring It On, Down with Love, and The Break-Up; all comedy films...
, written by Nicholas Stoller
Nicholas Stoller
Nicholas Stoller is an English–American screenwriter and director. He is known mainly for directing the 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and its 2010 spin-off/sequel, Get Him to the Greek.-Life and career:...
, Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel and starring Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
, Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Claire Deschanel is an American actress, musician, and singer-songwriter. In 1999, Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford, followed by her breakout role as young protagonist William Miller's troubled older sister Anita in Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous...
, Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper is an American film, theater, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films The Hangover, The A-Team, and Limitless. In 2011, People magazine named Cooper "Sexiest Man Alive".-Early life:...
, John Michael Higgins
John Michael Higgins
John Michael Higgins is an American actor whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's The Late Shift, and a starring role in the American version of Kath & Kim....
, Rhys Darby
Rhys Darby
Rhys Montague Darby is an actor and stand-up comedian from New Zealand, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals...
, Maile Flanagan
Maile Flanagan
Maile Flanagan is an American actress known for her role as the protagonist ninja Naruto Uzumaki in Naruto, Geri O'Flanagan in 3Way, and Janet in Yes Man.-Personal life:...
, Danny Masterson
Danny Masterson
Daniel Peter "Danny" Masterson is an American actor and DJ best known for his role as Steven Hyde in That '70s Show.-Early life:...
, and Terence Stamp
Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
. The film is based loosely on the 2005 book Yes Man
Yes Man (book)
Yes Man is a humour/memoir novel written by Danny Wallace based upon a year of the author's life, in which he chose to say "Yes" to any offers that came his way...
by British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
humourist Danny Wallace
Danny Wallace (humourist)
Daniel Frederick Wallace is a British filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television. His notable works include the books Join Me, Yes Man, and the TV series How to Start Your Own Country.He lives in London, with his wife, an Australian publicist...
.
The film was a box office success despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. It was released on December 19, 2008, opening at #1 at the box office in its first weekend with $18.3 million and was then released on December 26, 2008 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
going straight to the top of the box office in its first weekend after release. Production for the film began in October 2007 in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Plot
Los Angeles bank employee Carl Allen (Jim Carrey) has become withdrawn and preoccupied with his personal life since his divorce from ex-wife Stephanie (Molly SimsMolly Sims
Molly Sims is an American model and actress. Sims is known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues and her role as Delinda Deline in the NBC drama Las Vegas. She is also an ambassador for Operation Smile...
). Routinely ignoring his friends Pete (Bradley Cooper) and Rooney (Danny Masterson) for hangouts at their local bar where Stephanie regularly visits, he has grown used to spending his spare time watching DVDs alone in his apartment, and has an increasingly negative outlook on life. One day, Nick (John Michael Higgins), an old colleague of Carl's suggests that he goes to a "Yes!" seminar with him, which encourages its attendants to seize the opportunity to say "Yes!" Carl considers the option while watching a film that night, but subsequently misses Pete's engagement party at the bar. An irate Pete turns up at his house and berates him, telling him that he will end up completely lonely if he does not change his life around. Carl decides to attend the seminar and he meets inspirational guru Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp), who publicly browbeats him into making a covenant with himself. Carl reluctantly promises to stop being a "No Man" and vows to answer "Yes!" to every opportunity, request or invitation that presents itself thereafter.
After the seminar, saying yes to a homeless man's requests only leaves Carl stranded in Elysian Park with his phone battery dead, no cash, and his gas tank empty. Disillusioned, he hikes to a gas station where he meets Allison (Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Claire Deschanel is an American actress, musician, and singer-songwriter. In 1999, Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford, followed by her breakout role as young protagonist William Miller's troubled older sister Anita in Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous...
), an unorthodox young woman who rides a scooter. She gives him a hair-raising ride back to his car and kisses him before she rides off. After this positive experience, Carl feels more optimistic about saying yes. However, he refuses oral sex from his elderly neighbor Tillie (Fionnula Flanagan) which results in almost getting attacked by a dog. Seeing the repercussions of saying no, he goes back to Tillie. While initially disgusted with the thought, Carl is ultimately pleasured by Tillie and thoroughly enjoys his time spent with her.
Carl starts to seize every opportunity that comes his way. He renews his friendship with Pete and Rooney, builds up a major friendship with his boss, Norman (Rhys Darby), assists Pete's fiancée, Lucy (Sasha Alexander
Sasha Alexander
Sasha Alexander is an American actress. She is best known for several roles, including Gretchen Witter, the sister of Pacey Witter on Dawson's Creek; NCIS Special Agent Kate Todd in the first two seasons of NCIS; as Lucy in Yes Man ; and as Catherine in He's Just Not That Into You .She currently...
), by throwing her a bridal shower after Pete asks him to, buys himself a mattress, invites in two members of the Latter Day Saint movement, takes flying lessons, attends Korean language
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
classes, learns to play the guitar, takes part in charitable work, and even joins a Persian dating website called persianwifefinder.com. Saying yes constantly works to Carl's advantage. He earns a corporate promotion at work after his many approved loans open new territory for the bank in the area of microcredit. Making use of his guitar lessons, he plays Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup...
's song "Jumper
Jumper (song)
"Jumper" is a song by the American rock band Third Eye Blind, released on their 1997 self titled album, and written by vocalist Stephan Jenkins. Released as a single, the song peaked at #5.-Meaning:...
" to persuade a man not to commit suicide by jumping off a ledge. Accepting concert tickets from a promoter, he sees an idiosyncratic band called Munchausen by Proxy whose lead singer turns out to be Allison. He is charmed by her quirkiness; she is charmed by his spontaneity and the two begin dating.
As their relationship develops, Carl and Allison meet at the airport for a spontaneous weekend excursion. Having decided to take the first plane out of town, regardless of its destination, they end up in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, where they explore the Frank H. Woods Telephone Museum, go skeet shooting
Skeet shooting
Skeet shooting is one of the three major types of competitive shotgun target shooting sports . There are several types of skeet, including one with Olympic status , and many with only national recognition.- General principles :Skeet is a recreational and competitive activity where...
, and attend a University of Nebraska-Lincoln football game. As they take shelter from the rain in an isolated barn, Allison asks Carl to move in with her. He hesitantly agrees. But while checking in for the return flight, Carl and Allison are detained by FBI agents who have profiled him as potential terrorist because he has taken flying lessons, studied Korean, approved a loan to a fertilizer company, met an Iranian, and bought plane tickets at the last minute to what they deem to be an unlikely holiday destination.
Pete, his attorney, travels to Nebraska to explain Carl's odd habits, lessons, and decisions. As she finds out about Carl's motivational covenant, Allison begins to doubt whether his commitment to her was ever sincere. Deciding that she can no longer trust a man who is always obliged to respond in the affirmative, regardless of his true feelings, Allison leaves Carl at the airport and refuses to return his phone calls.
Carl's life takes a turn for the worse and he is unable to feel happy even after passing his flying test. His only distraction comes in a negative way when he is tasked by his new boss with informing Norm that he is among the layoffs in a shutdown of branches, and when he almost forgets about Lucy's shower. Carl just manages to arrange a major surprise shower at their favorite bar after pretending to them that he had forgotten it, all the while setting Norm up with Soo-Mi (Vivian Bang), the Korean girl who supervised the wedding store, and Rooney with Tillie. He then agrees to come to dinner with Pete because he wants to. After the party, Carl receives a tearful phone call from Stephanie whose new boyfriend Ted has walked out on her. When Carl goes to Stephanie's apartment to comfort her, she kisses him passionately and asks whether they can get back together. After Carl emphatically says no his luck takes a turn for the worse. The elevator in which he tries to leave Stephanie's building malfunctions in between floors, a black cat crosses his path, causing him to jump onto a car and set off its alarm, and his own car gets clamped and towed. To his horror, the tow-man, who closely resembles him, turns around declaring "No man, no man, no man!", in response to Carl asking "Can't you give me a break?", and he decides to end his commitment to the covenant.
Carl goes to the convention center where the "Yes!" seminar is held and hides in the backseat of Terrence's convertible so that he can beg to be released from the covenant. Carl emerges as Terrence drives off, and the startled Terrence collides with an oncoming vehicle. The two are taken to a hospital, injured slightly. After Carl recovers consciousness, an already conscious Terrence tells Carl that there was no covenant. The starting point was merely to open Carl's mind to other possibilities, not to permanently take away his ability to say no if he needed to.
Freed from this restraint, Carl finds Allison and admits that he does not want to move in with her just yet, but tells her that he genuinely loves and wants her, and has not been with her just because he was compelled to say yes. The couple kiss while Allison's fellow runners snap pictures.
At the end of the movie, Carl and Allison are seen donating a truckload of clothes to a local homeless shelter. Cutting to the scene of the "Yes!" seminar, Terrence is seen walking onstage to several hundred naked audience members. It is implied that the participants have said yes to donating their clothes to charity.
Halfway through the credits, Carl and Allison are seen donning on 31-wheel roller suits and racing down a hillside. The suits are fictionalized as invented by one of the people Carl had approved a loan with. The suits are a real life invention of the French designer Jean-Yves Blondeau
Jean-Yves Blondeau
Jean-Yves Blondeau , also known as "Rollerman", is a French designer who is best known for inventing the 31-wheel roller suit.-Biography:...
.
Cast
- Jim CarreyJim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
as Carl Allen - Zooey DeschanelZooey DeschanelZooey Claire Deschanel is an American actress, musician, and singer-songwriter. In 1999, Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford, followed by her breakout role as young protagonist William Miller's troubled older sister Anita in Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous...
as Allison - Bradley CooperBradley CooperBradley Cooper is an American film, theater, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films The Hangover, The A-Team, and Limitless. In 2011, People magazine named Cooper "Sexiest Man Alive".-Early life:...
as Peter - John Michael HigginsJohn Michael HigginsJohn Michael Higgins is an American actor whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's The Late Shift, and a starring role in the American version of Kath & Kim....
as Nick Lane - Rhys DarbyRhys DarbyRhys Montague Darby is an actor and stand-up comedian from New Zealand, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals...
as Norman - Maile FlanaganMaile FlanaganMaile Flanagan is an American actress known for her role as the protagonist ninja Naruto Uzumaki in Naruto, Geri O'Flanagan in 3Way, and Janet in Yes Man.-Personal life:...
as Janet - Danny MastersonDanny MastersonDaniel Peter "Danny" Masterson is an American actor and DJ best known for his role as Steven Hyde in That '70s Show.-Early life:...
as Rooney - Terence StampTerence StampTerence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
as Terrence Bundley - Sasha AlexanderSasha AlexanderSasha Alexander is an American actress. She is best known for several roles, including Gretchen Witter, the sister of Pacey Witter on Dawson's Creek; NCIS Special Agent Kate Todd in the first two seasons of NCIS; as Lucy in Yes Man ; and as Catherine in He's Just Not That Into You .She currently...
as Lucy Burns - Molly SimsMolly SimsMolly Sims is an American model and actress. Sims is known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues and her role as Delinda Deline in the NBC drama Las Vegas. She is also an ambassador for Operation Smile...
as Stephanie - Aaron Takahashi as Lee
- Fionnula Flanagan as Tillie
- Sean O'BryanSean O'BryanSean O'Bryan is an American film and television actor.-Career:O'Bryan has guest-starred on such television series as MacGyver, Cold Case, Quantum Leap, Murder, She Wrote, Chicago Hope, Roseanne, Six Feet Under, Criminal Minds, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Dexter, Bones, and the middle. He...
as Ted - John Cothran as Tweed
- Spencer GarrettSpencer GarrettSpencer Garrett is an American actor who has appeared in television programs, television films, films, and a few blockbuster productions like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Public Enemies, and Air Force One....
as Multack - Rocky CarrollRocky CarrollRoscoe "Rocky" Carroll is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Joey Emerson on the FOX comedy-drama Roc, as Dr. Keith Wilkes on the medical drama Chicago Hope, and as Leon Vance on the CBS drama NCIS and its spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles.-Early life:Carroll was born Roscoe Fulton Carroll...
as Wes - Vivian Bang as Soo-Mi
- Heidi Herschbach as Daphne
- Luis GuzmanLuis GuzmánLuis Guzmán is an actor from Puerto Rico. He is known for his character work. For much of his career, he has played roles largely as sidekicks, thugs, or policemen....
as Jumper - Arne StarrArne StarrArne Starr is a long time comic book artist and illustrator who has segued into the world of Hollywood over the last few years.-Training:Trained as an illustrator at the NY-Phoenix Schools of Design, a division of Pratt Institute, he graduated second in class in magazine and book illustration...
as Conventioner (uncredited) - Danny WallaceDanny Wallace (humourist)Daniel Frederick Wallace is a British filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television. His notable works include the books Join Me, Yes Man, and the TV series How to Start Your Own Country.He lives in London, with his wife, an Australian publicist...
as Conventioner (uncredited)
Production
Yes Man is based on a memoir of the same name by British humourist Danny Wallace. The book tells of the 6-month period in which he committed himself to saying 'Yes' to everything based on a brief conversation with a stranger he met on the bus. Danny Wallace also has a cameo in the film, in the final bar-scene of the movie, in which he is speaking to someone behind Danny MastersonDanny Masterson
Daniel Peter "Danny" Masterson is an American actor and DJ best known for his role as Steven Hyde in That '70s Show.-Early life:...
.
Carrey declined an upfront salary for his role in the film. He was instead paid 36.2% of the film's gross after its production and marketing costs were recovered.
During shooting of a scene where Carrey's character bungee jumps
Bungee jumping
Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter, that...
off a bridge, Carrey interrupted and asked to do the stunt himself. Carrey stated to the stunt double that he intended to do it in one take. When he jumps off, he is seen taking out a cell phone for the scene.
While shooting the scene in the bar where Carrey's character turns around into a waitress and falls flat on his back, Carrey executed the stunt incorrectly and fell to the floor harder than he expected, breaking three ribs in the process. Carrey himself revealed this in an interview for Moviefone
Moviefone
Moviefone is an American-based movie listing and information service. Moviegoers can obtain local showtimes, theatre information, film reviews, or advance tickets...
in response to a viewer-submitted question about the film's stunts.
Carrey also mastered basic Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
for a scene. A language coach was hired to help Carrey learn the language accurately. This was the same process for the scenes in which Carrey's character learns to play the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
; Carrey tried to play during the years of his childhood, but "quit before ever learning a chord". Carrey said in an interview with HBO: "Just learning the basic chords was maybe the most challenging part of any movie I've worked on in my career. Peyton [Reed] even joked about the guitar part being dubbed, or just cut altogether." Reed played the song "Jumper
Jumper (song)
"Jumper" is a song by the American rock band Third Eye Blind, released on their 1997 self titled album, and written by vocalist Stephan Jenkins. Released as a single, the song peaked at #5.-Meaning:...
" by Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup...
, which had a high number of digital downloads after the film's theatrical release. After the final date of filming, Carrey "retired" his set guitar, and Zooey kept it. When asked about this, Carrey said: "I'll never need that, or any guitar ever again; guitar is not for me! Never has been, never will be!"
The film's soundtrack features original music by "Munchausen by Proxy", a fictional band named after the Münchausen syndrome by proxy
Munchausen syndrome by proxy
Münchausen syndrome by proxy is a label for a pattern of behavior in which care-givers deliberately exaggerate, fabricate, and/or induce physical, psychological, behavioral, and/or mental health problems in others. Other experts classified MSbP as a mental illness...
, a psychological disorder. In the film, the band consists of actress Deschanel on lead vocals and the San Francisco-based all-girl band Von Iva
Von Iva
Von Iva is an all-girl electro soul-punk group out of San Francisco. Formerly a quartet, they are now a trio.-Members:*Jillian Iva - vocals*Bex - keyboards*Lay Lay - drums-EPs:...
, a trio of vocals, keyboards and drums. Von Iva's members collaborated with Deschanel, a singer-songwriter and one half of the duo She & Him
She & Him
She & Him is an American indie pop duo consisting of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward . The band's first album, Volume One, was released on Merge Records in March 2008...
, on writing and recording the band's songs for the film. Von Iva
Von Iva
Von Iva is an all-girl electro soul-punk group out of San Francisco. Formerly a quartet, they are now a trio.-Members:*Jillian Iva - vocals*Bex - keyboards*Lay Lay - drums-EPs:...
got the part of the fictional ensemble in the film after the movie's music supervisor, Jonathan Karp, saw the cover of their CD in Amoeba
Amoeba Music
Amoeba Music is an independent music chain with stores in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Founded by former employees of nearby Rasputin Records, it opened on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley in 1990. The stores are unusually large given their independent status...
in Hollywood. For the DVD/Blu-ray release of the film, Deschanel and Von Iva filmed a spoof MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
music show-style documentary on the band for which they filmed mock music videos for several of the songs; the home video release also includes full-length performances by the group that were not included in the film.
The soundtrack also features nine songs by Eels
Eels (band)
Eels is an American indie rock band formed by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E...
, including a brand-new song entitled "Man Up".
The introduction music at the beginning of the movie from Carrey's ringtone comes from the song "Separate Ways" by Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
. It is also featured when Carrey's character bails out from the hospital to catch the joggography at 6AM.
Blu-ray / DVD release
The DVD and Blu-ray were released on April 7, 2009. Customers have the option of the single-disc edition and the 2 disc edition titled the "Ultimately Yes!" edition.Critical reception
Yes Man generated mixed reviews. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 43% of critics gave positive feedback, based on 141 reviews. Many critics thought that its plot was too similar to Carrey's 1997 work, Liar Liar
Liar Liar
Liar Liar is a 1997 American comedy film written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical...
. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
also calculated a 46/100 approval rating based on 30 reviews.
In his review for The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
, Rene Rodriguez wrote, "Yes Man is fine as far as Carrey comedies go, but it's even better as a love story that just happens to make you laugh," while Kyle Smith of The New York Post countered in his review that, "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." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film 2 stars out of 4.
Box office
Despite the mixed critical reception, the film opened #1 in its first weekend at the US box office with $18.3 million, and went straight to the top of the UK box office in its first weekend after release.To date, the film has taken in more than $220 million worldwide, surpassing Carrey's previous comedy Fun with Dick and Jane
Fun with Dick and Jane (2005 film)
Fun with Dick and Jane is a 2005 remake of the 1977 American comedy film of the same name, directed by Dean Parisot and written by Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller. It stars Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni as Dick and Jane Harper, an upper-middle-class couple who resort to robbery after the company for...
, but falling short of his 2003 film Bruce Almighty
Bruce Almighty
Bruce Almighty is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. It stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck TV reporter who complains to God that He isn't doing His job correctly, and is then offered the chance to try...
.
2009 Taurus World Stunt AwardsTaurus World Stunt AwardsThe Taurus World Stunt Awards is a yearly award ceremony that honors stunt performers in movies. It is held each year in Los Angeles.- Categories :*Best Fight*Best Fire Stunt*Best High Work*Best Work with a Vehicle*Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Woman...
- Best Overall Stunt by a Woman - Monica Braunger (Nominated)
2009 Teen Choice AwardsTeen Choice AwardsThe Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...
- Choice Movie Actor - Comedy - Jim CarreyJim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
(Nominated) - Choice Movie Rockstar Moment - Jim CarreyJim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
(Nominated) - Choice Movie Hissy Fit - Jim CarreyJim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
(Nominated) - Choice Movie: Comedy (Nominated)
External links
- Yes Man Production Details