Movie Reviews: The Tale of Despereaux, The Yellow Handkerchief, Yes Man

Also, Tunnel Rats and Where God Left His Shoes

Comments (0) By L.A. Weekly Film Critics Wednesday, Dec 17 2008

YES MAN Not the Liar Liar sequel it looks like in the trailer, but close enough: Jim Carrey plays a self-absorbed Debbie Downer named Carl Allen, who green-lights every bad decision in an effort to reinvent his sorry life. And, hey, it works! Really well, because his first terrible decision — to give a homeless man all his money — turns out to be a stroke of good fortune, as Carl is rescued by perky, spontaneous Allison (Zooey Deschanel), a singer in an avant-rock band called Munchausen by Proxy and the instructor of a jogging-photography class. How quirky! Theirs quickly blossoms into a romance defined by its random acts of wackiness, including a flight to Lincoln, Nebraska ... just because it’s there. Inevitably, Carl winds up in the stands of a Nebraska-Oklahoma football game, his body covered in red and white paint. See what saying “yes” to anything will get you? Turns a 46-year-old man into a frat boy. (See also: Will Ferrell.) After Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and even 2005’s Fun With Dick and Jane remake, Carrey seemed destined for far more grown-up roles; he’d transitioned from the slap-shticky surreal to the unexpectedly real. But Yes Man is nothing more than warmed-over holiday seconds, a repackaged best-of for those who already own the hits. (Citywide) (Robert Wilonsky)