Yes Man **May Contain Spoilers**

"
That Deschanel and Rhys Darby (Murray from Flight of the Conchords) are so spot-on for their parts makes Carrey’s performance stick out even more than normal. They’re channeling a quirky indie comedy while he’s drawing from a 1996 slapstick studio film."


Yay! for Rhys...

More here:

[size=100:o8uh506o]Rhys Darby, for instance, from HBO's brilliant Flight of the Conchords, plays Carl's boss, a pathetic sort who hosts social black-hole events like Harry Potter-themed costume parties.

[size=100:o8uh506o]On the one hand, Yes Man has the affable Rhys Darby from The Flight of the Conchords as Carl's überdweeb supervisor.

[size=100:o8uh506o]Carrey delivers a few laughs but is mostly restrained and comic relief from the supporting cast relies solely on Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords). All in all, Yes Man is more of an “I guess so” or a “Maybe.”

[size=100:o8uh506o]Zooey Deschanel, cast as the free-spirited romantic interest, Renee, isn't quite Carrey's equal but carries more than her own weight. She sings a couple oddball "
Flight of the Conchords"
-like songs that give the audience a breather from Carrey's silliness. Deschanel is a joy to behold until her character gets into the obligatory third-act misunderstanding with Carl, setting up a happy reunion at the end.

hellomyfriend wrote:I'm so happy for Rhys!!!! " title="" border="0"/>

[size=133:jdxjj25b]Review: 'Yes Man'
By Colin Covert
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
Thursday, December 18, 2008
[size=100:jdxjj25b]
Here's a performing challenge: Imagine being cast opposite Jim Carrey and being told that you're the oddball in the relationship. That daunting task falls to two costars in Carrey's knockabout romantic comedy "
Yes Man,"
and both times the actors make it work.

"
Yes Man"
is a sort of New Age "
Christmas Carol."
Carrey stars as Carl, a grumpy bank employee who has pulled into his shell after a failed marriage. He lounges in front of the TV rather than joining his pals at the bar, refuses to re-enter the dating pool, and rebuffs friendly advances from his clueless supervisor Norm (scene-stealing Rhys Darby of HBO's "
Flight of the Conchords"
).

Carl's only pleasure in life comes in rejecting loan applications. He's a one-man black hole of bored, listless negativity, crushing all ambition and imagination that enter his gravitational field.

Realizing that he's losing touch with everything, Carl follows a friend's advice and attends a self-actualization seminar whose guru (Terrence Stamp) extracts a promise. Carl swears an oath to say "
yes"
to whatever prospect life places in his path. Take every chance, grab every opportunity, no matter how absurd.

It's not a formula for instant happiness. A night of agreeing to buy every round at a bar leaves Carl broke, hung over and battered from an alley brawl. But saying "
no"
means paralysis, and Carl gradually discovers exciting new possibilities opening for him.

A thankless errand introduces him to a pixieish rocker (Zooey Deschanel) who might be the girl of his dreams. Approving every cockeyed loan request that crosses his desk wins him the attention of the bank bosses. He's living life. But the obligation to say yes to competing requests snowballs to the point that Carl risks losing everything he has gained.

Carrey dials down his Roman-candle goofiness here. Grimaces, pratfalls and butt shots notwithstanding, this is by his standards a restrained performance, and it gives the film a nice balance. When Carrey does a one-man show, you can come away feeling pummeled. "
Yes Man"
gives Darby and Deschanel full-fledged supporting roles, and they help carry the film along quite capably.

Darby's Norm is excruciatingly funny, responding to every rebuff by Carl like a Whack-A-Mole target, energetically popping up again and again. He invites Carl to costume parties that are bad beyond description and tries to pull him into awkward man-hugs.

Norm would be mortified if he realized how pathologically clumsy his overtures are, but Darby turns awkward social discomfort into genuine empathy. He makes us feel protective of Norm even as we cringe. Carl's dawning realization that this insufferable coworker is actually rather sweet is akin to Scrooge's slow warming to the downtrodden Bob Cratchits of the world.

Playing Carrey's love interest, the fetching Deschanel has the most challenging role: She has to be quirkier than Mr. Hyperactivity himself. As the singer in a pretentious art-rock band she gets an opportunity to show off her marvelous voice.

And she balances against her formidable costar with the same droll understatement she used when serving as Will Ferrell's foil in "
Elf."
Deschanel's pollywog eyes were made to express skepticism and unspoken reservations.

There are flat performances in the film (John Michael Higgins is unpersuasive as Carl's reprobate friend), and false situations and bad lines, but the laughs are there and the message about personal transformation is timeless. Worth seeing? Yes.

[size=100:ly3k8djc]... Carrey is back to elastic-faced form and zany physical humor. But his efforts feel more manic than comical. His co-stars pick up the slack. Rhys Darby (Murray on HBO's Flight of the Conchords) is weirdly funny as Carl's boss. ...

[size=100:ly3k8djc]… Soon he's agreeing to everything, and finding love (with cute musician Allison, played by Zooey Deschanel), new friends (his dorky manager Norman, played by the wonderful Rhys Darby of "
Flight of the Conchords"
) and a new awareness of how life is supposed to be. …

… And Darby, whose glad-handing Norman hosts his Harry Potter theme party in a red Ron Weasley wig, steals every scene he's in. Thrilled that Carl has called him "
Norm,"
he chirps excitedly, "
Could that be, like, my nickname?"
…

thedistantfuture wrote:Jess - You win at life. Seriously. :-* :-* :-*

& I want to hug Rhysie :-*
His laugh in the second video is too great.

gezyka wrote:

thedistantfuture wrote:Jess - You win at life. Seriously. :-* :-* :-*

& I want to hug Rhysie :-*
His laugh in the second video is too great.

haha, thanks! It's been really easy finding his stuff lately. Looks like Rhys is about to supernova!

And yes....that laugh is so adorable!! :-*

chickenkarma wrote:adorable adorable rhys...

When will I be able to hug you? (possibly never, dunno if I have the guts to ask)

luvsluvsluvs

[size=133:s4nwd1cn]Yes Man
[size=100:s4nwd1cn]It’s a Maybe
By Martin Malloy (Dec 19, 2008 )

[size=100:s4nwd1cn]Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Following a career that appeared to be in the dumps, Jim Carrey is back. Say what you will about him, but he’s an authentically funny guy when given the right circumstances -- and his dramatic work isn’t too shabby either. So it’s no surprise that he decided to start his comeback in a big budget comedy (Bruce Almighty was his highest grossing film of all time) despite dramatic roles in 2004’s fantastic Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Truman Show. Fortunately, Yes Man is an enjoyable film and, while it may not be his best, it reminds us of why he was once on top.

Yes Man follows Carl Allen, a loan officer, who, due to a divorce, has shut off the world around him. He ignores calls from his friends and is constantly making up excuses for events. That is until he runs into his old friend Nick (John Michael Higgins) who tells him about a seminar that will open him up to the world’s possibilities. Following the seminar by “Yes” guru Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp), Carl decides to start living his life by saying “yes” to everything, believing that those paths will eventually lead him to something good. Sure enough on his first night as a "
yes man"
he meets Alison (Zooey Deschanel).

The basic plot sounds very generic, and it is, but it's the performances that make this film worth watching. It may also sound similar to Carrey’s own, previous film Liar, Liar, but they’re only similar on paper and Yes Man has the edge. Also, despite the blatant age difference between Carrey and Deschanel, they actually have good chemistry. Deschanel may seem like an odd casting choice for Carrey’s love interest, but this film hinges on the fringe characters. Many may not know who Rhys Darby is, but he's definitely the funniest, next to Carrey. Known mainly as Murray on Flight of the Conchords, this is his first real exposure to a wide audience. He plays Norman, Carl's boss, who is the classic 'nerd trying to be the main character's friend'.

It also doesn't hurt that the first draft of the script was written by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Judd Apatow collaborator) so the slapstick is coupled well with true heart. In Yes Man there’s enough breathing room for Carrey to be classic Jim Carrey but still illustrate his skills as a serious actor.

thedistantfuture wrote:I just saw it & Rhys totally stole the show! He is too adorable in it :-*

thedistantfuture wrote: " title="" border="0"/>! I was squeeing every time Rhys was in a scene...there's this one scene at the end where (well,I don't want to spoil it) but something about his pants. It made me laugh so much. And agree. " title="" border="0"/> You'll know what I'm talking about once you see it ;
)

gezyka wrote:

thedistantfuture wrote: " title="" border="0"/>! I was squeeing every time Rhys was in a scene...there's this one scene at the end where (well,I don't want to spoil it) but something about his pants. It made me laugh so much. And agree. " title="" border="0"/> You'll know what I'm talking about once you see it ;
)

YES!!!

He was fantastic. I only wish there were more scenes with him!! Evidently, someone behind us whispered to their friend, "
That guy is from Flight of the Conchords! I've seen them on youtube!"
I think I missed it because I was so focused on Rhys.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE BOAT THAT ROCKED!!! " title="" border="0"/> " title="" border="0"/> " title="" border="0"/>

ADD: Because I'm a nerd, I was so excited seeing his name in the credits at the end. " title="" border="0"/>