I killed a cow with a bazooka... I'm not proud of that last one.

Yes Man

(2008)

Zooey Deschanel is so lovely. I would like to take care of her, as Neil's father in The Young Ones would say. This is much better than I expected, mostly down to lovely kooky Zooey and the directorial nous of Peyton Reed who's that rare thing; a comedy director who knows how to direct comedy, rather than some guy who fell into it because they were mates with the star.

Jim Carrey's beginning to show his age but, as a fan of Ace Ventura, I think he's still funny if his material is up to the challenge. Here, it's 50-50. The first two-thirds of Yes Man generally work well - although it's one of those Carrey films where Carrey plays a character who becomes Jim Carrey, which -of course - changes his life.

There are great supporting turns from Rhys Darby (Murray in Flight of the Conchords), who steals every scene effortlessly from Carrey, and the great Terence Stamp, who sets Jim off on his journey. Luis Guzman also gets a cameo as “Jumper (attempting suicide)”. It's interesting how being mistaken for a terrorist plane hijacker by inept authorities appears to have become a comedy staple.

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How would Horatio Alger have handled this situation?

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Now In Full Color, with a Happier Ending

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