Posted by Josh Lipovetsky in Hello! Welcome to FilmInsight!
Although it has some crude and unpleasant jokes, Yes Man definitely has its moments. The movie starts out with the tune of “Separate Ways” by Journey, and we find out that it is Carl Allen’s (Jim Carrey) ring-tone. He immediately silences it, being the anti-social person that he is. Carl doesn’t like to go out, he finds excuses to avoid social meetings, and he rejects any new opportunities that come his way. He lives a lifestyle that is sure to put anyone in a depressed state. The only way to get yourself out of these anti-social habits, is to do something about it. By going to an inspirational seminar, the speaker told him to say “Yes” to every new opportunity that comes his way. Carl takes this literally, and completely removes the word “No” from his vocabulary. What occurs after his change is magical. He begins to change his mindset; from cranky into welcoming, from bitter into kind. The movie is an obvious exaggeration; we obviously shouldn’t say “Yes” to every single option that comes our way. If we did, our lives would become overwhelming, and we would make many stupid decisions. However, there are so many things to do. So many things out there, that are waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, no one else can discover these opportunities for you. It’s on you.
Carl’s change was instant; it seemed to be a result of hypnosis, and an internal need to break out. If you are suffering from unhappiness, or depression, you are suppressing the real you. The real you loves to participate in new activities. It loves to seek opportunities. Most people suppress this internal being to some degree, including myself. Once Carl is hypnotized, he cannot say “No” to anything. As a result, he ventures into new and exciting things like guitar playing, and the journey of learning a new language. These kind of opportunities will always be there for you. Some other examples are sports, martial arts, drawing, painting, graphic design, writing. The list goes on and on. Many can be done from the comfort of your own home, and many can be done outside your home. You can take up these hobbies, wherever you are! That’s the beauty of opportunity. You don’t need to be in a specific place, it’s always there for you.
Finally, and most importantly, Carl makes some drastic long term lifestyle changes, and it goes to show how reaching out to help someone else can transform both of your lives. In Yes Man, Carl helps drive a homeless man to his destination, lets him use his phone, and lends him money. This is a wonderful act of kindness, and leads to an unexpected meeting with a woman. It’s funny how things like that happen in life. You reach out to someone, do something kind, and in turn, something else happens to you. Something that could change your life. Because he helped the homeless man, his car ran out of gas. He had to go to the gas station to manually fill up the gas, and that is where he met Allison (Zooey Deschanel). Had he never helped the homeless man, he would have never met her. Sometimes, we can control what happens to us, and sometimes destiny and fate play their part. Destiny is our ultimate destination, and fate is the little events that are meant to happen along the road. Yes Man is fictional, but many people have had similar things happen to them, because they began to welcome new opportunities, and reach out to help others.
Yes Man is also a hilarious movie, but with many unrealistic sequences. Don’t let the faults in Yes Man steer you away from its ultimate message. The producers/writer knew exactly what message they were aiming for, and Yes Man conveys the message with humor. They set their goal, and inspired. When your intuition tells you that an opportunity may be of benefit, listen! Even if it’s a small benefit. A picture with little detail is better than no picture at all. So build the beautiful picture that is your life, and make it the way you want it. Live how you want to live!
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