As several people have pointed out over the past few years, the loneliness epidemic is steadily worsening worldwide. Reportedly, one in six people experiences feelings of isolation and loneliness, and while there are a lot of factors that contribute to this, suffice it to say, there are a lot of people who are going through some difficult times. That makes it all the more surprising that, of all things, a Jim Carrey comedy has become a comfort watch for many people. That’s thanks to its uplifting message about embracing new experiences and how those changes can improve both your own life and the lives of those around you. That movie is 2008’s Yes Man.
Carl (Carrey) is experiencing a malaise in his life. He’s divorced, actively avoids hanging out with his best friend, Pete (Bradley Cooper), and hates his job as a loan officer. Closed off from the world, he spends most of his time at home watching movies he rented from Blockbuster Video. Despite how great that last part sounds, he is seemingly in a depressive state. Things start to improve when he goes to a Yes Man seminar, and after being reprimanded by its leader (Terence Stamp), he decides to give it a shot and starts saying yes to anything that’s presented to him. The result is him becoming more open to people around him, enjoying life, and even falling in love.
‘Yes Man’ Teaches the Importance of Empathy
When the movie starts, it’s made clear that, even three years removed, Carl’s closed-off attitude is heavily correlated to his divorce. When he’s attempting to win back his girlfriend, Allison (Zooey Deschanel), he explains, “The Old Carl didn’t think he was enough for anybody. I thought if I said yes to things and got involved with people, then, sooner or later, they’d find out I’m not enough.” Another key moment is during the seminar, when Terrence calls out Carl’s negative personality traits that are ruining his life (with shocking precision). Carl’s only response is quietly admitting, “I have had…some trouble.” The world doesn’t reject Carl; he’s the one rejecting it, which can be common among people experiencing depression, and it paints him as a functioning adult, just one who’s going through a hard time.
After Carl decides to be a Yes Man, his life gradually becomes better. He learns new skills (like playing the guitar and learning Korean), makes friends, and becomes closer to Pete, which starts simply because he makes the effort to try to be around more, and that evolves to actually wanting to spend time with him. He also takes more initiative at work, which leads to promotions at work, and despite previously not even giving his naive but well-meaning and joyful boss, Norm (played by the film’s true star, Rhys Darby), the time of day, they become friends. The underlying arc of his character is that the more he says yes to things, the more empathetic he becomes to others.
He volunteers at a soup kitchen, seems to take pride in doing so, and when he runs into a rude sales associate named Soo-Mi (Vivian Bang), he doesn’t just write her off for being mean. He asks her what’s wrong, and finds out that she’s lonely because she’s always around people getting married, but hasn’t found anyone yet, and his noticing actually helps her feel seen. This pays off later when another person in his life is at a low point, and Carl matches them up together. As Carl is at the beginning of the movie, it’d be hard to believe that he’d help other people with relationship problems—he’s openly dismissive of Pete and Lucy’s (Sasha Alexander) engagement announcement—so showing him having agency to help other people, and even becoming warmer to his ex-wife and her current boyfriend when he randomly runs into them, when he previously tried to avoid them at all costs, does show him becoming more optimistic.
‘Yes Man’s Most Famous Scene Shows Carl’s Growth
The best example of this is probably the film’s most famous moment: the “Jumper” scene, where Carl uses his new skills on the guitar to play Luis Guzman off a ledge with a Third Eye Blind song when he’s contemplating killing himself. It’s a great scene, and it’s always fun when a movie randomly has a musical sequence, but it’s even more endearing when you realize Carl doesn’t do it because he’s forced to. He does it because he chooses to help. While it could be argued that someone in the crowd below the jumper said, “Somebody help him,” it wasn’t phrased as a question or a request. He wasn’t obligated to do it; he chose to help because the police wouldn’t get there in time, and his decision to take the initiativeto help someone in need shows his growth as a character.
That initiative is important because by the time it gets to the third act, the movie makes it clear that saying yes to literally everything is irrational and not sustainable. That’s where the movie’s message comes in, and it’s the very thought-provoking and revolutionary idea that you should say yes to things…but you don’t have to say yes to everything (cue the “Shia LaBeouf clapping” meme). It’s about balancing a desire to live adventurously while making informed decisions. Yes Man is a wonderful comedy that shows what can happen when people show some courage to be open to trying new things, but it’s also just a nice movie to watch if you want to see someone else do it and project onto them. It’san upbeat and surprisingly wholesome movie, and a worthy one to watch if you require a little positive reinforcement.
