Friday, June 18, 2010

Yes Man


Yes Man, the film, isn't an adaptation of the memoir by Danny Wallace. It was merely inspired by it. Of course, I mentioned earlier, how I didn't know that when I put off the movie to read the book instead. I didn't learn the truth until after I picked up a copy of the book and read "The Book That Inspired The Movie" on its cover. I asked a friend who watched it whether or not Jim Carry's character was British and was named Danny. My friend said, "No, he's American." Great. 

Still, I put off watching the film until I finished reading Wallace's memoir - who, by the way, has a tiny bit (according to IMDB) part in the movie, playing a guy with no lines at a bar - if you squint carefully, you can just make him out as Danny Masterson is whisked away by an elderly lady. 

So how do I treat the film? This blog is about books and films that were adapted from books. Clearly, Jim Carrey's Carl Allen is nothing like Danny Wallace - well, in the sense that he isn't British or works in television; Carl's a banker who works with a guy named Norm who is possibly the closest thing to a Brit the film has (excluding the guest, wordless cameo of Wallace, of course). And Zooey Deschanel isn't a Lizzie character, either - her name in the film is Allison who is a band called Munchausen by Proxy

The film isn't as inspiring as the memoir, but I wasn't expecting it to be. Nor is as realistic - sure there were times in the memoir where I scratched my head and wondered if Wallace was pulling me along for a ride, but at least I could believe the things that happened. Had he written how he saved a man from jumping off a building by singing Third Eye Blind's Jumper, I may not have been so receptive of his tale. 

Nevertheless, Yes Man is still a great film, one that should definitely be watched (even though a review for it is a tad late, so sue me). But do do yourself a favor and read the book, as well. You won't regret it. 


No comments:

Post a Comment