Review: Yes Man

I have been reading motivation books for quite a while besides my usual religious literature. The reason for doing this is because I want to learn how to convey ideas and concepts effectively like what many of these motivational speakers do. Like it or not, we may have an important message, but if the medium is a boring convoluted presentation (i.e. most sermons), nobody is getting fed and bringing anything home with them. It is with such endeavors that I come across the book by Danny Wallace: Yes Man. It is about the real life adventure of the author when he tries to change his life by saying yes to every single proposal. Would you want to the party? Yes! Would you like to try this product? Yes! You get the idea. It is a motivational message presented in a humorous autobiographical style. Inspirational and funny, hence I finished it quickly. I think the book is just ok for what it is trying to say: namely, be open-minded about invitations of life and good things will come your way.

The movie adaptation however is extremely well done, despite the usual over-expressions of Jim Carrey. Many of the silly ideas of the book like wild adventures to Amsterdam (because of a secret message) or the correspondences with a Nigerian scammer were removed. The movie keeps a good pace in telling the audience how the adventure to say yes to everything works out, and I think the romantic subplot with Zooey Deschanel is quirky and sweet. To say that the movie brings out the best of the book is a gross understatement. This script is a good example of what proper editing can do in bringing out the essence of a sermon.