"Yes Day" Film Review

"Yes Day" Film Review

Rating: 3/5

By: Nathaniel Simpson

       It's always entertaining to watch the actors have fun making a film, and it's clearly evident in the new family film "Yes Day". We meet Allison Torres (Jennifer Garner) who says "yes" to everything, no matter what. Then she meets Carlos (Edgar Ramirez), who is her perfect match that she could always say "yes" with. Her and Carlos did everything together, from everyday life to crazy adventures. However, that all changes when they have kids. 

    After having three kids, everything she would usually say "yes" to turned to "no", which is evident in a whole montage at the beginning of the film of Allison saying "no" repeatedly. Because of this, it strains their relationship with their children, especially 14 year old Katie (Jenna Ortega). So, following the advice of the school counselor, they decide to throw the kids a "Yes Day", where they must say yes to every request with only a couple of ground rules. 

    This leads the family on wacky adventures all over town, including going through the car wash with the windows down and a huge game of Kablowey, a cross between Capture the Flag and Paint Ball with Kool-Aid filled water balloons. 

    This film is an excellent film for the whole family to watch together. It's very light hearted, and a cute film with positive messages for both kids and parents. There are tons of fun, hilarious moments that both adults and children will enjoy.

    The most fun part of watching this film was seeing how much fun Garner had with this role. You can see in her eyes and actions how much fun she's having, and you wish you can see her in these type of roles all the time. Ortega and Garner also portray the strained relationship between mother and daughter very well, and it makes you overjoyed seeing their reconciliation at the end of the film. 

    This is the second collaboration between director Miguel Arteta and Garner, following their successful "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". Even though both films are family comedies, this one seems to lack the heart and vigor as their previous work. This film has a more basic plot, with less memorable and charming characters. It relies more on the shock factor than the storyline, and follows the basic format of family comedies. 

    This film is a joy to watch, and keeps you entertained throughout its hour and a half runtime. This film can help parents and kids relate to each other more, and bond over this feel-good comedy. Maybe this film will inspire more parents to say "yes" to their kids from now on, or perhaps give them more of a reason to say no!