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Yes! No. Maybe? - the YES MAN adaptation

lapis molari

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"Yes Man" (2008) has three layers:
- A life-lesson on opening yourself up to opportunities. Say "yes" to them instead of "no" all the time. A simple but solid concept.
- That's packaged inside a romantic comedy. Endearing; predictable but enjoyable.
- Which is filled with the (physical) comedy that Jim Carrey is famous for. This hijacks an otherwise decent movie.

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Solution: Remove much of the comedy (including most silly faces). Trim caricatures (the ledge jumper, most of Danny Masterson's character, part of the bank's vice-president). Reduce juvenile humor (cut the false teeth). Reduce product placement. Add blu-ray bonus material of Zooey Deschanel's character opening herself up to new opportunities. After all, this lesson isn't just for one person, it's for both people in a relationship. The result is a romantic comedy with a serious heart, not adolescent humor, at its core.

I thought this would become a short story. To my surprise, the story is better developed than I thought: cutting only 13 minutes of Carrey's distracting antics and tedium, I arrived at a pretty decent movie. So this fanedit will not go the rigorous route of a short story, instead it's a straightforward nip-and-tuck to get to a 93 minute runtime (that includes adding about 2 minutes from the blu-ray's bonus materials).

Small detail on the blu-ray: there are 2 editions in the US. The "special edition" lists deleted scenes. The regular edition doesn't list them but does have them. So if you want the deleted scenes, any US blu-ray will do.
 
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A basic cover, fitting a basic edit.
The background image is a screenshot from the closing credits.

Trivia: The flashy part of the closing credits feels similar to later Marvel movies, though it predates them. Peyton Reed directed both Yes Man and the Ant Man movies. Coincidence?
Trivia: David Heyman produced both Yes Man and the Harry Potter movies. Is that why Carl's boss throws a Harry Potter party?

Yes No Maybe - the Yes Man adaptation v2.jpg
 
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It seems to be a really good way to improve this movie, I remember that I kind of liked it at the time, much to my surprise.
 
A basic cover, fitting a basic edit.
The background image is a screenshot from the closing credits.

Trivia: The flashy part of the closing credits feels similar to later Marvel movies, though it predates them. Peyton Reed directed both Yes Man and the Ant Man movies. Coincidence?
Trivia: David Heyman produced both Yes Man and the Harry Potter movies. Is that why Carl's boss throws a Harry Potter party?

View attachment 5935

That cover is superb!
 
Thanks, @Masirimso17 ! It's quite different from most of my covers: a plain composition with fewer elements and very popping colors.

It was important to me to include both leads on the cover. I found some clean/simple publicity photos and the rest came together quite automatically from there. Turning the title 90 degree was the logical choice because of the proportion of the dvd cover and the photo of the actors (I didn't want to shrink their image).
 
Clip comparison!

Early in the film, Carrey wants to leave the bar when he sees his ex-wife.

The fanedit (23 seconds) cuts 3 shots from this scene:
- Caricature: remove Rooney joking at the expense of his friend. Danny Masterson seems cast to re-play "Hyde" from "That 70s Show" but without the heart of gold that balanced his harsh humor.
- Juvenile wordplay: remove "I'm gone-a-rea". That was borderline funny when I was 13. Not fit for a romantic comedy!
- Physical comedy: remove Jim Carrey falling down in a Buster Keaton over-the-top way. Great for an SNL sketch, not for this fanedit.

The original (40 seconds) retains those 3 shots.
 
I watched what I thought was my final draft all the way through. It didn't flow! The last third still dragged.
Solution: I cut an extra 3 minutes from the second half of the movie, plus I shaved off 3 more minutes by doubling the scroll speed during the end credits. They were slooow.
 
I reduced the Red Bull product placement. I had thought to cut it, but without the Red Bull explanation Carl appears drunk.
So, the product placement is now trimmed:

- 7 cans of Red Bull are shown in the original, but only 1 in the edit (stuck under Carl's shoe).
- It is mentioned 15 times in the original, but only 6 times in the edit (off-screen mention is dubbed out, several on-screen are cut).

one Red Bull can.jpg
 
To improve the flow and keep story development tighter, I cut the (attempted) ledge-jumper. So I also had to cut the reference to it in a later scene at the airport where Carl bumps into his ex-wife.

Easy change: cut a shot and mute one line from the ex-wife.
Happy bonus: it creates an appropriately awkward silence after the boyfriend's brag about his dad's wealth.

 
This looks great! I really liked this movie when I first saw it. I was gifted it one year along with a few other Carrey classics. I remember thinking the deleted scenes would really drag the movie down, pacing wise. But from what I'm seeing in your edits you really improved the pacing overall! I haven't watched this movie in probably 10 years, but I'm very interested in seeing your edit!
 
Another clip comparison!

Carl's friends get him drunk, and he gets into a (one-sided) bar fight. Here's the edited version, still funny but snappy:

Here's the original, differently funny and not snappy. Both of which distracts from the main drive of the movie:
 
I replaced the Eels' "The Good Old Days", with Allison and her band singing "Yes Man". Replaced the shot of Allison painting outside, with her art gallery exhibition. Added the stage performance of "Yes Man" from deleted scenes.

 
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