Saying yes to everything is the theme of Carlos and Allison's relationship. That is why their lives are always fun and exciting.
But when the two married and got three kids, everything changed.
Katie, Nando, and Ellie are as adventurous as they were back in the days. However, as parents, they feel like they need to say ‘no’ to protect their innocent little children. They don’t want to be mean; it is their weird way of saying that they love them. It’s called parenting, by the way.
But It turns out the kids are taking the whole ‘no’ thing negatively. In a parent-teacher conference, Katie’s teacher reads her haiku about a prisoner in a birdcage. Whereas Nando’s teacher presented a film montage portraying Allison as a controlling dictator.
Things are quickly going out-of-hand, and they don’t know what to do about it.
So one school employee, who is a father of six, shares his solution – ‘Yes Day’. It means that they will say ‘yes’ to every request their children ask within 24 hours. It is the perfect fix to their problem, one fun day everyone will enjoy. That will show them, right?
The intention of “Yes Day” is clear, and that is responsible parenting. It simply tells the viewers that parents can be fun, but they still need to voice their reason at home. The film encourages the viewers to set rules to keep the children from going overboard. Responsible parenting!
It’s a plus that this film promotes diversity with its casts, and it’s glittered with many heartfelt moments. There are a couple of good lines and memorable scenes, as well. Though, the performances are okay. The kids are alright, Jennifer Garner is always a delight to see, and Edgar RamÃrez will always be likable.
However, even if ‘Yes Day’ has its heart in the right place, it is still far from being a good movie.
This film is the perfect example of a Netflix filler because it exists just to exist and to be forgettable.
Even more so, the plot is messy and predictable, as it tries so hard to follow the tiring family comedy tropes.
It’s also silly and laughable not for the humor and jokes, but for the realism. This film will leave everyone scratching their heads with the absurdity of some scenes. Like, who would ever convince a hundred people to play Kablowey?
Furthermore, there is no consequence for every terrible decision and violation the characters made. It sometimes feels like this is a movie about entitled kids doing privileged kinds of stuff, unsupervised.
In essence, “Yes Day” has good intentions, but it is not reasonable enough. It strives to be a fun and reckless comedy film, completely sidelining its identity as a sweet and sincere drama.
In all fairness, this film is watchable and fun. It is just not that memorable and effective as expected.
1.5/5
