Netflix’s Yes Day Review: Saying Yes!

Yes Day is a family comedy movie directed by Miguel Arteta and starring Jennifer Garner, Edgar Ramírez, Jenna Ortega, Julian Lerner and Everly Carganilla, alongside other cast members.

When your sole responsibility is keeping a human being safe from the horrors that await them in this dangerous world, it’s only fair that you say no more than yes. It’s unfortunate that kids learn the hard way that what their parents don’t let them do is actually for their own good, but hey, that’s life. That’s the dilemma that Allison faces in Yes Day.

Allison is a cool mom – she was fun and adventurous before she had kids, but ofcourse, she had to dial it down once she became a mom of three. Keeping three kids safe, one a teenager at that, isn’t an easy task. Because let’s face it, kids before the age of 13 have different tantrums and face very different threats than those beyond that age. When Allison and her husband Carlos realise that their kids don’t really appreciate all the “negativity”, they agree to have a “yes day”, a day where the parents have to say yes to everything that the kids want.

Of course, there are ground rules. You can’t do anything illegal, murder people, or want something in the future, among others, and the day starts off fun and engaging with the whole family bonding together. However, we obviously know what can happen if you let three kids run wild and how much destruction they can cause. Will the family come out a united front or break under the pressure of their decisions?

Yes Day is a family entertainer – the maturity rating on Netflix says 7+ so it’s obviously targeted towards the family crowd. And it actually excels in that sphere – it’s funny and absolutely crazy at some points and the kids come up with some really good ideas about how to spend their yes day. However, the movie also comes out with a lesson – that having free reign when you don’t have the capacity to understand the repercussions of your decisions can be detrimental to your own self and it’ll be too late when you realise it.

For audiences who don’t have kids to have fun with while watching this movie, it might seem like a drag in between. The characters are very one dimensional and aren’t really deep enough for you to be invested in them. The jokes are, well, stripped down to their basics with a boisterous ambulance woman being loud for no reason and Garner fighting with another woman over a teddy bear. There’s also a scene where Allison’s youngest, Ellie, twerks and the whole family joins her. It’s cute and disturbing at the same time.

However, Yes Day still manages to be heartwarming without any intricate plot points. Sure, it’s a very simple movie that’s only supposed to be entertaining for the right audience, but it does make some good points when it comes to giving kids freedom and what it takes to be a mom. I think it also gives some good life-advice at times even though it’s mostly about what’s the craziest thing they can do today.

Jennifer Garner is absolutely delightful to watch as Allison Torres. She doesn’t want to be the party-pooper all the time but can’t help it – she has to keep her kids alive. Edgar Ramírez as Carlos Torres is great as well, and their chemistry is very nice and easy-going. The three kids, headed by Jenna Ortega as Katie are delightful as well.

I saw Ortega last in You season 2 and it’s always a delight to watch her on-screen. The five of them feel believable and relatable as the Torres family and seem like they had a lot of fun while filming this family entertainer.

Summing up: Yes Day

Yes Day is a through-and-through fun movie that you can watch with your kids. It features some good moments that have crazy antics embedded in them and also features good outcomes and resolutions that will definitely be appreciated by the entire family. However, if you’re looking for an intricate movie with smart punchlines and an out-of-the-ordinary ending, you’re probably at the wrong place with this one.

Yes Day is streaming on Netflix.

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