Yes Day is a good reminder that not every kids movie has to be Pixar level allegorical tales studying the depths of human emotion. Sometimes its fun to just let kids..be kids and have fun! Yes Day gives us that surface level popcorn fun, and giving kids some ideas for when they propose their own yes days to their parents. A 90 minute sugary movie about kid fantasies? Sounds like a perfect family movie night to me.
Allison (Jennifer Garner) and Carlos (Edgar Ramirez) Torres used to be yes people, excited by every new experience, locale, or food put in front of them. But, parenthood caused a shift from yes’s to no’s for the safety of their 3 kids Katie (Jenna Ortega), Nando (Julian Lerner), and Ellie (Everly Carganilla). After a fraught parent teacher conference shining a light on their dictatorial tendencies, Allison and Carlos agree to give their kids a “Yes Day” during which they can ask for whatever they want and their parents have to say yes, with some basic safety and cost rules in mind.
Yes Day is written from the point of view of an 8 year old. So all the gags, set pieces, and such are a kids version of what a perfect day would be. The movie smartly bounces around from one locale to another, never spending more than 15 minutes at one Yes Day location. Each colorful set piece covers those pieces of childhood that every kid will find something to enjoy: ice cream mountains, kool aid water balloons, roller coasters, concerts, and unsupervised science experiment parties. That last one in particular is perfect for a family film, basically seeing how kids would destroy a house with the crazy ideas that come into their heads when unsupervised. Jennifer Garner channels that 13 Going On 30 energy here, as the parent most excited to rediscover her youthful exuberance, and adapting quite well to it. Yes Day isn’t a deep film about a family in crisis, it’s just about a family learning to have fun with each other. Citizen Kane this movie is not: character development is pointless and surface level, and all of the conflict resolution is ridiculous, I get it. Every now and then though, an interesting idea is thrown in. For kids, they might learn a lesson or two about why their parents say no, and how parents share responsibilities with each other. The best emotional scene in the movie is between Allison and Carlos about who has to say no to the kids and how that makes them feel. See kids? Your parents are only 95% uncool, not totally uncool.
In and out in 90 minutes, having fun along the way? Movies like Yes Day are not in need of critical analysis. It’s ok for a movie to be all surface level glitz and glam if it executes it well, and for the most part, Yes Day does. But hey, for the critics/adults out there, you can laugh at Yes Day’s idea of Bonnaroo, and why the movie thinks concerts are so scary. There’s an essay in there somewhere.