Is saying, “no” to a child such a bad thing? I can already feel the “participation trophy” crowd getting worked up. And yet, I find wisdom in the sentiment. After all, if saying “yes” too often to a child gets you Donald Trump, doesn’t saying “no” too often to a child get you the kind of person who champions Donald Trump? Both are bad, real bad. So today’s film is about and dedicated to parents who decided to say “yes” for an entire day and lived to face the consequences.
I can now feel your predatory child salivating.
Alison and Carlos (Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramírez) are supposed to be average parents … and they are for the most part. They tell their children “no” A LOT. Hey, what parent doesn’t? Although the opening montage of “NO” didn’t quite hit as close to home as the producers suspected: This is the 21st century; don’t go complaining about a child reaching for a socket; if you don’t childproof your home, that’s just bad parenting. Still, I can see the perspective of these parents – they used to be “fun,” now they are the fun police. Here, it’s all in the name of protection, of course, but that isn’t always why a parent will reject an idea. Either way, the kids are frustrated. “Aw, mom, you never let us blow up stuff.” Clearly, the fun police have to be defunded.
I’m pretty sure the kids in the film (Jenna Ortega, Julian Lerner, Everly Carganilla) are simply the same trio from Instant Family instructed to be less Cinemax and more Disney. The mildly Hispanic trio is getting awfully tired of the “no” routine. As the audience, we’re at a loss. We do feel for the kids, but, you know, it really isn’t a good idea for fourteen-year-old Katie (Ortega) to go to a H.E.R. concert unsupervised.
So after listening to completely unsolicited advice from an eavesdropping stranger (and if you think that sounds bad, the scene makes no bones that is exactly what’s going on), Alison and Carlos do what any spineless adult would do when confronted with ludicrous advice from an untrustworthy source: make him the 45th President, er, give the kids a “Yes Day,” an entire day in which the parents cannot say “no” to the kids.
I suppose this is what we’ve been waiting for. The main question in my mind is: do you suppose the fantasies espoused by the film were written by adults or children? Does kool-aid-water-balloon-capture-the-flag team war in 
the park sound like something a kid would want or something an adult thinks a kid would want? I suppose it matters not one Lego brick who ideated the idiocy so long as your kids will be agog. And I think they will be. The kids in this film have (only) five major asks of their parents, but it’s really more of a “Yes Week” given how much gets accomplished in the surprisingly enduring daylight. I daresay if you gave your own kids a month to plan their own “Yes Day,” they’d come up with more than five requests.
Yes Day surprised me … mildly. I know full well that Jennifer Garner is currently attempting to be every type of parent in every type of film now, which –in turn- means that I may have to see her go through at least a dozen more job interviews on film before she accepts different roles. The script is trite and the story is predictable, however, I really wished to see this family having fun, which they do. I feel like this film only falters when Alison, the bad fun cop, has to lay down the fun law. Then the film isn’t fun at all, just trite. Overall, I think young children will enjoy this one. Their parents … Less Day.
Here’s an idea many ‘rents won’t adore
A day where you show “No” the door
Bite your tongue and play fair
Give your worries no care
Surely your kids will find “Yes” is more
Rated PG, 86 Minutes
Director: Miguel Arleta
Writer: Justin Malen
Genre: Child fantasy
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Children who push envelopes, nerves
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Helicopter parents
