Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel Talk About 'Yes Man'

Jim Carrey returns to comedy with a starring role in Yes Man, a movie in which his character is unable to say no (hence the film's title). After taking on a few dramas, Carrey was ready to get back to being funny. "I like doing everything," said Carrey at the press conference for the Warner Bros Picture comedy. "I love it all, so it's just being creative. I just like being creative, whatever way I have to do it. And I just want to tell stories, so it's really the storytelling aspect that's great. But it's always fun. It's always fun to do something that ultimately it's not the money, it's certainly not the fame because it's a pain in the ass, but it's really the person in the seat you think about. When you sit in the rooms and write, and you do all the things you have to do, it really comes down to thinking about someone sitting in a seat laughing. And that's it. When you do a movie like this, it's really that that gets me off, the idea of people actually laughing and maybe having something to think about when they leave the theater. "

With the current depressed state of the U.S. economy, audiences are looking to laugh. Comedies are outperforming dramas at the box office, and Carrey thinks this film will help moviegoers forget about everything going on outside of the theater. "This is what comedy's about. To laugh at the pain, laugh at the confusion, whatever, I mean, you need it. Comedy's always welcome, but especially in times like this. It's like, what else do you want to do? You want to have some positive happen in your life. I think this is it. This is the answer to everything," joked Carrey. "Yes Man is the answer."

In Yes Man Carrey demonstrates he's not afraid to take part in physical comedy in order to make audiences laugh. Carrey even goes as far as to bungee jump off a bridge, a stunt he actually did in front of a group of journalists invited to the set to witness the spectacle. Asked what he was thinking as he was leaping off that bridge, Carrey answered, "Death. Lots of death. You know, thoughts of crossing over were actually going through my mind. It was very strange. It was like, 'Well they do this all the time. This is no big, they got this down, it's no problem.' And then I got to the bridge and that was intense enough. I went, 'Oh my god, what have I done? What am I doing here?'"

"But when I got my feet up on the ledge, it literally was like a freight train going through my veins, through my entire body, the whole time until I jumped and everything. It was insane. It was insane. It was unbelievable. And I actually had post traumatic stress after it," laughed Carrey. "For about a week after, I dreamt of hitting the ground, all those things. It was amazing. So those people that do that all the time, they are addicted to some kind of adrenaline rush like you would not believe. They just do not stop."

But don't look for Carrey to repeat the stunt ever again. "I did that, cross it off the list," joked Carrey. "They didn't want me to do it at all and I said, 'Well I'm going to do it once in my life, so you might as well get it on camera.'"

A lot of Carrey's previous movies have positive messages, and Carrey hopes audiences will walk away from Yes Man in a positive frame of mind. "Mostly just to have a good laugh and to feel good in their heart," said Carrey about the goal of Yes Man. "I think it's not only a funny movie, but I think you really believe the love story and the friendships and so I think there's a lot to walk away with. But I guess the only thing is if there is a message, it's just engage in life. You know, say yes more than you do no, maybe a little bit more than you did before, and life kind of turns out all right. Usually you regret the things you say no to."

Asked if he considers himself more of a yes man or a no man, Carrey laughed and replied, "I would say yes, even when I say no because sometimes saying no is saying yes to your own self worth. Do you know what I'm saying? No, I like to enjoy life. I like to engage in life, so I would say I'm a yes man. I said yes to so many things, from a sex change to gastric bypass surgery. So, it's always paid off for me. I've kept the weight off. I have. I work hard at it."

But both Carrey and his co-star Zooey Deschanel admit they've said 'yes' to questions that should have received 'no' replies. "Sea Cadets," said Carrey when asked to reveal a decision he regretted. "I was like 11 years old, I joined Sea Cadets, which is like a military version of boy scouts. They shave your head and they humiliate you, and they yell at you and they parade you around in front of the rest of the people, you know, in the town and stuff. You parade around in a uniform. But you know what? If I hadn't of done that, I wouldn't know that I'm a useless maggot. So I'm glad. So yes always leads to something good."

"I accidentally entered a youth pageant when I was 14. That's like a beauty pageant, but without the beauty," laughed Deschanel. "It was terrible. I thought it was a talent show - my choir teacher led me on."