If you’ve seen “Liar Liar,” you’ve essentially seen “Yes Man.” It’s the same concept: A man’s life is stalled and he doesn’t know what to do. Some force then causes him to begin speaking without restraint, making it so he can’t say no or lie. This eventually gets in the way of the rest of his work and relationships.

I liked “Yes Man” a little bit more than “Liar Liar” mainly because of the on-screen presence of Zooey Deschanel. The downside is Jim Carrey is Jim Carrey. He’s playing the same role he’s played in almost every comedy he’s ever been in. If you like Carrey then you’ll have no qualms about “Yes Man.”

Parts of “Yes Man” are incredibly funny. There is one scene involving two LDS missionaries that will probably be more funny to Utahns and LDS church members than anyone else. But, for the most part, “Yes Man” is boring. In the first 20 minutes there is no life to be found in Carrey’s or anyone else’s character. It isn’t until Deschanel shows up that the film picks up the pace. Even then, after she’s been on screen for the rest of the film, she starts to lose some of her charm.

That may be attributed the relationship between Carrey, who’s 46, and Deschanel, who’s 28 — which is unbelievable. They’re both quirky actors: Carrey is able to be visually funny and entertaining while Deschanel is adorable and witty. Still, I couldn’t feel any true chemistry between the actors and I don’t think that has anything to do with Deschanel and everything to do with Carrey.

“Yes Man” is based on the book by Danny Wallace. It was adapted as a screenplay by Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel and Nicholas Stoller. I’m a fan of Stoller, who directed “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” but I’m confused on why he wanted to contribute to this film. I believe he initially wrote the screenplay and Paul and Mogel were brought in to make rewrites. I wonder if Stoller had sole control over the words of the movie if it would’ve been a lot better.

In “Yes Man,” Carl Allen (Carrey) never does anything. He works a meaningless job as a loan officer in a lending office, and since he says no to just about everything, no one gets approved for any loans. He lies to get out of doing something his best friend Peter (Bradley Cooper) wants him to do and finds excuses to leave a bar when his ex-wife shows up. When his “Harry Potter”-loving boss Norman (Rhys Darby) wants him to attend any of his movie-themed parties, Carl always has something better to do.

One day while eating lunch in front of the loan office, he spots Nick (John Michael Higgins), an old friend. Nick is a follower of Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp) who encourages people to always say yes and never say no. Carl decides to give it a try. When Terrence supposedly puts a curse on him to say yes for an entire year, Carl actually believes him. He starts saying yes to everything, including driving a homeless man to a park and giving him all the cash he has then running out of gas. After walking to a gas station to get his car going again, he meets Allison (Deschanel), who finds him oddly engaging.

They meet again when Carl unknowingly goes to one of her band’s shows. The two hit it off and he agrees to go to her early-morning jogging/photography class. As their relationship blooms, Allison is intrigued by his eagerness to try and do anything. His friends like the fact that he won’t say no to anything and use it to their advantage. After trying to return to California from a whirlwind weekend getaway to Lincoln, Neb., the couple is stopped because the FBI believes Carl is plotting something against the United States with everything he’s been purchasing and doing. Allison catches on that he’s just following some self-help guru and wonders if he really loves her or is just saying yes to everything. This causes Carl to re-evaluate his decision to always say yes.

“Yes Man” is a little entertaining and kind of funny. But, it’s the same old song and dance from Carrey. So, if you liked “Liar Liar” you’ll probably be entertained by “Yes Man.” Otherwise, say “no man.”

Missy Thompson: missy@tooeletranscript.com