A New Jennifer Garner Movie Is About To Hit Netflix
Jennifer Garner is trading in the spy game roles for more family-friendly fare. Her next movie on Netflix does push a few boundaries though
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Jennifer Garner used to play one of the great spies of a television generation, taking down government conspiracies and holding her own with the most manipulative and evil people in the television world. Now, she’s playing a mom who’s long ago lost the fun in her life. But Yes Day poses a plot that basically every kid in the world would like to see played out in their household at some point. Namely, they are able to make any rule they want for the entire day and the parents need to say yes.
Jennifer Garner could very well become a total hero for a generation of kids with her next movie. No, she doesn’t play a comic book character or action hero. That would be easy. Instead, she is playing just an average mom who lets her kids do whatever they want for an entire day. This is the kind of thing where heroes are made. They aren’t made stopping bullets or saving the universe. No, if you are a parent that lets your kid make all the rules then you are going to end up on kids’ Mount Rushmore. Such is the case with Yes Day which is set to hit Netflix next month. Here, check out the trailer:
Yes Day is based on the book of the same name by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. The concept is simple: for 24 hours the kids in the family make all of the rules and the parents have no choice but to comply with everything. Before you think this turns into an anarchistic free fall that devolves into a Purge-like downward spiral, know that it’s just a family comedy. Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramirez are the parents who make this borderline insane choice and let the kids run amok for the day.
The film looks like it follows your typical family comedy arc, things are boring, there’s some conflict, they rewrite the rules, there’s some fun, there’s some more conflict and in the end, everyone learned something. This isn’t a knock necessarily, flicks like this typically make for a good family movie night, they are just often predictable. And for an older generation, it will be interesting to see Jennifer Garner now the mom in charge of three kids as opposed to some of her younger, more butt-kicking roles.
Yes Day is based on a children’s book but really in concept only. The book is a tame affair with the main character’s rules basically revolving around standard kids’ stuff that might get a “No” on your average weekday. That includes things like grabbing ice cream, getting a piggyback ride, and staying up late. Jennifer Garner and her crew take it to a totally different level. What starts fairly vanilla escalates over the course of the day until the dad has to essentially use his family safe word and bow out.
For Jennifer Garner, she did return to an action role in 2018’s Peppermint about a mother taking revenge vigilante-style for the murder of her family. The flick was poorly received, scoring a measly 12% on Rotten Tomatoes with critics panning everything from the plot to the performances. Since then, she’s been a bit more family-focused with Lena Dunham’s Camping on HBO and then the voice of the Mama on Netflix’s Llama, Llama which is also based on a popular children’s book.
Next up for Jennifer Garner is the much-anticipated science fiction film The Adam Project. The film has a star-studded cast in a movie about a man who travels back in time to protect his younger self from an abusive father. It stars Ryan Reynolds in the titular role and, along with Garner, also has Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo, and Catherine Keener. It’s a little unclear what the tone of the film will be though that it’s directed by Shaun Levy (Night at the Museum, Date Night, and the upcoming Free Guy) gives the impression this will be a little more comedy than sci-fi.
As for now, Jennifer Garner and Yes Day will hit Netflix on March 21st. From the looks of it, we will get a movie the family can enjoy even if it might give the kids insane ideas around what is possible when parents are willing to take down the rules for 24 hours and give an anything-goes environment a try. On second thought, maybe we shouldn’t make this a family movie night.
