A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Educational Value
a little
Kids can learn to empathize with their parents and grasp why parents place limits and rules on their behavior. They can observe that kids and teens must also take responsibility for themselves and their own actions.
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Positive Messages
a lot
Getting to do everything you want isn't always as fun as you might imagine. Family members take care of each other. Parents/caregivers usually have kids' best interests in mind when they set rules or aren't permissive. They'll often go to great lengths for kids' happiness and safety. It's important for kids and teens to be responsible for their choices. Communication is important among spouses and between parents/caregivers and kids. It helps foster empathy and understanding.
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Positive Role Models
a lot
Allison is a strict but dedicated, caring mom. Carlos is caring but has harder time being authority figure at home -- that's his role at work. Teen Katie learns lesson about taking risks that her parents don't think she's ready for. Younger siblings Nando and Ellie find out that having the big party of your dreams can lead to stress, loss of control, destruction. Allison and Carlos say yes to some questionable choices (e.g., rolling windows down at car wash) in interests of Yes Day, but nothing truly dangerous. Torres family is bilingual; they switch comfortably between English and Spanish.
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Violence & Scariness
a little
Fierce water balloon fight/capture-the-flag competition. Carlos suffers indigestion after eating too much ice cream, falls out of a tree, is attacked by birds (sending him to hospital, where he's told he's fine). A woman drives an ambulance haphazardly on the freeway. A kid party gets out of control when foam explodes everywhere. Allison has a knock-down fight with another woman over a toy gorilla. Katie gets lost at a music festival.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
very little
A teen's friend's cousin sets the younger girls up with two older boys. Carlos and Allison kiss on their wedding day and later in jail. Carlos and the kids demonstrate how to twerk.
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Language
very little
"Sucks," "wuss," "peeing," "poopy-pants," "God," "skeegy."
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Products & Purchases
a little
Magic Mountain, Mountain Dew, Annie's, Burning Man, Hometown Buffet, Ford.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
very little
Young people appear drunk or high at a music festival.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Yes Day, based on the book by author Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrator Tom Lichtenheld, is a fun family comedy with both improbable plot twists and positive messages about communication and empathy. Just be ready for your kids to want their own "yes day" after watching. Parents Allison (Jennifer Garner, reteaming here with her Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day director Miguel Arteta) and Carlos (Edgar Ramirez) suffer everything from indigestion and physical injury to jail time and a water-logged car and house over the course of the rule-free family day. But their kids also end the day feeling that their dose of freedom has maybe gone too far, allowing the film to send home the values of responsibility, natural consequences, and healthy limits. Their teenage daughter in particular (Jane the Virgin's Jenna Ortega) learns a scary lesson when she's left alone and loses her phone at a music festival, where a lot of the older concert-goers around her appear to be drunk or high. The younger kids, meanwhile, are surprised by how carelessly their friends treat their home and belongings. Language includes "sucks," "wuss," "peeing," "poopy-pants," "God," and "skeegy." The family in the film is bilingual, and parents and kids switch comfortably between English and Spanish. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
What's the Story?
Allison Torres (Jennifer Garner) is always saying no to her three kids -- until one day the Torres family agrees to have a YES DAY. This involves parents agreeing to say yes to anything their kids want to do (with a few sensible ground rules). The concept, Allison and her husband, Carlos (Edgar Ramirez), are told, is that their kids will stop complaining about what they don't have and don't get to do on other days if they're given the occasional no-holds-barred day of fun and freedom. What Allison and Carlos aren't ready for is the wild day that their kids -- teen Katie (Jenna Ortega), tween Nando (Julian Lerner), and little sister Ellie (Everly Carganilla) -- have in store for them. Their yes day sends the Torres family across Los Angeles and into some unanticipated situations. But the family will find themselves more united -- and more understanding of one another's positions -- before the day is over.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the concept of a "yes day." Has your family ever had one? How did it go? Was it worth it? If you haven't, does the movie make you want to have one? How could you make sure it was safe and fun for everyone?
If you've read the book, how does it compare with the movie?
Katie goes to the music festival with her friend against her parents' wishes and behind their backs. Why did she make that decision? Was it a good one? Have you ever done something without your parents' consent? How did you feel about it?
How does Yes Day show the value of communication and its role in promoting empathy? Why are those valuable character strengths?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: March 12, 2021
- Cast: Jennifer Garner, Edgar Ramirez, Jenna Ortega
- Director: Miguel Arteta
- Inclusion Information: Latino directors, Female actors, Latino actors
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Family and Kids
- Topics: Book Characters, Brothers and Sisters
- Character Strengths: Communication, Empathy
- Run time: 129 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- MPAA explanation: some rude and suggestive material, and brief language
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: June 24, 2023
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