It seems like an awfully long time since we’ve seen Jim Carrey on the big screen, doesn’t it?

There was last year’s so-so “The Number 23,” which pretty much summed up the film critics who liked it. His voice was very good in “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”

His dramatic acting is also pretty good (when not going for the scare-fest, like “The Number 23”). “Eternal Sunshine of the spotless Mind” was a pleasant surprise in 2004, and even the Frank Capra-ish “The Majestic” from 2001 was a nice departure. Still my favorite movie (for which he won the Best Actor Golden Globe Award) was “The Truman Show” (1998), which still rocks.

But Carrey is probably best-known for what he does best, and that is comedy. With “Yes Man,” he goes a bit too far into the silly department and turns into a virtual one-man show. The supporting cast almost appears to be merely as a means for setting up the next gag rather than an integral part of the story.

Carrey plays Carl Allen, a man with a dead-end philosophy, in the midst of a midlife crisis. I think a rash of baby boomers will identify with his character not so much because of his career as a loan officer (a definite dead-end in today’s economic climate) but because of his failed marriage and what he could have done better to change the outcome. This is where all of those self-described self-help, New Age encounter groups play a big part in our journey.

Carl has been a “no” kind of guy up until now. If it takes any decision-making or commitment to action, then “no,” is his first answer. He has a few friends (Danny Masterson and Bradley Cooper) but isn’t into outdoor activities and would rather watch a flick at home.

However, he does cave in and attends one of those seminars, with the self-styled self-help guru Terrence Bundley (actor Terence Stamp) and at first seems to try to crawl out of his depressive shell. (To me, Stamp will always be General Zod from 1980’s “Superman II” but was also in “Wall Street” in 1987 and on the comic side, played Siegfried in “Get Smart” earlier this year.)

There always seems to be a love interest, and Carl meets the very demure Allison (the equally demure Zooey Deschanel) by chance. At this point, he becomes the opposite of his former self, which brings out Carrey’s improvisational, machine gun delivery — but without a good springboard to bounce off, it becomes a little tedious. There are strong hints of another Jim Carrey movie in “Yes Man”: Remember “Liar Liar” in 1997, when Carrey played a lawyer unable to tell fibs in a 24-hour period?

I enjoyed a few surprises in the smaller roles here. Watch out for Katsy Chappell, was recently up here for the first time in Tahoe, and has a small role as a nurse.

Overall, “Yes Man” is not a bad flick, mind you. It’s just one that if you miss, then like Carl, you can enjoy it at home on DVD.

‘Yes Man’ Now showing at Heavenly Village Cinemas. Rated PG-13 for crude sexual humor, some language and brief nudity. Running time: 107 minutes. Starring Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, Danny Masterson, Terence Stamp Director Peyton Reed. Howie says: two and a half bagels (out of five)