Main-Character-Energy 1 - Step back from that ledge, my friend

There is this incredible scene in Yes Man (2008), watch it before reading the rest of the post.👇

The premise of the movie is this - Carl (Jim Carrey) appears to have given up on a lot of things after a failed relationship, to the point that he has stopped putting any effort into work, maintaining friendships, etc. Until, he somehow gets drawn into one of these cult-like (my words) productivity guru type gatherings where he takes on a challenge to say ‘Yes’ to every opportunity that presents itself. It is not meant to be literal, but Carrey’s character takes it on as such leading to, well, the rest of the movie. It is, by no means, a classic, and suffers quite heavily from male-gaze-itis.

But anyway, during the course of this exercise, he takes up guitar classes, and at then finds himself in a situation where a character portrayed by Luis Guzman is about to jump off a ledge. And that’s when Carrey’s Carl pulls out Third Eye Blind’s Jumper (itself inspired by self-harm)

I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend

You could cut ties with all the lies that you’ve been living in

And if you do not want to see me again

I would understand…

I don’t recall when I watched the movie for the first time, but I did re-watch it recently, and both times, this scene, particularly, moved me considerably. (Don’t worry, Guzman’s character doesn’t jump, and the scene, in general, matches its ridiculousness with its warmth).

What is it, I couldn’t tell you - was it because I like the song, or because I have a life-long and unfulfilled desire to play the guitar (I’m due a mid-life crisis in a few years so there’s hope yet considering there is 0 chance of my getting a bike :P), or was it because, like Carrey’s and Guzman’s characters, I had myself, at various points in the last 5 years, seen low points that I thought I could not recover from / had given up [how did you not see this coming, the title is Main Character Energy! 😂], only to be able to put myself on the path to finding my way back? As the French would say ‘Je ne sais pas’. Or maybe the scene has a certain ’je ne sais quoi’

Anyway, every time I watch this scene, it does bring a smile to my face.

Inspiration, and hope come from the unlikeliest sources, we just have to step back from the ledge.