Yes Day on Netflix: A Parents Guide

Yes Day, a Netflix original movie, will be available for streaming beginning March 15, 2021.  A movie about parents who can’t tell their kids “no” for 24 hours, is it appropriate for all ages?  I’m answering that question and more in my Yes Day parents guide.  With a TV-PG rating that includes some rude, suggestive material, brief language and minor violence, here’s what parents need to know about Yes Day on Netflix.  

Yes Day on Netflix: A Parents Guide

Yes Day is based on a children’s book.  The Netflix original movie, though, focuses on parents Allison and Carlos Torres (Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramirez) and their three children:  Katie (Jenna Ortega), Nando (Julian Lerner), and Ellie (Everly Carganilla).  As Allison says at the beginning of the movie, she and Carlos used to do a lot of fun “yes” things before becoming parents, like skydiving.  However, Allison then explains “When we had kids, yes became no.”

After Allison and Carlos meet with school administrators regarding their kids’ negative attitude towards Allison, they agree to give their kids a “Yes” Day.  Meaning that they basically say yes to everything their children want in a 24 hour time span.  Yep.  A parent’s worst nightmare and a child’s perfect day.  There are rules, though.  For example, “Yes” Day has to be earned, kids also can’t ask to do anything dangerous or illegal, it has to be based on the family’s budget, and they can’t ask to travel anywhere 20 miles beyond their house.  Whew.  There are more rules but here’s what parents need to know about the Yes Day Netflix age rating.

It’s Rated TV-PG 

Yes Day is rated TV-PG, which means that parental guidance is recommended.  It’s mostly rated PG due to some rude and suggestive material, brief language, and minor violence.  More about that below.

Sexually Suggestive Scenes

There aren’t any sexually suggestive scenes or nudity in Yes Day.  There are a few kissing scenes between Allison and Carlos; and the Torres’ youngest daughter, twerks at the beginning of the movie, but it’s not graphic.  There is also a paintball scene that the Torres’ kids set up, except they encourage random people to participate by telling them it’s casting for a reality show similar to The Bachelor called Insatiable Island.  As a result, some of the male participants show their torsos to Allison.  

Language

I didn’t notice any profanity in this movie.  Instead, characters say phrases like “I screwed up,” “stupid,” and “Captain Poopypants.”  There is also trash talking during the paintball scene like “I’m going to take you down.”  And last but not least, the Torres’ kids call Allison a “fun killer” and equate her to a dictator.  As a mom, I felt for her character because her kids don’t speak kindly about her at all.

Violence

This is where the movie earns its PG rating.  There is a random fight scene where characters hit each other and there’s also the aforementioned paintball scene where characters are struck with paintballs.  There’s also a scene involving an ambulance weaving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed, and a scene involving a smoke bomb.  One of the characters is injured, especially in his groin area, when he falls from a tree.  In addition, he’s also inexplicably attacked by birds.  Characters also end up in jail and extensive property damage is done to a house after a house party gone wrong.  And last but not least, there’s a scene where one of the characters is alone and afraid.

Overall Thoughts

Despite all the above, this movie is, overall, safe for younger kids to watch.  Whether it will give them ideas, though….that’s the question.  My 8 year old son enjoyed watching the movie.  However, several scenes made me cringe especially with regard to children committing extensive property damage and seeing how the kids treated their mom.  This is supposed to be an entertaining movie but it felt too forced to me and it tried too hard to be funny.  Many of the scenes are random and unrealistic.  Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a movie to watch for family movie night, you could do worse than this one.  In the alternative, I recommend The Sleepover on Netflix or Flora & Ulysses on Disney Plus, which my family and I enjoyed a lot more than Yes Day.

About Yes Day

Always feeling like they have to say NO to their kids and co-workers, Allison and Carlos decide to give their three kids a YES DAY — where for 24 hours the kids make the rules. Little did they know that they’d be going on a whirlwind adventure around Los Angeles, that would bring the family closer to each other than ever before.