No rules? Getting your parents to say “yes” to everything you ask for is every kid’s dream. This dream is brought to life in the movie “Yes Day” starring Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramirez.

Inspired by a book of the same title by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, the film features Garner and Ramirez as parents who usually say no to their kids but, on one whirlwind day of fun and adventure, decide to say yes to their kids’ wildest requests, with a few ground rules.

Taking a personal cue after reading Rosenthal’s novel, Garner was inspired to do an annual Yes Day with her own children Violet, Seraphina and Sam.

“My own kids, they are never quite this crazy. They are much more simple. But because we have been doing this for about nine years, as they have gotten older, the Yes Day is more and more about torturing me and less and less about just breaking rules,” she shared.

Even the COVID-19 pandemic could not stop Garner and her kids from their annual Yes Day. Despite the lockdown, she found a way to still observe their tradition by renting a big water slide and putting it in their backyard.

“Normally, at a certain point, at a certain age, you would let your kids play on something like that and you would watch or maybe you would go down once or twice. I stayed on it the whole time. If they wanted me to go down head first, I did. If they wanted to be on my lap, I let them. Whatever it was, I just said yes,” she said.

Despite doing an annual Yes Day with her kids since she first read the book, Garner never knew she would also produce its film adaptation several years later.

Speaking with ABS-CBN News in a roundtable interview, the actress said she “wanted to produce this because it’s a story about my life in a lot of ways, it’s about my experience as a mom.”

Garner, however, noted that “Yes Day” is “certainly not here to tell parents what to do” as much as it is an entertaining narrative that shows how moms and dads can better relate to their children.

“I am more here to say, ‘Oh my gosh this is really hard.’ Being a parent is really hard. It’s hard to be married and to hold on to the joy in a marriage. It’s hard to stay yourself and hold on to your own sense of fun. And it’s hard to have kids and to keep being the fun, cool mom that they deserve when you’re trying so hard to make everybody get where they need to go with clean teeth, and with the right homework,” she said.

For Garner, “Yes Day” is a really fun way to suggest that parents can also “let it go for a day, let it be messy and have a good time.”

But “Yes Day” is not just about having no rules and fulfilling every child’s dream. The main theme of the film is togetherness among families.

Garner’s co-star, Ramirez, shared that the movie is personal for both of them. “I think that’s also where we found our sensitivities colliding. I think that’s why we also became such close friends right away,” he said.

Given the tough times everyone is facing during this pandemic, Ramirez further shared the importance of the movie.

“I think it all starts within the family. Whatever that is, whatever concept of family you have. We’re still going through this terrible pandemic. It is far from over. We really hope that people would feel hopeful after they watch the film.”

“From my experience doing this move, I think the most beautiful gift that you can give to your family, to the people you love the most is time and focus. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we don’t take it for granted. It is a very limited resource. It is a very limited asset. It is the most important one,” he added.

Ramirez, in encouraging people to have their own Yes Day, said: “I totally hope that you do, that when you organize a Yes Day with your family or with anyone you love, you will realize that every ask has to do with quality time, with undivided, devoted attention. That’s what they ask for. That’s what we should give, and that’s the most beautiful thing that anyone can give to you – their time.”

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As a fun way to kick-off your own Yes Day with your family and loved ones, clear your schedules, make time to get pizza and ice cream, and be ready to stream “Yes Day” on Netflix on March 12.

Directed by Miguel Arteta and written by Justin Malen, “Yes Day” also features Jenna Ortega, Julian Lerner, Everly Carganilla, Fortune Feimster, Nat Faxon, Arturo Castro and Molly Sims.

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