A mom and dad who usually say no decide to say yes to their kids' wildest requests with a few ground rules on a whirlwind day of fun and adventure.
Carlos and Allison used to say yes to everything in life, and also when they met and later got married. But then they moved to suburbia and had three kids, their lives became a long line of no. Their oldest daughter, Katie, 14, gets no from Allison to going to a concert with friends. Carlos also says no to employees at work at Icarus Technologies. Allison is trying to return to the labor market but gets no at job interviews. At Katie's school, Carlos and Allison are shown Katie's project on video. It compares "Mommy Dearest" to Stalin and Mussolini. Later, the guidance counselor etc. gives advice on why he's so relaxed despite having six kids. He gives them a YES Day on which he and his wife, with a few ground rules, say yes to everything. Allison agrees to a 24 hour YES/Fun Day after seeing an over 15-year-old photo of her skydiving. Will it be apocalyptic, as she first feared, or a wild and fun adventure for the five of them?—Scott Filtenborg
Allison (Jennifer Garner) and Carlos Torres (Édgar Ramírez) are married with three kids: Katie (Jenna Ortega), Nando (Julian Lerner) and Ellie (Everly Carganilla). When they first met, they were adventurous and said yes to everything. Once they had their kids, however, they felt they needed to say no to protect them.Carlos works at a tech firm, where he deals with young adults working with new tech all the time. His job is to make sure that the company is not sued by exaggerated claims and hence he says No a lot at work.. Allison was head of Marketing at a big company, but now she cant get a job as most employers want an entitled millennial, whom they can work till 10pm every night..
One evening, they are called into a parent-teacher conference at school where they discover Katie and Nando have both submitted school work calling their mom a dictator. Allison expresses frustration that her kids perceive her this way and tells Carlos that she feels he makes her play the role of "bad cop" with their children. Mr. Deacon (Nat Faxon), a school employee and father, overhears and shares with them that he maintains order in his house by having a 'yes day' from time to time: one 24-hour period wherein the parents cannot say no, within reason.
Carlos and Allison present the idea to the kids, telling them that if they don't get into trouble, do their chores and keep their grades up, they can have a yes day as a reward. Katie makes a wager with Allison that if her mom makes it through yes day, Katie will go to the music festival Fleekfest with her mother. If she doesn't make it, Katie will be allowed to go with a friend, Layla (Megan Stott).The kids eventually manage to earn a yes day and put together a list of five activities for the day. First, Ellie dresses her parents in crazy outfits. Next, they go and order a massive $40 sundae that is free if they can eat it all in 30 minutes (The kids get grossed out, but Carlos wins the challenge for the family). They then go through a car wash with the windows down.Next, they go to a capture the flag competition, where each family member leads a group (Nando had gathered a crowd by advertising that a casting director (Allison) is looking for participants for a new reality based romance show) and the goal is for one team to catch the others, throwing balloons filled with Kool-Aid at their opponents. Allison wins the game for her team (she does somersaults and does extreme athleticism), impressing her kids.Carlos has a work emergency and calls office (when it is against the rules). Ellie sees him and makes him put a crow baby back into her nest in exchange for not telling on him. But a flock of crows attack Carlos (as they think he is stealing a baby), and he is taken to the emergency room. Carlos wants to drop out, but Allison figures that its because of work. Allison is sick of being the bad cop of the house and wants Carlos to inform the kids himself. But Carlos cant disappoint the kids and the day continues.
The fourth event is a trip to a theme park, where the family ride roller coasters. When Katie steps away, Allison sees texts on her daughter's phone from Layla indicating she and Katie will be hanging out with older boys at Fleekfest. Allison tells her that the wager is off and she's going to Fleekfest with her, not Layla. Hurt, Katie storms off.In an attempt to win a pink gorilla for Katie as an apology, Allison and Carlos get into a fight with another park-goer (the other park-goer also wanted to win the same gorilla and claims that she won it, when actually Allison won it by a whisker. They both get into a physical brawl) and are arrested. The children sneak away from the custody of the police officer at the station by telling him that their parents are waiting outside in their car. Katie goes to Fleekfest with Layla, but quickly becomes uncomfortable being alone with older boys, and her friend abandons her.Police look at the footage from the park and find that Allison did win the gorilla and let Allison and Carlos off. They realize the police let the kids go by themselves. Allison heads to the concert and Carlos heads to the house for the "main event"..
Nando stages a "nerd party" at the house as the final big event, but it quickly gets out of control (kids eating sugar, breaking lamps, spilling soda all over the house) when Ellie accidentally sets off a foam explosion inside the house that was meant for the back yard. Meanwhile, Katie's phone dies while trying to contact her siblings and she panics. With help from H.E.R. (H.E.R.) (Allison wanted to get upstage to call for Katie and went backstage.. where she meets H.E.R. who was looking for a sewing kit to sew her torn dress), who is performing at the event, Allison finds Katie (HER gives Allison 2 mins on stage to find Katie) and they reconcile. H.E.R. is moved and invites them onstage for a song.Carlos arrives home and finally manages to be a disciplinarian, forcing the party to stop and the kids to help with the cleanup. As yes day draws to a close, Ellie makes one final request. They all spend the night playing games as a family in a tent in the back yard.
In a mid-credits scene, the Torres family drives to Mr. Deacon's house and pelt him with Kool-Aid balloons, as revenge for him suggesting Yes Day in the first place.
