Good concept, poorly executed.

Don't Believe the Hype

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The Yes Men have mastered the art of deception: they imitate the dress codes, roles and diction of power so perfectly that they can even speak in the name of major corporations without arousing suspicion (e.g. as in the case of falsified announcements by Dow Chemicals concerning the compensation of the Bhopal victims). It is brilliant to watch.

When I started watching this movie I said to myself 'Oh, no, another Occupy argument!' And I do not fully agree with their reasoning.But I loved it! Every minute the film was getting better. At times it might remind you of a Michael Moore feature. But this one is fun. And cleverly done. Now I want to see their other features.And I guess the appeal is in the position taken. They seem to identify the case quite clearly. But instead of starting to march to impose their point of view "The Yes Men" are doing an art happening through satire. It is for the first time that I see a shift from the mystic-totalitarian stance of "make the government obey ME" to letting people see for themselves. Thank you "The Yes Men" for the new perspective.Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

About ten year ago,I had the pleasure of attending an evening of political humour in Hartford,Ct. One of the performances was half of a pair of pranksters known as The Yes Men (both were supposed to be in attendance that night,but only Andy Bichlbaum was present,as Mike Bonnano was home in bed that night,sick with the flu). Andy spoke of their pranks,especially disrupting the W.T.O. conference,posing as the CEO's of a financial firm. He screened a video of the prank. I,suffice it to say,was in awe. Some years later,the first Yes Men film made it's debut,which I was impressed with. Now,some years later, the second film is here. The documentary focuses on some of the pranks that they've pulled since then. Among the standouts,Andy Bichlbaum made an appearance on BBC,posing as a executive from Dow Chemical,making the announcement that Dow is finally taking responsibility for the 1984 Union Carbide chemical lead disaster in Bhopal,India (which of course,never happened,but it did cause Dow to take a major drop in their shareholders on Wall Street),as well as their posing as members of HUD (Housing & Urban Development),appearing in New Orleans,just after Hurricane Katrina,with the promise that HUD was finally going to do something about rebuilding there. Bichlbaum & Bonnano share credit for writing & directing this scathing,but funny documentary about two men who have a penchant for pranking people that they don't like much. Passing resemblance's to the films of Michael Moore,as well as a rather obscure fake documentary (mockumentary?)called 'Czech Dreams' from a few years back will be noticed. Not rated by the MPAA,this film has a rude word or two & some mild adult situations that would probably fly over the heads of children.

The Yes Men are back... and this time, their leftist guerrilla tactics prove much more effective than the first time around: The cinematic presentation is more professional, the pace is much livelier, the pranks are more elaborate and there is more additional background information and emotional resonance.Still, some of the hoaxes remain childish and some new aspects on globalization bashing would be welcome, but all in all it's more than watchable stuff. (And the final stunt involving a famous newspaper is wonderful.) 7 out of 10 gilded skeletons