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Directed by: Chris Smith, Dan Ollman and Sarah Price Starring: The Yes Men: Andy and Mike I have to start this review with a declaration of bias: one of the two main Yes Men was my Video Studio professor here at RPI my freshman year. He was a great professor and a really cool guy, and totally shocked to see that this was what he's been up to lately! Regardless of this bias, the movie is incredibly funny and doing it for a cause I think at least 90% of you guys can support. The story behind the Yes Men begins with Andy and Mike starting a mock WTO website (https://www.gatt.org) to insult the WTO's practices of protecting only corporate interests and basically encapsulating all the worst aspects of globalization. To their surprise, some people actually think this is the real WTO website and send them invitations to conferences around the world. Seeing a chance to make a ruckus, they don thrift-store suits, make up a name like Dr. Andreas Bichlbauer, and go represent the organization they seriously oppose, and oh how they represent them! I'm not going to tell what they actually do at these lectures, as part of the fun is seeing how crazy they get, and how much they can say while people in the audience just nod their heads and give a polite clap at the end. I'll give you a hint though: a lot! This movie serves not only as a hilarious bit of identity-correction, but as a message that activism doesn't have to always be boring and serious. Sure, protests and papers are still your bread-and-butter for change, but there's still room for little publicity stunts like these to spice things up. The Yes Men provides a way to get back at the man while still having a good time. RATING: 5 PROS: Incredibly funny. Sticking it to the WTO while not losing a sense of humor about it. Comedy with a cause. CONS: Low production values. Camera work can be a little shoddy, but this is guerrilla video, so what do you expect? ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: https://www.theyesmen.org
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Nov 16, 2004 04:01
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Last semester here at my dorm, we had a private screening of the film and a discussion with one of the "Yes Men" interns. I was pretty impressed with the movie- overall it was very funny. However, the guy they sent to do the discussion was pretty poor. He couldn't answer questions at all and was nervous and shaky through the whole thing. I don't think he'll end up in a gold suit and phallus anytime soon. Otherwise, I would recommend seeing the film for a laugh.
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Nov 16, 2004 10:17
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I saw this a few months ago, it was loving hilarious and I fully approve of what they Yes Men are trying to accomplish  4.5/5
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Nov 16, 2004 23:16
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One of the most hilarious documentaries I've ever seen -- The Yes Men really exceeded my expectations. Their 'pranks' are funny but so is the interaction and planning between the actual guys... designing costumes, scouting locations, etc. Though Michael Moore makes a brief appearance and there are a few serious moments, the movie is not bogged down with a serious political message and I think even a pro-globalization person could enjoy it for what it is. I thought the camera work was actually very good, considering much of it was shot secretly (I assume), and it rarely suffers from being shaky, out of focus, or distracting. The only complaints I have are mostly minor: the targets aren't as large as I'd hoped -- they're usually pulling the pranks on small rooms of accountants, textile manufacturers, or students at a university -- it's still funny, but I got the sense they weren't really the ideal audience (people directly involved with the WTO or international trade). At times I thought it got a bit mean, when entire events were being organized solely for them -- instead of just killing an hour in an entire conference, they've tricked someone into going to a lot of work solely for their presentation. I don't honestly think that a group of accountants are somehow deserving of being jerked around because they're involved in world trade. Still, it is really funny (especially their mock Powerpoint presentation on the US civil war), and very well put together. 4.0
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Dec 4, 2004 19:01
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