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Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno

Filmmakers Chris Smith and Sarah Price (the production team behind American Movie) direct the bizarre documentary The Yes Men. The film follows Andy and Mike, two regular guys who pretended to be corp... read more read more...orate bigwigs in order to expose powerful corporate evil doing and have a bit of fun in the process. In 1999, they created a parody of the World Trade Organization website that mocked the harshest ideas about globalization. However humorous its intent, the website earned them invitations to important business trade meetings around the world. Companies and organizations actually thought they were the real WTO. Andy and Mike played along, impersonating despicable executives in order to publicly humiliate them. The guys refer to their pranks as "identity correction." The Yes Men premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival and was shown as part of a special screening at the2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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63% liked it

5,637 ratings

Critics

85% liked it

82 critics

R, 1 hr. 20 min.

Directed by: Dan Ollman, Sarah Price

Release Date: September 24, 2004

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DVD Release Date: February 15, 2005

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Stats: 337 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (337)

  • paulsandberg
    August 1, 2010
    paulsandberg
    The audacity of what The Yes Men were able to pull off is the saving grace of this film; a documentary that has way too many talking head moments with people on the fringes of the project.

    The direction was rather slip-shod, as it appeared that moments of supposed humanity wer... read moree interspersed into what would have been a rather tight narrative, and that said moments came across as flat and unnecessary.

    Pare this film down to the first meeting with the costume designer, then a brief meeting with the creative team in Paris, before the first expose in Finland, and the focus becomes so much tighter.

    I would recommend this film simply for the hilarious, and pointed satire of the WTO (that's world trade organization - and if you don't know what that is, then the film's point is already made, for it is the WTO, in large part, who dicate the policies that created the bank meltdown - that this film was done in 2003 shows how prescient the Yes Men were).

    It's amazing to watch how much leeway and credence is given to someone speaking rhetoric out their ass, simply because they have some kind (and in this case totally bogus) of credential.
  • garyX
    November 27, 2009
    garyX
    Two self proclaimed activists impersonating representatives of the World Trade Organisation challenge accepted capitalist thinking in an attempt to set the world to rights. Or rather two smug middle class white American men stage a series of weak skits and juvenile parodies, clai... read moreming it "makes people think about the problems of the Third World" but in fact seems to be more about attention seeking and self-aggrandizement. Amongst their "hilarious" parodies are a lecture including a "management suit" which is a gold lame bodysuit with an enormous protuding phallus and a video showing a pipeline transporting the excrement of the west to create shit burgers for the Third World. Ho-de-ho. The main reason I can see for their audience not realizing that they're joking is because they display the level of wit of a ten year old and are just plain unfunny. They bother to produce some of the disturbing facts and figures of world capitalism at the very, very end but the rest of the film seems to concern itself solely with how "dangerous" and "heroic" THEY are. Whatever you think of Michael Moore's politics, his approach is invariably wittier, more insightful, more informative and most of all far more entertaining than this frat-style publicity seeking.
  • BlueTorch
    April 24, 2006
    BlueTorch
    Props to whomever wrote the summary for this and made it sound 100 times more interesting than it actually was. I have never seen pacing issues this bad in a documentary in my life, and the "payoffs" are horrible. Hope you like a ton of filler.
  • Peandpi
    May 29, 2012
    Peandpi
    The Yes Men is the story about two men who have taken it upon themselves to trick their way into the media and send across subtle political messages. The film is glued together thanks to that very subject matter, the two Gentlemen who decide to pull these things off in the first ... read moreplace, It's kind of like a intellectual jackass. It's a vaguely interesting insight to how they manage to do these sorts of things. The problem is how it has been made, it's a shoddy piece of work, looking sometimes worse than a foundation students first assignment. While the back story is interesting, the film decides to follow The Yes Men's current affairs which are less than interesting and mostly incredibly dull. The result is a documentary that I felt bored with, it's a bloaty film which at best serves up some mild moments of entertainment.
  • draftintrafton
    August 13, 2010
    draftintrafton
    For entertainment purposes, it focused on messenger rather than message. Leaves me yearning for more detail on the message.
  • jam233
    November 23, 2009
    jam233
    Not sure why such high ratings, I found it to be rather boring and pointless. It seemed to take forever to get going, and once it did, it rather fizzled. It was okay, but I was not enthralled. I admire their efforts though.
  • clareeezzz
    March 15, 2007
    clareeezzz
    Great documentary. It shows the consequences of the World Trade Organization, and the mistakes it is making around the world.
  • tarobb1
    February 14, 2007
    tarobb1
    I feel that it lacked the professionalism I've come to expect from documentaries. It seems very one sided, and not always as funny as they seem to think of themselves.
  • fifthcore
    June 2, 2006
    fifthcore
    A funny, entertaining, and most importantly an informative documentary makes you think about the world around you. I highly recommend that you at least rent it.

View All The Yes Men Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
December 3, 2004
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

A clumsy movie. Full Review

Terry Lawson
October 19, 2004
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

The Yes Men's political performance art is very funny and much care obviously goes into it. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
October 15, 2004
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

The Yes Men has its moments, but they're too few and far between to make us drop our Palm Pilots and dissolve into continuous laughter.

Tom Long
October 8, 2004
Tom Long, Detroit News

There are few things as satisfying as watching the wealthy, righteous, powerful or pompous get fully duped. As a result, there is a great deal of satisfaction in The Yes Men.

Bill Muller
October 7, 2004
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

The filmmakers include some good behind-the-scenes footage ... and have unfettered access, but the movie sometimes feels like one long college fraternity stunt. Full Review

Gary Dowell
October 7, 2004
Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News

The Yes Men feels padded at only 83 minutes, as if the footage had been stretched to fill the running time, but it gets the point across that humanity is sorely missing from the corporate world. Full Review

Colin Covert
October 7, 2004
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

You can question the ethics of the ploy, but you can't argue with the absurdly revealing results. Full Review

Richard Roeper
October 4, 2004
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

[They're] playing these jokes on these obscure audiences. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
October 1, 2004
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

Yes, The Yes Men is funny, but it's humor that hurts. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
October 1, 2004
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

It's so smirkily inside-baseball it never bothers to make its argument; the film simply proceeds from the assumption that all of us in the audience are in agreement with its point. Full Review

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The Yes Men Trivia

  • Who was in the awsome horror-movies "Fright Night", "976-EVIL" and "The Chair" in the late 80's. And then went on to star in films with titles such as: "Transsexual Prostitutes", "Black Men, White Men" and "Butt Blazer".. ? (Yes, he turned to gay-porn)   Answer »
  • In Three Men and a Baby, was there really a ghost in the window?  Answer »
  • From Ghost Busters, what is said next? Walter Peck: These men caused an explosion! The Mayor: Is this true? Peter Venkman: -  Answer »
  • Just had a question... In Children of Men, Michael McCain portrays which british band member? The answer is irrelavant, because just checked cast list for the film, and there was no Michael McCain, there was infact a Michael Caine. People should check facts before submitting?  Answer »
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