More than one cultural pundit has observed (more in sorrow than anger) that there is more news context in Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" than there is on the actual nightly news. It is in this spirit that The Yes Men operate: comedian-pranksters who are trying to get their serious points across through sheer absurdity.
"The Yes Men" is a documentary chronicling the exploits of these subversive zanies. The two principal Yes Men, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, began their needling of the World Trade Organization when they set up a parody Web site that mimicked the WTO's actual site. They included some of the darker facts about what they see as the WTO's effect on the world.
The Yes Men thought that was pretty funny. But many people took the site as real, and Bichlbaum and Bonanno began receiving invitations to speak at business conferences and conventions.
One such appearance is the centerpiece of "The Yes Men." The guys are invited to speak in Helsinki, Finland, at a world trade conference, where they prepare a dissertation on "remote labor" and Andy dresses up in a gold spandex jumpsuit called a "Management Leisure Suit."
It comes equipped with a large inflatable phallus, which has a TV monitor on the end, the better for observing workers from a distance. Said workers can have electronic chips "humanely" implanted into their shoulders, to keep them in line.
Just as riotous is the lecture, which talks about the advantages of the slavery system in America (illustrated with clips from "Birth of a Nation"). Through all of this ridiculous performance, no one in the audience bats an eye.
Bichlbaum and Bonnano, who see the WTO as a predatory organization, feel that their wacky claims are merely exaggerations of the WTO's philosophies. Even if you disagree with that, you'll laugh at their antics. (And be amazed that nobody shouts them down.)
The other big set-piece in the film is a lecture at a college class on the subject of making fast-food hamburgers out of recycled human waste. This uproarious notion actually does get a rise out the students - so maybe there is hope yet.
"The Yes Men" is directed by the filmmakers behind the memorable "American Movie," Chris Smith, Sarah Price, and Dan Ollman. It has an on-the-fly style that seems appropriate to the hit-and-run tactics of these guys.
I have to confess that prank shows make me uneasy - I always feel sympathy for the victims of the hoax. But when the results are as outrageously funny as "The Yes Men," the prank becomes exhilarating.
"Andy" and "Mike" impersonate members of the World Trade Organization in "The Yes Men."
"The Yes Men" (3 stars)
Dangerously funny: An outrageously funny documentary about two comedian-pranksters who pretend to be representatives of the WTO in front of an international conference (among other stunts). The movie's on-the-fly style fits their antics, and at times the movie is exhilarating.
Rated: R rating is for language.
Now showing: tk
