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The Yes Men
2003 - USA - Special Interest, Comedy
Reviewed by
Manohla Dargis
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Type: Documentary
Distributor: United Artists
Release Date: September 24, 2004
Rating: R (for language)
Running Time: 80 minutes
Directed by: Sarah Price, Chris Smith, Dan Ollman
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REVIEW SUMMARY
It isn't every movie that features a man in a gold lame bodysuit with a three-foot gilt phallus that would make Superman blush or maybe just reconsider the whole Lois Lane thing. Then again it's not every film that features the Yes Men, a coterie of anti-corporate activists who travel the world with sartorial flair, political ire and a prodigious sense of the absurd. Like the makeover mavens from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," the Yes Men have a way of winning over strangers and commandeering drab rooms. As the golden appendage proves, they also know a little something about accessorizing. Part performance piece, part political intervention, the unveiling of the appendage takes pride of place in this nonfiction film, which was directed by Chris Smith, Dan Ollman and Sarah Price. The film brings together some of the Yes Men's more recent pranks with a fly-on-the-wall look at how these activists operate and while the film is heavily padded its certainly diverting. — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
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Average Reader Rating
(5 stars, 5 votes)
Number of Reviews: 1 |
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MOST HELPFUL READER REVIEW |
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Important? Maybe. Funny? Absolutely.,
May 26, 2004
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Reviewer: baileylyons
The new documentary from the "American Movie" team is one of the more enjoyable in years. We follow a group of lefty pranksters as they impersonate members of the WTO at conferences around the world.
It is impossible to convey in a review just how hilarious the film gets, or how absurd the pranksters, The Yes Men, get. But it made even a conservative right wing "maniac" like me laugh, as I loaded my shotgun. Obviously, the film itself tells only one side of the argument (the "anti" side), and whether this side is the right side (it isn't) isn't the point. Point is, the sheer extremes these so-called Yes Men go to in order to make their (erronious) point is nothing short of hilarious.
Is this film important? Maybe. If you don't know anything about the WTO, you might be tempted to jump on the socialist wagon and become politically opposed to the WTO's policies, which would be important to you, hippy. But you may be able to read, so maybe not.
But is the film funny? Absoluely. It reminded me of films like "Bananas", "The Lady Eve", and "Apocalypse Now". Remember when comedies were funny? This documentary is a blast from the past, or the future, when comedies took risks and made us laugh. Despite the politics, it makes one hell of a night out with the Mrs. (if she doesn't make me go see Brad Pitt in a skirt again, the Nancy).
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Dan Ollman - Director
Chris Smith - Producer, Director
Sarah Price - Producer, Director
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The Corporation (2003, Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott)
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 All Movie Guide © and © 2004 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.
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Movie Details
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