Published: Monday, Nov. 30, 2009

Updated: Tuesday, Dec. 01, 2009

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The Yes Men Fix the World'

Do you remember the anti-globalization protesters in Seattle a few years ago? Do you remember thinking: Now, what are they trying to accomplish and is this really the best way to accomplish it?

I had the same feeling when confronted with the merrily fraudulent performance artists known as the Yes Men, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, in this sequel to their 2003 film. "The Yes Men," to their credit, don't inflate their purpose. They set up fake corporate Web sites and wait to be invited to speak at corporate events, where they pose as representatives of companies or agencies they do not represent, or peddle insane products such as candles made of human flesh (not really; they're just touted that way), thus upending as many apple carts as possible and filling their feature out to the desired 90-minute length.

The biggest ruse was Bhopal: In 2004, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Union Carbide pesticide plant chemical leak, Bichlbaum posed as a corporate spokesman and managed to get onto the BBC with a mewling apology and a promise of $12 billion in reparations to the afflicted families. Dow Chemical stock plummeted, the hoax was revealed - and when a British Channel 4 interviewer upbraids Bichlbaum for providing massively false hopes to countless Bhopal residents, I found myself siding with the interviewer, not the prankster with the alleged higher moral purpose.

THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD

2 stars

Running time: 90 minutes

Cast: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno

Director: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Kurt Engfehr

Genre: Documentary