The Yes Men documents the adventures of the titular group of anti-globalisation activists whose smart and funny exploits take protesting beyond the earnest "hey, hey, ho, ho..." level to actually infiltrating the offending system and turning it on its ear.
Coming from activist backgrounds involving switching the voice boxes of Barbie and G.I. Joe dolls and programming the Sim game to have boys in bathing suits running around kissing each other, The Yes Men got together and started making fake websites. After spoofing George W. Bush's site, they were approached to make one for GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, a project of the World Trade Organisation) and that's where the fun begins. Their site is so successful that people mistake them for the real WTO and begin to invite them to speak at conferences. They accept, of course, giving outrageous presentations to unsuspecting audiences.
The documentary, though quite obviously low budget and not exactly masterfully shot, is blessed with such hilarious subjects and amazing material that it hardly matters. The Yes Men's brilliant schemes, from inception through realisation to media aftermath, are meticulously followed, showing the guys at their geeky greatest during all their wacky misadventures. It's fascinating and more than a little scary to watch these guys try to be increasingly absurd to prove their point, only to get taken seriously by their business elite audiences time and time again. (MGM)
Coming from activist backgrounds involving switching the voice boxes of Barbie and G.I. Joe dolls and programming the Sim game to have boys in bathing suits running around kissing each other, The Yes Men got together and started making fake websites. After spoofing George W. Bush's site, they were approached to make one for GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, a project of the World Trade Organisation) and that's where the fun begins. Their site is so successful that people mistake them for the real WTO and begin to invite them to speak at conferences. They accept, of course, giving outrageous presentations to unsuspecting audiences.
The documentary, though quite obviously low budget and not exactly masterfully shot, is blessed with such hilarious subjects and amazing material that it hardly matters. The Yes Men's brilliant schemes, from inception through realisation to media aftermath, are meticulously followed, showing the guys at their geeky greatest during all their wacky misadventures. It's fascinating and more than a little scary to watch these guys try to be increasingly absurd to prove their point, only to get taken seriously by their business elite audiences time and time again. (MGM)
