The Yes Men

Review by Clint Morris

If you're at least a little more confident about attending that fancy dress party you've been invited to, and have been indecisive about going to it because of trepidation of attire or lack of a good costume (plus the confidence to wear it) after sitting through The Yes Men then the film's succeeded in something.

They may have also liked you to join their anti-WTO (World Trade Organisation) group and start flying the flag for what they're trying to do here, but unfortunately the ringmasters don't quite have the wiles of Michael Moore to entice you into signing anything.

Still, this taking-the-Mickey-out-of-politics documentary is still very entertaining, and by golly, you'll be applauding some of the headliners' actions.

The Yes Men are a couple of gutsy pranksters who - inadvertently, because people have mistaken their similar-looking satirical site for the WTO website - pose as reps of the World Trade Organisation and start turning up at forums and lectures, where they proceed to give the most outrageous talks ever - playing it, of course, with very straight faces.

It's amusing to watch audiences sit and swallow their speeches: everything from upping slavery to giving electric shocks to those in sweatshops to get them working faster, recycling McDonald's hamburgers (via human poop) and ultimately, their idea for a new casual work-suit, complete with a wally-esque appendage that can help a boss keep an eye on their employers, no matter where he is.

Not quite the calibre of one of Michael Moore's bold plights (Moore himself makes an appearance in the film, by the way) but still, The Yes Men is an enjoyable, sometimes shocking flick, in the fact that these guys go to so much trouble to keep the ruse alive. Worth a look.

3.5 out of 5

The Yes Men
Australian release: Thursday the 7th of July, 2005
Cast: Mike Bonnano, Andy Bichlbaum.
Directors: Chris Smith, Dan Ollman, Sarah Price.
Website: Click here.

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