Review of The Yes Men (2003) by Andy F — 16 May 2005

When documentary filmmakers Chris Smith and Sarah Price got full access into the life of the eccentric Mark Borchardt as he went on a lengthy and tiring quest to make a feature length horror film, the result was one of my favorite films (not only documentaries) ever, [i]American Movie[/i]. Since the release of that movie in 1999 they had been hard at work exploring the world of two interesting individuals. Their names are Mike Binanno and Andy Bichlbaum, or [i]The Yes Men[/i]. To fully explain or appreciate what these men do, it truly "must be seen to be believed" as Roger Ebert proclaims.

[i]"With 'The Yes Men' we are calling that basic idea "identity correction". These things that are not really presenting things honestly or that hide something about their nature that's really scary, we want to bring that out, we want to show that, we want to demonstrate that. Like for the World Trade Orginazation...we think that they are doing all these terrible things that are hurting people and they're saying the exact opposite. So we're interested in stealing their identity in the same way an identity thief steals to engage in criminal practices. We target people we see as criminals and we steal their identity to try make them honest, or to try to present a more honest face...we try to create public spectacles that in some kind of poetic way reveals something about our culture that's profoundly a problem." [/i]- Mike.

So, in a series of ingenious and uproariously funny spoofs, Mike and Andy make their way from country to country acting as high members of the WTO as they give preposterous speeches to baffled audiences. Yes, this truly is a movie that must be seen to be believed and cherished, and it's not only funny but extremely important. No more words for this one - just get out there and see it!