What I Think About Movies I've Seen

This documentary portrays the antics of Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum are "The Yes Men", a couple of guys who pose as officials from other organizations, making false statements on their behalf. They have posed as representatives of such companies as Dow Chemical, Haliburton, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and have made public statements at conferences, on the BBC, and on CNN. They are generally trying to raise awareness about various social issues, in an attempt to shame the organizations they "represent" into doing the right thing. In some cases, their antics are quite outlandish, but in others they are depressingly reasonable statements.

I generally don't go for documentaries about politics or activism, but this was presented in a very lighthearted manner and never went to a level that was so absurd that it became painful to watch. It really was surprising to see what they were able to get away with, and in some cases how readily other people accepted their outlandish claims. Even the people who were given false hope by their fake statements only to have those hopes dashed were ultimately appreciative because they raised awareness of the problem and how easily it could be addressed by the real company.