Two average guys who are mistaken for World Trade Organization representatives accept invitations to attend international meetings and make TV appearances on behalf of the U.S. They are the Yes Men, part of a group of comedians and activists who organize harmless pranks to spark political debate. Here, two members of the group, Andy and Mike, embark on several adventures, all of which are caught on film with utter hilarity, and which show viewers some disturbing realities. The film starts when one of the Yes Men's projects, a fake web site called GATT.org that imitates the WTO site, is taken to be real thing. Though the Yes Men's site parodies the concepts of the WTO in an attempt to voice their opposition to its policies, this detail goes overlooked by certain unscrupulous international organizers. For example, the Yes Men respond with glee to an invitation to attend a textile conference in Finland. They quickly go to work designing a costume for their presentation--a skintight gold bodysuit equipped with an inflatable phallus on which is mounted a TV screen. Hilarious footage of the faked presentation and its content--comparing current third-world labor practices to the slave trade--is simply unbelievable. However, the Yes Men's point is made loud and clear when nobody reacts: if you're the WTO, you can get away with anything. Further hijinks ensue, making THE YES MEN a fabulous, funny, and surprising film.
DVD Features:
Region (unknown)
Keep Case
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Stereo Surround - English
Subtitles - English, Spanish, French
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Audio Commentary - 1. Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno - Stars
2. Chris Smith, Dan Ollman, Sarah Price - Directors
Theatrical Trailer
Featured
Mike Bonanno: Featured, THE YES MEN (2004)
Featured
Andy Bichlbaum: Featured, THE YES MEN (2004)
Review 1:
"[S]ubversive and diabolically funny..."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.108 10/01/2004
Review 2:
"When they're good, the Yes Men are astonishing, anarchic sights to behold."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.91 10/08/2004
Review 3:
"[I]t's not every film that features the Yes Men, a coterie of anti-corporate activists who travel the world with sartorial flair, political ire and a prodigious sense of the absurd."
Source: New York Times
p.E8 09/24/2004
Review 4:
"Smart and amusing....Smith, Ollman and Price have hit on an intriguing twosome whose clever, grass-roots brand of activism promotes satire as a legitimate form of revolt."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.E10 09/24/2004
Review 5:
"THE YES MEN is an enormously entertaining documentary....This cheeky film trumpets a brand new form of guerrilla theater..."
Source: Movieline's Hollywood Life
p.117 10/01/2004
Review 6:
"THE YES MEN is extremely funny, yet underlying it is a feeling of despair....Superb."
Source: Uncut
p.131 03/01/2005
Review 7:
"Hilarious and depressing, a snapshot of policy-makers who have stopped listening and forgotten how to think critically..."
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
p.11 02/11/2005