Reviewed by Michael Leader
Stars Andy Bichlbaum & Mike Bonanno
Written by Andy Bichlbaum & Mike Bonanno
Produced by Doro Bachrach & Laura Nix
Original Music by Neel Murgai & Noisola
Certification UK 12A | Argentina 13
Runtime 87 minutes
Directed by Bichlbaum, Bonanno & Kurt Engfehr
How best to fix the world? The Yes Men, a duo of activist-pranksters, think they have the solution. Their bag is to pose as representatives from large industry bodies and, through the use of persuasive, authentic-looking websites and savvy, charming fast-talk, receive invitations to symposia, seminars, even television broadcasts. There, they turn the tables, often letting loose broadly absurdist lectures that attempt to confront the assembled men-in-suits with the harsh inhumanity of their cold, calculated business plans, issuing exaggerated powerpoint slideshows that introduce gleefully cock-eyed propositions, like using dead ex-employees as a fuel source.
The film is mostly concerned with their ongoing battle with Dow Chemical, who are associated with the 1984 Bhopal disaster (frequently referred to as the world worst industrial accident), and starts with what is their biggest stunt to date - with Yes Man Andy Bichlbaum appearing on BBC World News, posing as a Dow spokesperson, accepting responsibility on the tragedy's 20th anniversary, and announcing that the company's annual profits would be funnelled into a Bhopal clean-up fund. A true masterwork of kamikaze activism, this prank reportedly caused Dow's stock value to plummet by $2 billion.
Indeed, Yes Men is at its best when they are in the thick of it, but at times the film takes a worrying diversion towards documentary, even quirky autobiography. One major criticism of this particular stunt was that it instilled false hope, which results in a long hedging sequence, as they travel to India, and ask Bhopal locals if they were offended. Likewise, later in the film, when they announce a public housing scheme at a New Orleans regeneration convention, they quickly cut to evicted locals, cheerfully praising the Yes Men for doing one over on the crooked government officials.
It breaks that unwritten rule of satire - that it should eloquently speak for itself, without reliance on qualification or explanation. Much of The Yes Men Fix the World plays out like a cross between the brazen provocation of Brass Eye and the earnest psuedo-egotism of Michael Moore. Stunts are prefaced by handheld footage of their nervous preparations, and footnoted by their overly-simplistic (if, in this case, entirely noble) message of 'free market capitalism oppresses the little people'. Interviews with disciples of economist Milton Friedman's Chicago School are hijacked by wilful ignorance and stubborn naivety, as opposed to hard-nosed debate. In the end, it seems that they are more interested in blue-sky idealism than getting their hands dirty - a final stunt involves a free, fake, future-dated edition of the New York Times, proudly proclaiming such headlines as 'Iraq War Ends', 'National Health Insurance Act Passes' and 'All Public Universities To Be Free'.
To be fair, their activism is noble, and their work is exceptional. However, in film form, this seems to be hardly interested in converting ambivalent viewers, as its commentary is trite and narrow-minded. So, the Yes Men don't exactly fix the world - but, while they're at it, they irritate and frustrate just as much as they provoke, amuse and enlighten.