The Yes Men Are Revolting
| The Yes Men Are Revolting | |
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| Distributed by | The Orchard |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Box office | $50,190 (US)[2] |
The Yes Men Are Revolting is a 2014 documentary film directed by Laura Nix and The Yes Men, a culture jamming duo who use the aliases Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno. Adam McKay executive produced. The film follows their exploits as they prank various organizations and corporations who engage in climate change denial.
Plot
[edit]The Yes Men are a culture jamming group that use satirical performance art to make political points. While impersonating public relations personnel, they hold fake press conferences where they announce corporations, governments, and other organizations have taken a new, leftist stance. After seeing little gain from their pranks and increasing demands in their personal lives, The Yes Men debate whether they should continue. They are reinvigorated by the Occupy Wall Street protests and embark on a new campaign to combat climate change denial.
Cast
[edit]- Jacques Servin (as Andy Bichlbaum)
- Igor Vamos (as Mike Bonanno)
- Benadette Chandia Kodili
- Gitz Crazyboy
- Tito Ybarra
- Mike Mathieu
- Leonid Vlassov
Release
[edit]The Yes Men Are Revolting premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] It was released theatrically on June 12, 2015, in the US and grossed $50,190.[2]
Reception
[edit]Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 81% of 32 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 6.3/10.[4] Metacritic rated it 61/100 based on 12 reviews.[5] Dennis Harvey of Variety called it "another entertaining mix of agitpop, pranksterism and autobiography".[6] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "the film presupposes a bit more interest in the pair's friendship and personal lives than many viewers will have".[7] Sheri Linden of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "fans will find fewer of the elaborate deadpan stunts than they might have hoped for", but the ones included "highlight corporate greed and governmental shortsightedness as shrewdly as ever".[8] Stephen Holden of The New York Times made it a NYT Critics' Pick and wrote that it "has a personal poignancy that is missing in the forerunners".[9] Diana Clarke of The Village Voice wrote, "Their globetrotting easy conversation, nitpicking, and laughter despite anger and environmental upset create an unusual space for the viewer to do the same."[10] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Although this latest documentary is, in large part, simply more of the same stuff we saw in the earlier films, there’s also a lot of background material here about Servin and Vamos that makes this outing a bit more interesting."[11] Mike D'Angelo of The A.V. Club wrote that The Yes Men "have overestimated public interest in what they do when they’re not posing as other people for the greater good". D'Angelo suggested that future personal anecdotes be put on DVD bonus material.[12] Andrew Lapin of The Dissolve rated it 2/5 stars and wrote, "Considering the amount of padding on display over the course of 90 minutes, it's hard to tell why a third Yes Men film needed to be made at all, other than to burnish its stars' reputations."[13] Oleg Ivanov of Slant Magazine rated it 3/4 stars and wrote that "their personal lives generate only moderate interest" but serve to illuminate their motivations.[14] Rodrigo Perez of Indiewire rated it B and called it entertaining but "not nearly as imperative as the vital activism these guys have dedicated their lives to".[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "The Yes Men Are Revolting (2014)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-06-14. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ a b "The Yes Men Are Revolting". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
- ^ McNary, Dave (2014-11-19). "The Orchard Buys 'The Yes Men Are Revolting'". Variety. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ "The Yes Men Are Revolting (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
- ^ "The Yes Men Are Revolting". Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ Harvey, Dennis (2014-09-11). "Toronto Film Review: 'The Yes Men Are Revolting'". Variety. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ DeFore, John (2014-09-11). "'The Yes Men Are Revolting': Toronto Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ Linden, Sheri (2015-06-19). "Review Change is in the air as the Yes Men return". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (2015-06-11). "Review: In 'The Yes Men Are Revolting,' Prankster Activists Take On Climate Change". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ Clarke, Diana (2015-06-09). "Prankster Yes Men Return and Endure in the Emotional 'The Yes Men Are Revolting'". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Michael (2015-06-18). "Movie review: 'The Yes Men Are Revolting' profiles an activist duo". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ D'Angelo, Mike (2015-06-11). "The Yes Men Are Revolting in a doc about how hard it is to make a difference". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ Lapin, Andrew (2015-06-09). "The Yes Men Are Revolting". The Dissolve. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ Ivanov, Oleg (2015-06-07). "The Yes Men Are Revolting". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ Perez, Rodrigo (2015-06-11). "Review: Doc 'The Yes Men Are Revolting' Takes A Look At The Mischievous And Devilish Activists". Indiewire. Retrieved 2015-06-20.