The third cinematic outing of the titular activist pranksters, The Yes Men Are Revolting is arguably the most poignant and most entertaining in the popular series that began with The Yes Men and continued with The Yes Men Fix the World.
Directed and produced by Laura Nix and the Yes Men and executive produced by Adam McKay, the feature offers a funny yet poignant look at activism, or more specifically at how to keep the rebellious spirit alive after middle age.
Premiering at the 2014 Toronto Film Fest to great acclaim, the film served as the closing night of the DOC NYC Festival in New York and also played in the Panorama section of the 2015 Berlin Film Fest.
Orchard will release the film on June 12 in New York at the IFC Center and on June 19 in Los Angeles before expanding nationally; it will also be available on VOD and other digital platforms.
For the past two decades, the duo of The Yes Men have staged outrageous and hilarious hoaxes to draw international attention to corporate crimes against humanity and the environment. The iconoclastic revolutionaries “Mike Bonanno” and “Andy Bichlbaum” (which are not their real names, as we find out) make their way into business events and government functions to expose the dangers of rampant greed.
Though well into their 40s, they refuse to let their various mid-life crises threaten or drive them out of activism. In fact, they are now ready to take on the biggest challenge they’ve ever faced: climate change.
More than the first two installments, The Yes Men Are Revolting is an agitprop as well as a character study in depicting their latest activist interventions. In revealing the real people behind the ruses, the movie approximate the mode of a compelling nonfiction work boasting a positive and hopeful message about the continuously urgent need to fight for change.
