Simply A Masterpiece

Expected more

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

It has become an integral part of modern, man-made morals that, in order to be considered a "good" person, we are required to feel compassion for those who are of a different racial background than Caucasian, without question. This is especially true in our current political climate, which is why the makers of this documentary have primarily exploited Hispanics as the victims of the corporation in question. The irony is striking when you consider that these people are being exploited by two separate parties; one to recruit new members into their scam (Herbalife), and one to make money off of their misfortune by moving to royally-screw the other party (Ackman).Herbalife is, in fact, a pyramid scheme. This would have been a good documentary had it focused solely on that fact and the facts surrounding it, and not spent most of its time trying to "poke my heart" with sob-stories from illegal immigrants. It's already bad enough that I'm supposed to feel compassion for them, by default, for no logical reason. Now, I'm supposed to feel sorry for them because they screwed themselves by incautiously dumping their (apparently) non-existent incomes into a scam?I'm not going to pity an illegal immigrant anymore than I would pity anybody else that's stupid enough to foolishly throw away money without first researching the company to be invested in.7/10 for being informative, 1/10 for insulting my intelligence, 4/10 average

Writer/director Ted Braun follows controversial hedge fund titan Bill Ackman as he puts a billion dollars on the line in his crusade to expose Herbalife as the largest pyramid scheme in history.This is just about as perfect as a documentary can get. The very moment I was introduced to Herbalife in the early 2000s, I knew it was a pyramid scheme. But obviously others do not see that, as the business continued to be profitable and thriving.This documentary not only explores the pyramid nature of the business, but explains how people fall for it. In some cases, it is because they are unsophisticated immigrants. Other times, they had the business misrepresented to them. But it is not just stupid or ignorant people who fall for it.Without giving anything away, this story will have you cheering on Ackman. He may be one of the very few Wall Street investors who is actually hoping the little guy will win.

Great story, however there is quite a long stretch of the film that does not translate any of the Spanish speakers! I watched this on Netflix, so, I don't know if it was an oversight on their part or not. Otherwise, I'm inspired that people are speaking up about being ripped off. It's embarrassing but it helps so many people!

William Ackman, quietly charismatic investor and producer of Inside Job, has made a short bet on Herbalife, which he claims is a pyramid scheme benefiting the rich at the top and stealing from the poor at the bottom. Betting on Zero is the fascinating documentary about the battle between equally charismatic Herbalife CEO, William Johnson, and Ackman.The ambiguity comes on two levels: Is Johnson a con man or a brilliant business man? Is Ackman in this game to bring down the price of Herbalife's stock and cause the company to close, or is he looking to make a huge profit (he promises to spread his profit to the poor, mainly Latinos, who bought into the pyramid)? This doc is not as pro-Ackman as you might expect. By tracking him coming to a meeting like a rock star out of a black SUV and increasing skepticism about his motives, it seems to support a balanced view. Yes, Johnson has been part of a management that has made the company worth over $50 billion and many at that high level, millionaires, yet the evidence is that the need for more and more managers merely means more people in the lower levels will never make a buck.As with The Big Short and Margin Call, both about the bad mortgage game, the tension is ripe even though we know the outcome of a potentially nerdy story. However, these stories are all fraught with human drama and educational enlightenment for those of us not versed in financial language and events.These real-life stars carry the moral ambiguity of Shakespearean tragic characters, which, in this case, appear to honor and protect the consumers who buy their products. You will leave the theater with a better understanding of shorting and more than that, a wariness about door-to- door products and slick purveyors.