SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

MrJoe1987 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

kosmasp I had heard of Herballife before, but I never really looked into it. I have to admit that only by name and the vague promise of healthy living/eating, I'd say I would be interested in that product. But having watched the movie and having checked online for other sources, I wouldn't do it in hindsight. The Pyramid thing of selling, is something I despised from the moment someone tried to sell it to me.Back then I got introduced into the life insurance business. Where when you got people signing a contract, you got a percentage. But you could also get other people involved, lean back and let them do the hard work. Obviously, the most money would land with the people at the top ... all those below would get a smaller amount ... all the way to the crumbs at the bottom. The movie portrays different sides and gives voice or offers perspective from Herballife too. There are more than a couple of warning signs. But if someone promises you riches and a lot of money ... well some people do fall for that. Intriguing and compelling editing does the rest

Steve I've been following the Ackman/Herbalife story with amusement for years. This was an entertaining movie to watch, if this was a work of fiction I would give it 7/10. But as a documentary, I hold it to a much higher standard...So, this movie would have you believe that Herbalife is the biggest pyramid scheme in the history of the world. A bold claim indeed! Prove it to me, this movie did not. First, Herbalife sells Billions of dollars in product a year, year after year. That is Billions with a capital (B), real product to real people, apparently not worth mentioning by the film maker. Next, the FTC did an extensive audit of Herbalife, and did not shut them down. You would have me believe that the biggest pyramid scheme in the history of the world can pass an FTC audit? Seriously? Sorry, I find the premise ludicrous. Herbalife was given a fine, and worked with he FTC to clean up it's bad practices. I highly recommend reading the FAQ on FTC.gov on this case before watching this movie.This movie strings together a bunch of hard luck stories with the obvious intent to play on the viewer emotions. The film maker would like you to believe that Herbalife is this evil corporation, and is totally at fault. In my opinion, anyone going into any business is responsible for doing their due diligence. The movie does not explore this simple truth in any meaningful way. The film fails to explore the distinction of where the fault lies, which is to some degree with Herbalife, some degree with the dealers doing the recruiting, and some degree with the new recruits. In my opinion the movie has the blame between the three backwards.The real underlying problem, is age old, runs across every business, in every country, over all time. People will rip other people off for money. Commission sales brings out the worst in people, making exaggerated claims to play on emotions in order to make that sale. The only unique thing here is that the biggest sale get a new recruit, this is the normal business model for all multi-level marketing organizations, not unique to Herbalife at all.The only possible redeeming quality of this movie is that you can watch it with your children and teach them not to be a dumb ass. There are two sides to every story, teach your children to look for both, and avoid being manipulated by a one sided story someone else wants to sell you.See that guy that bought 5 nutrition clubs, well the smart thing would have been to buy one and see how it goes, he has nobody to blame but himself. Here is a guy with a construction business, and allows himself to be sold on hype, did he learn nothing in building his business? Why isn't his construction business successful? Maybe he just doesn't the talent to run a business in the first place. This person has a basement and garage full of product they can't sell, maybe they should have sold what they had first before ordering more. Stupid is as stupid does Forrest.Full disclosure: I have never tried a Herbalife product, and probably never will, I'm not a fan of the direct sell business model. I am very much into nutrition and supplementation. After the FTC ruling, I purchased Herbalife stock, I believe the company is good from an investment stand point.

jdesando 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.