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.
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.