Betting on Zero (2017)

An absolute waste of money

A Disappointing Continuation

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

A long but engaging and extremely even-handed documentary, and it's engaging in large part because it doesn't take obvious sides. You really don't know which way things will go, nor is anyone portrayed as a purely good guy or bad guy, and different parties are given equal opportunities to speak. I liked it.

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

As of October, 2017 - a few months after the premier of this documentary - Herbalife stock price peacefully sits at ~67 USD. I just wanted to start the review with this statement to let everyone know the company is still well and thriving. None should look at this production as the documentary that exposes the dirty cheats that may run a corporation bankrupt or earn them the most thorough federal investigations of all time. My law teacher once told me: everyday people think that courts provide justice for the mass, but it isn't true. What they provide is law. This applies to Herbalife a lot: the way an MLM company operates is clearly unfair and unjust, but none was able to prove so far that it is completely against the law. There may be illegal operations behind the curtain we don't know of yet or 'Betting on Zero' was unable to bring to light, but as far as they are considered clean by the regulators, they go on.However I must praise the documentary for the financial approach. It gives very good explanation on basic terms like shorting, provides a good view of the hedge fund world and reveals why the efficient market theory is far-far away from reality. So in case you want to be the next George Soros, this is a must-watch for you. If you are looking for a documentary where the little men fight to get revenge on big money, then just skip this - Mexican immigrants praying with attorneys will hardly provide you any useful information.

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.