Art of the Prank

Art of the Prank profiles the four decade plus career of media/art prankster Joey Skaggs. Skaggs would create hoaxes like saying he was creating a cat house (prostitution) for dogs just to have the media report on them, the expose that they'd be duped. The point? To cast a spotlight on the media, all with the intent that people should question what they read.

The doc tracks a whole host of Joey's pranks going back to the Vietnam era to today. And it is drop dead hilarious and the way through, watching the backstory of how he creates and stages his events, and when the media, from the NY Times to CNN, have to eat crow and having been fooled.

Again it's not only hugely entertaining but very timely, in this era where we have to deal with fake news coming at us from every direction.

The Premise. Art of the Prank is an emotional and humorous journey following the evolution of Joey Skaggs,

Godfather of the media hoax, as he tries to pull off the most challenging prank of his career.

This is interwoven with amazing archive footage of his earlier escapades-all reported as fact by prestigious journalists.

The resulting twists and turns provide unprecedented insight into Joey's work as an artist, activist and social satirist.

I was REALLY ho[ping to like this movie. Unfortunately it's rather boring. It also shows that Scaggs hey day was 25 years ago and now he's all dried up of creativity.

His stunts are silly and easily debunked, but the media could not care less about vetting.

I forget the guy's name, but Scaggs is NOT the godfather of the prank. There was another guy before him who was so much better and a documentary was made about him a number of years ago by his daughter. Look for that one.

Wonderful documentary that captures a true artist. Joey Skaggs is the artists that pushes envelopes, but always with the intent to be an artist. Art of the prank paints a perfect portrait of a man with a mission. The good news is none of the pranks harm, this is not a stupid YouTube movie or directed by someone who got lucky and has no clue who D.A. Pennebaker is or landmark documentarian Ken Burns. The whole crew knows how to show you ART OF THE PRANK. Good for some laughs and also, original----not your documentary that 45 minutes in you realize "I've seen this."

We saw this film in NYC and thoroughly enjoyed it . You'll find that In this day and age of 'fake news' and sadly fake presidents, it is truly spot on ! The images will remain in your head as you look around at our so called 'Real World". The Art of The Prank is from the brilliant and somewhat skewed mind of Joey Skaggs. Don't miss it.

I found it both entertaining and containing more depth than I anticipated. Joey Skaggs has spent a lifetime satirizing life, politics, the arts and the media. More power to him. Anyone who believes that the world is a bit absurd will love this film. I am going to order a copy to show to my granddaughter. She needs to see this point of view.