Matt Damon; bald and moronic. Vision of the future? Let's hope not.
The Informant!
starring Matt Damon, Eddie Jemison, Tom Papa, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakula, Patton Oswalt
directed by Stephen Soderbergh
After seeing all three Bourne flicks, watching Matt Damon run around and put this fist through so many bad guys faces, its hard to imagine him as being a stiff, toupe wearing VP of an agricultural giant. But apparently its possible, because we have Soderbergh’s The Informant!, a based on a true story comedy set in the corporate workplace (perhaps Extract’s Mike Judge should have seen this first?). And yes, it’s every bit as hilarious as the previews make it out to be. Maybe better.
Damon is Mark Whitacre, who is the youngest vice president at AMN, an agricultural business giant. Mark’s branch is going under from complications, so he fabricates a story about the Japanese corporations having a mole in AMN who is sabotaging the branch. AMN execs bring in FBI agent Brian Sheperd (Bakula) to investigate. After much to do, Whitacre admits he’s lying to Agent Sheperd. To get himself out of trouble, he spills about world wide price setting between the corn syrup producers. This is of course, illegal, so the bureau begins an investigation with Whitacre as their main informant. Chaos ensue, because not only is Whitacre completely inept in the spy game, he’s not telling the whole truth.
Matt Damon is a marvel in this film. Sure, we all knew the boy had acting chops since Good Will Hunting, but his role as Mark Whitacre is just something else. He is convincing as a mid thirties to early forties exec who doesn’t quite understand everything he’s involved in. He goes along with the FBI investigation, and seems to be the only person who doesn’t realize the will either fail because of this, or all of them will go to jail. He thinks by helping, he’ll be the only one left and he’ll be the President of the whole company. A huge leap, but he really, dumbly, believes it. As the movie rolls along, you find out what else is going on behind closed doors, and its just amazing that Whitacre continues to go about justifying everything he’s done. This isn’t giving away too much plot detail, but Whitacre is a compulsive liar, and it digs him into deeper and deeper hole. It is hilarious to watch the meltdown, and Damon gives us a stupendous show.
The best part of this comedy is we get to peer inside the mixed up head of Whitacre through narration. He narrates to himself about his thoughts; and they don’t always go along with what’s happening on the screen. He day dreams about polar bear’s camoflauge, the many uses of corn, how common things just don’t make sense, and many other completely insane and mundane topics. He even narrates over entire converstaions that are happening on the screen. Not only are they killer hilarious, it’s showing us what’s going on in this man’s head, and helps us understand just how much he doesn’t completely understand what’s going on.
It’s simple and hilarious. Soderbergh has crafted a well thought out satire of corporate crime. Inbetween the laughs and idiocy, Soderbergh let’s you glimpse at how truly dirty and greedy and senseless these corporate big wigs can be. He also shows you that with a good corporate lawyer, you can turn just about anything around and make yourself the the offended instead of the defendee. On the surface, great comedy. Underneath, its something bold and painfully truthful about the state of our corporate upperclass and what they’re doing behind closed doors.
Go see it. The only thing funnier in recent memory is The Hangover. Here’s to Matt Damon; I hope you find it in yourself to do more comedies like this one. And especially you, Mr. Soderbergh; though we love the Danny Ocean movies, thank God you did not make this film Ocean’s 14. I think there would have been an uprising.
Matt Damon is The Informant!
Matt Damon; bald and moronic. Vision of the future? Let's hope not.
starring Matt Damon, Eddie Jemison, Tom Papa, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakula, Patton Oswalt
directed by Stephen Soderbergh
After seeing all three Bourne flicks, watching Matt Damon run around and put this fist through so many bad guys faces, its hard to imagine him as being a stiff, toupe wearing VP of an agricultural giant. But apparently its possible, because we have Soderbergh’s The Informant!, a based on a true story comedy set in the corporate workplace (perhaps Extract’s Mike Judge should have seen this first?). And yes, it’s every bit as hilarious as the previews make it out to be. Maybe better.
Damon is Mark Whitacre, who is the youngest vice president at AMN, an agricultural business giant. Mark’s branch is going under from complications, so he fabricates a story about the Japanese corporations having a mole in AMN who is sabotaging the branch. AMN execs bring in FBI agent Brian Sheperd (Bakula) to investigate. After much to do, Whitacre admits he’s lying to Agent Sheperd. To get himself out of trouble, he spills about world wide price setting between the corn syrup producers. This is of course, illegal, so the bureau begins an investigation with Whitacre as their main informant. Chaos ensue, because not only is Whitacre completely inept in the spy game, he’s not telling the whole truth.
Matt Damon is a marvel in this film. Sure, we all knew the boy had acting chops since Good Will Hunting, but his role as Mark Whitacre is just something else. He is convincing as a mid thirties to early forties exec who doesn’t quite understand everything he’s involved in. He goes along with the FBI investigation, and seems to be the only person who doesn’t realize the will either fail because of this, or all of them will go to jail. He thinks by helping, he’ll be the only one left and he’ll be the President of the whole company. A huge leap, but he really, dumbly, believes it. As the movie rolls along, you find out what else is going on behind closed doors, and its just amazing that Whitacre continues to go about justifying everything he’s done. This isn’t giving away too much plot detail, but Whitacre is a compulsive liar, and it digs him into deeper and deeper hole. It is hilarious to watch the meltdown, and Damon gives us a stupendous show.
The best part of this comedy is we get to peer inside the mixed up head of Whitacre through narration. He narrates to himself about his thoughts; and they don’t always go along with what’s happening on the screen. He day dreams about polar bear’s camoflauge, the many uses of corn, how common things just don’t make sense, and many other completely insane and mundane topics. He even narrates over entire converstaions that are happening on the screen. Not only are they killer hilarious, it’s showing us what’s going on in this man’s head, and helps us understand just how much he doesn’t completely understand what’s going on.
It’s simple and hilarious. Soderbergh has crafted a well thought out satire of corporate crime. Inbetween the laughs and idiocy, Soderbergh let’s you glimpse at how truly dirty and greedy and senseless these corporate big wigs can be. He also shows you that with a good corporate lawyer, you can turn just about anything around and make yourself the the offended instead of the defendee. On the surface, great comedy. Underneath, its something bold and painfully truthful about the state of our corporate upperclass and what they’re doing behind closed doors.
Go see it. The only thing funnier in recent memory is The Hangover. Here’s to Matt Damon; I hope you find it in yourself to do more comedies like this one. And especially you, Mr. Soderbergh; though we love the Danny Ocean movies, thank God you did not make this film Ocean’s 14. I think there would have been an uprising.