Movie review: The Informant!

by Alex Bentley

Matt Damon has become such an ubiquitous presence in film that it's easy to forget that he hasn't been around all that much lately. Not counting cameo appearances in Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth and the little-seen Che, and a small voice role in Ponyo, Damon hasn't had a starring role since The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007.

Those with faulty memories may be wondering exactly what happened to Damon when he comes on screen in The Informant! Taking a cue from other Oscar-nominated actors, Damon has uglified himself, packing on 30 pounds and sporting a bad moustache and wig to play the role of Mark Whitacre. Whitacre is an engineer at the agriculture firm Archer Daniels Midland who unwittingly becomes a key part of an FBI investigation after he discovers that ADM is conspiring with other companies to fix the price of lysine, a corn-based product used in animal feed.

The plot of the film revolves around Whitacre's increasingly bizarre dealings with the FBI, including his relationship with agent Brian Shepard (Scott Bakula), and Whitacre's attempts at being a secret agent by surreptitiously recording meetings with his higher-ups and officials from other companies. Things tend to go his head, though, and director Steven Soderbergh takes great relish in playing up all of Whitacre's antics for comedic effect.

In fact, Soderbergh relentlessly hammers home the idea that the story is supposed to be a comedy, and it almost becomes overkill. In addition to the superfluous exclamation mark in the title, he employs stream-of-consciousness voiceovers by Damon (reminiscent of Election) that are often so random that you can't help but laugh. Slapstick-style music by composer Marvin Hamlisch rules the day, so much so that you could be forgiven if you thought you were watching an episode of The Benny Hill Show. And if that wasn't enough, comedians such as Joel McHale, Patton Oswalt, and both Smothers brothers (Tom and Dick) make appearances (all in serious roles, however), and the poster strongly echoes the one used for Judd Apatow's The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Fortunately, Damon proves to be an actor that can handle all of this with aplomb. He's part of Soderbergh's holy trinity (along with George Clooney and Brad Pitt), and it's obvious that he feels at ease under Soderbergh's direction. Comedies, even black ones, don't get much attention come Oscar time, but Damon deserves strong consideration for his total commitment to this role.

The Informant! is a nice transition film from the mostly frivolous summer fare to the Oscar-bait films that dominate the fall. It's not Soderbergh's finest work, but it's nice to see him back on the comic side after his last two efforts.