The Informant - Movie Review

I didn't know enough about the ADM scandal to know why Steven Soderbergh's would take a funny approach to it in "The Informant;" I mean, the food giant was involved in a giant price-fixing scandal and had to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and restitution. Officers of the company went to jail. So did the title character. What's so funny about that?

But Soderbergh actually plays the material pretty straight, despite the funny goofy disclaimer, off-kilter graphics, and bouncy music. It's the twists and turns of the title character that make for the comedy or, actually, tragi-comedy as it slowly becomes clear just what this guy is all about. Helpless to control himself, he starts out wanting to do a good thing - or does he? - and ends up bringing down more than just his company.

I'm a fan of Matt Damon's, despite his kooky politics, and he does quite well with this role. Look for The Soup's wise-crackin' Joel McHale in larger-than-you'd-think supporting straight role, too. Highly entertaining and very well done.