If you spend tireless nights fantasizing about what Matt Damon would look like if he put on some weight and grew a beefy moustache, you might want to sit down. Because Matt Damon put on thirty pounds and grew one hell of a moustache for his newest film, The Informant! Damon once again pairs up with Ocean’s Eleven director Steven Soderbergh in a tale about price-fixing, bipolar disorder, and a whole lot of lying.
The Informant! tells the story of Mark Whitacre, the highest level business executive to turn F.B.I. whistleblower in U.S. history. Erin Brockovich or The Insider, this film is not. The corporate world of lysine production may sound boring, but Soderbergh makes audiences laugh instead of yawn. As Whitacre falls deeper into his double life with the F.B.I., his lies build and he becomes more and more absurd. His voiced-over, stream-of-consciousness monologues about topics ranging from the Japanese word for tuna to indoor pools are not only funny, but also insightful. Could Whitacre truly be as thickheaded as he seems?
While Damon has shown his ability to carry a movie in the past (see: The Bourne Identity), The Informant! is packed with talented actors from top to bottom. Comedy fans will be pleased to see Joel McHale and Patton Oswalt make short cameos, while Scott Bakula plays Agent Brian Shepard perfectly—the straight man to Damon’s Whitacre. Melanie Lynskey shines as Ginger, Whitacre’s clueless, morally-driven wife. Of course, Damon hits the mark as a doughy oaf without common sense—from the inflection of his voice to the goofy smile on his face, the character is a hilarious stereotype of a white-collar Midwesterner.
Soderbergh may be the only man in Hollywood who can make such a hard transition from film to film. A porn star was the title character in his last movie, The Girlfriend Experience. Who else can get away with that and count A-list actors such as Damon and George Clooney among his friends?
While The Informant! may not be a box-office hit like some of his previous works, Soderbergh continues his streak of directing entertaining films without falling prey to the expectations of a genre. (I’m looking at you, All About Steve.) Soderbergh successfully toes the line between artistic and enjoyable. That is, if you enjoy long-winded monologues about the many uses of corn. Or if you’re a fan of a mustachioed Matt Damon. That facial hair could make a nun swoon.
