The Informant!

"I just want to get from my car to the office without being confronted by the decay of western Society- plus I'm cheap!"

A man turns whistle blower on the company he's dedicated his life to- but as the F.B.I. investigates they soon find that things don't quite ad up with his story.

So, as you may have already guessed, the confounding "free pass" situation ended with the clean slate option. I just couldn't bring myself to sit through the horrible first half of "Couples Retreat" again- just so I could be sure the second half was bad. And so it fell to The Informant! To bat clean up, and for the most part I would say it came through.
I can't resist opening with the observation that Scott Bakula plays a large role in this movie. In a cast full of faces you know but maybe can't place- he is an old friend you never forgot. It is always nice to see him again, his understated performances are always a pleasure, and The informant! Is no exception (although enterprise is).
This movie is packed with comedy which spawns from the quietly telling Chuck Palahniuk-esque factoids on everything from corn to polar bears, and the complete oddity that is the true story it is inspired by. Speaking of which I did a little research, and from what I've read this movie is pretty accurate as far as the overall story goes. I say this only because of the amount of fiction that usually gets put into "based on a true story" movies, Remember the Titans I'm looking in your direction...
I've always said that there is a difference between something action less and something boring. The Informant! Is never boring. From it's Charlie and the chocolate factory invoking opening to the inevitable text epilogue, I felt engaged and interested. At no point does this movie lay flat- in fact it's painted as a sort of pseudo-mystery, which keeps the watcher guessing as to whats really going on until the very end.Matt Damon shines brightly at the reins of this cast in terms of performance. In a welcome change, he steps a bit away from his usual to craft an intriguingly non-Damon character. The performance is nearly flawless, and I say nearly because at the very en of the film there are a couple scenes where he sheds the guise and brings back that same-old-Damon character. These scenes however are in the minority, serving more to prove how good the rest of the performance was.
In the end, The Informant! just didn't have the star power to compete with the debuts around. Personally I think this is a shame because it was a nice bit of storytelling. I don't think it's going to make it onto anyone's "Best Movies of all Time" list, but that doesn't mean it's a waste of your time- indeed I can't think of a Soderbergh film that is... ok well Ocean's Twelve, but that's the only one... I think...

Watcher X says: "It was decent... but I still hate Matt Damon."

Reel Deal Reccomends:
Talented Mr. Ripley: For brilliant performance from Matt Damon.
Quantum Leap: Because I felt dirty when I tried to write anything else here.
Solaris: For a Steve Soderbergh film that gave me chills over and over.