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The Informant (2009 film)
Encyclopedia
The Informant! is a 2009 American fact-based comic drama film
directed by Steven Soderbergh
. It depicts Mark Whitacre
's involvement as a whistle blower in the lysine price-fixing conspiracy
of the mid-1990s as described in the 2000 nonfiction book The Informant, by journalist Kurt Eichenwald
. The script was written by Scott Z. Burns
, and the film stars Matt Damon
, Scott Bakula
, Joel McHale
and Melanie Lynskey
.
, a rising star at Decatur, Illinois
based Archer Daniels Midland
(ADM) in the early 1990s, blows the whistle on the company’s price-fixing tactics at the urging of his wife Ginger.
One night in November 1992, Whitacre confesses to FBI special agent Brian Shepard that ADM executives — including Whitacre himself — had routinely met with competitors to fix the price of lysine
, an additive used in the commercial livestock industry. Whitacre secretly gathers hundreds of hours of video and audio over several years to present to the FBI. He assists in gathering evidence by clandestinely taping the company’s activity in business meetings at various locations around the globe such as Tokyo
, Paris
, Mexico City
, and Hong Kong
, eventually collecting enough evidence of collaboration and conspiracy
to warrant a raid of ADM.
Whitacre’s good deed dovetails with his own major infractions and his internal, secret struggle with bipolar disorder
seems to take over his exploits. The bulk of the film focuses on Whitacre's meltdown resulting from the pressures of wearing a wire and organizing surveillance for the FBI for three years, instigated by Whitacre's reaction, in increasingly manic overlays, to various trivial magazine articles he reads. In a stunning turn of events immediately following the covert portion of the case, headlines around the world report that Whitacre had embezzled $9 million from his own company at the same period of time he was secretly working with/ for the FBI and taping his co-workers, while simultaneously aiming to be elected as ADM CEO following the arrest and conviction of the remaining upper management members.In the ensuing chaos, Whitacre appears to shift his trust and randomly destabilize his relationships with Agent Shepard, his partner Agent Herndon and numerous attorneys in the process.
Authorities at ADM began investigating, in an attempt to cover tracks, the mounted papertrail with forged names and specs that Whitacre had built to cover his own subversive deeds. After being confronted with evidence of his fraud, Whitacre's reasoning and defensive claims begin to spiral out of control, including an accusation of assault
and battery
against Agent Shepard and the FBI, which had made a substantial move to distance their case from Whitacre entirely. Because of this major infraction and Whitacre’s bizarre behavior, he was sentenced to a prison term three times as long as that meted out to the white-collar criminals
he helped to catch. In the epilogue of Whitacre's case, Agent Herndon visits inmate Whitacre in prison as he videotapes a futile appeal to seek a presidential pardon
. Overweight, balding and psychologically beaten after his years long ordeal, Mark Whitacre is eventually released from prison with his wife Ginger, waiting to greet him.
, Soderbergh announced his intent to adapt the book The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald, a former journalist for The New York Times
. Scott Z. Burns
wrote the script based on the book.
Production began in May, 2008 in Decatur, Illinois
. Filming was also done at the former Whitacre mansion in Moweaqua, Illinois
, a small town about 25 miles from Decatur, and at Illini Country Club in Springfield, Illinois
. Some exterior shots were done in Mesa, Arizona, in November 2008. The film was released on September 18, 2009. Damon gained 20-30 pounds for the role in order to look more like Whitacre.
For the film Soderbergh cast a number of stand up
comedians in prominent and supporting roles, including Andrew Daly
, Joel McHale
, Allan Havey
, Tom Papa
, Patton Oswalt
, Rick Overton
, Paul F. Tompkins
, the Smothers Brothers
and Bob Zany
.
reported that 77% of critics gave positive reviews based on 197 reviews with an average score of 6.8/10. Another review aggregator, Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized rating from reviews from mainstream critics, reported a score of 66 out of 100 based on 35 reviews. Film critic Roger Ebert
awarded the film 4 stars out of 4 claiming "The Informant! is fascinating in the way it reveals two levels of events, not always visible to each other or to the audience." While giving the film the grade of a B, Entertainment Weekly
said that "Soderbergh has chosen to apply an attitude of arch whoopee, a greasy veneer of mirth over what is, no joke, a serious mess of malfeasance and mental instability," concluding, "Soderbergh ultimately made the choice to abandon interesting, dispassionate empathy for the more quick-fix payoff of amusement." Rolling Stone
gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, and, in response to critics of the film's comic tone, Pete Travers said, "Laugh you will at The Informant!, but it's way too real to laugh off." People
magazine also assigned the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, saying, "[Damon]'s a hoot, and so is the movie." Todd McCarthy of Variety also praised Damon's performance, calling his interpretation of Whitacre, "The wacky little brother of Erin Brockovich
".
with $10,545,000. As of December 17, 2009 the film had grossed $33,316,821 domestically and $41,771,168 worldwide.
In the United Kingdom
, the film opened at #10 with £179,612 from the opening weekend. It was the third highest new entry after A Serious Man
and The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
. It depicts Mark Whitacre
Mark Whitacre
Mark Edward Whitacre came to public attention in 1995 when, as president of the BioProducts Division at Archer Daniels Midland , he was the highest-level corporate executive in U.S. history to become a Federal Bureau of Investigation whistleblower...
's involvement as a whistle blower in the lysine price-fixing conspiracy
Lysine price-fixing conspiracy
The lysine price-fixing conspiracy was an organized effort during the mid-1990s to raise the price of the animal feed additive lysine. It involved five companies that had commercialized high-tech fermentation technologies, including American company Archer Daniels Midland , Japanese companies...
of the mid-1990s as described in the 2000 nonfiction book The Informant, by journalist Kurt Eichenwald
Kurt Eichenwald
Kurt Alexander Eichenwald , an American writer and investigative reporter formerly with The New York Times and later with Condé Nast's business magazine, Portfolio...
. The script was written by Scott Z. Burns
Scott Z. Burns
Scott Z. Burns is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. He has written screenplays for The Bourne Ultimatum , The Informant! , and Contagion , all of which feature Matt Damon. His latest two films were both directed by Steven Soderbergh...
, and the film stars Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
, Scott Bakula
Scott Bakula
Scott Stewart Bakula is an American actor, known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan...
, Joel McHale
Joel McHale
Joel Edward McHale is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, television producer, television personality, and voice artist. He is best known for hosting The Soup and for his role as Jeff Winger on Community....
and Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Jayne Lynskey is a New Zealand actress best known for playing Charlie Harper's neighbor/stalker Rose on Two and a Half Men, and a range of characters in films such as Win Win, Up in the Air, The Informant!, Away We Go, Flags of Our Fathers, Shattered Glass, Sweet Home Alabama, Ever After...
.
Plot
Mark WhitacreMark Whitacre
Mark Edward Whitacre came to public attention in 1995 when, as president of the BioProducts Division at Archer Daniels Midland , he was the highest-level corporate executive in U.S. history to become a Federal Bureau of Investigation whistleblower...
, a rising star at Decatur, Illinois
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
based Archer Daniels Midland
Archer Daniels Midland
The Archer Daniels Midland Company is a conglomerate headquartered in Decatur, Illinois. ADM operates more than 270 plants worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial and animal feed markets worldwide.ADM was named the...
(ADM) in the early 1990s, blows the whistle on the company’s price-fixing tactics at the urging of his wife Ginger.
One night in November 1992, Whitacre confesses to FBI special agent Brian Shepard that ADM executives — including Whitacre himself — had routinely met with competitors to fix the price of lysine
Lysine
Lysine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH4NH2. It is an essential amino acid, which means that the human body cannot synthesize it. Its codons are AAA and AAG....
, an additive used in the commercial livestock industry. Whitacre secretly gathers hundreds of hours of video and audio over several years to present to the FBI. He assists in gathering evidence by clandestinely taping the company’s activity in business meetings at various locations around the globe such as Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, eventually collecting enough evidence of collaboration and conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to warrant a raid of ADM.
Whitacre’s good deed dovetails with his own major infractions and his internal, secret struggle with bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
seems to take over his exploits. The bulk of the film focuses on Whitacre's meltdown resulting from the pressures of wearing a wire and organizing surveillance for the FBI for three years, instigated by Whitacre's reaction, in increasingly manic overlays, to various trivial magazine articles he reads. In a stunning turn of events immediately following the covert portion of the case, headlines around the world report that Whitacre had embezzled $9 million from his own company at the same period of time he was secretly working with/ for the FBI and taping his co-workers, while simultaneously aiming to be elected as ADM CEO following the arrest and conviction of the remaining upper management members.In the ensuing chaos, Whitacre appears to shift his trust and randomly destabilize his relationships with Agent Shepard, his partner Agent Herndon and numerous attorneys in the process.
Authorities at ADM began investigating, in an attempt to cover tracks, the mounted papertrail with forged names and specs that Whitacre had built to cover his own subversive deeds. After being confronted with evidence of his fraud, Whitacre's reasoning and defensive claims begin to spiral out of control, including an accusation of assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
and battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
against Agent Shepard and the FBI, which had made a substantial move to distance their case from Whitacre entirely. Because of this major infraction and Whitacre’s bizarre behavior, he was sentenced to a prison term three times as long as that meted out to the white-collar criminals
White-collar crime
Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" . Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was...
he helped to catch. In the epilogue of Whitacre's case, Agent Herndon visits inmate Whitacre in prison as he videotapes a futile appeal to seek a presidential pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
. Overweight, balding and psychologically beaten after his years long ordeal, Mark Whitacre is eventually released from prison with his wife Ginger, waiting to greet him.
Cast
- Matt DamonMatt DamonMatthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
as Archer Daniels MidlandArcher Daniels MidlandThe Archer Daniels Midland Company is a conglomerate headquartered in Decatur, Illinois. ADM operates more than 270 plants worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial and animal feed markets worldwide.ADM was named the...
executive Mark WhitacreMark WhitacreMark Edward Whitacre came to public attention in 1995 when, as president of the BioProducts Division at Archer Daniels Midland , he was the highest-level corporate executive in U.S. history to become a Federal Bureau of Investigation whistleblower... - Scott BakulaScott BakulaScott Stewart Bakula is an American actor, known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan...
as FBI agent Brian Shepard - Joel McHaleJoel McHaleJoel Edward McHale is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, television producer, television personality, and voice artist. He is best known for hosting The Soup and for his role as Jeff Winger on Community....
as FBI agent Robert Herndon - Melanie LynskeyMelanie LynskeyMelanie Jayne Lynskey is a New Zealand actress best known for playing Charlie Harper's neighbor/stalker Rose on Two and a Half Men, and a range of characters in films such as Win Win, Up in the Air, The Informant!, Away We Go, Flags of Our Fathers, Shattered Glass, Sweet Home Alabama, Ever After...
as Ginger Whitacre - Thomas F. WilsonThomas F. WilsonThomas F. Wilson is an American actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist and stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future trilogy and Coach Ben Fredricks on NBC's Freaks and Geeks.-Early life:Thomas Francis Wilson, Jr. was...
as Mark Cheviron - Tom PapaTom PapaTom Papa is an American comedian, actor and TV host known for his many TV and film appearances.-Early life:Papa was born November 10, 1967 in Passaic, New Jersey, and grew up in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey...
as Mick Andreas - Rick OvertonRick OvertonRichard "Rick" Overton is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include Dennis Miller Live, and his acting credits include Willow and The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.-Life and career:...
as Terry Wilson - Allan HaveyAllan HaveyAllan Havey is an American stand-up comic and actor. He started his career as a comedian in New York City in 1981. He made his national debut in 1986 on Late Night with David Letterman and made many appearances on the show throughout the 1980s and 1990s...
as FBI Supervisor Dean Paisley - Patton OswaltPatton OswaltPatton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
as Ed Herbst - Scott AdsitScott AdsitScott Adsit is an American actor, writer and improvisational comedian. He is currently co-starring as Pete Hornberger in the hit NBC comedy 30 Rock and worked in the Adult Swim stop-motion animation programs Moral Orel and Mary Shelley's Frankenhole.-1990s:After attending Columbia College Chicago,...
as Sid Hulse - Eddie JemisonEddie JemisonEdward F. "Eddie" Jemison is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the Ocean's Eleven trilogy and the television series Hung.-Life and career:...
as Kirk Schmidt - Clancy BrownClancy BrownClarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles in live action as The Kurgan in the cult classic film Highlander, Byron Hadley in the award-winning The Shawshank Redemption, Brother Justin Crowe in HBO's critically acclaimed Carnivàle, and Career...
as Aubrey Daniel, ADM attorney - Arden MyrinArden MyrinArden Myrin is an American comedian and actress known for her role on the television show MADtv.-Early years:Myrin was born in Little Compton, Rhode Island, a seaside fishing village. She was the younger of two children; her father was an accountant, and her mother was a real estate agent. As a...
as Sarah Scott - Tony HaleTony HaleTony Hale is an American actor, best known for his role in the Fox comedy series Arrested Development as the neurotic Byron "Buster" Bluth.-Early life:...
as James Epstein, Whitacre's attorney - Andrew DalyAndrew DalyAndrew "Andy" Daly is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for playing Principal Terrence Cutler in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down.-Early life:Daly was born in Mount Kisco, New York and raised in New Jersey...
as Marty Allison, ADM vice-president - Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as Mr. Whitacre - Candy ClarkCandy ClarkCandace June "Candy" Clark is an American film and television actress, well known for her role as Debbie Dunham in the 1973 film American Graffiti, which garnered her an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, a character she reprised in 1979 for the sequel More American Graffiti...
as Mrs. Whitacre - Dick SmothersDick SmothersRichard Remick "Dick" Smothers is an American actor, comedian, composer and musician. He is best known for being half of the musical comedy team, the Smothers Brothers, with his older brother Tom.-Life and career:...
as Judge Harold Baker - Tom SmothersTom SmothersTom Smothers is an American comedian, composer and musician, best known as half of the musical comedy team The Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick.-Early life:...
as Dwayne Andreas - Richard Steven HorvitzRichard Steven HorvitzRichard Steven Horvitz, sometimes credited as Richard S. Horvitz, Richard Horvitz, or Richard Wood, is an American actor and voice actor best known for his work as the voice of the original Alpha 5 in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, and Power Rangers Turbo, as Raz in Psychonauts,...
as Bob Zaiderman - Bob ZanyBob ZanyBob Zany is an American stand-up comedian. He is known for performing with his trademark cigar on stage. According to an article found on his web page, he "stuff[s] a cigar into a plastic bag with a couple of Bob Zany original postcards and charge[s] five bucks for the package...
as John DowdJohn M. DowdJohn M. Dowd , an American lawyer. He received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law.-Career:As of 2010 Dowd is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.-Pete Rose investigation:...
, attorney - Paul F. TompkinsPaul F. TompkinsPaul Francis Tompkins , best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Tompkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a receptionist mother and railway worker father. He started out in stand-up comedy in 1986 at The Comedy Works, Philadelphia, PA, where he...
as FBI agent Anthony D’Angelo
Production
In 2002, after completing Ocean's ElevenOcean's Eleven (2001 film)
Ocean's Eleven is a 2001 American comedy-crime caper and remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper film of the same name. The 2001 film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and features an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Andy García, and Julia Roberts. The film was...
, Soderbergh announced his intent to adapt the book The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald, a former journalist for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Scott Z. Burns
Scott Z. Burns
Scott Z. Burns is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. He has written screenplays for The Bourne Ultimatum , The Informant! , and Contagion , all of which feature Matt Damon. His latest two films were both directed by Steven Soderbergh...
wrote the script based on the book.
Production began in May, 2008 in Decatur, Illinois
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
. Filming was also done at the former Whitacre mansion in Moweaqua, Illinois
Moweaqua, Illinois
Moweaqua is a village in Shelby County, Illinois, United States, and partly in Christian County, Illinois. The population was 1,831 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Decatur is located at ....
, a small town about 25 miles from Decatur, and at Illini Country Club in Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
. Some exterior shots were done in Mesa, Arizona, in November 2008. The film was released on September 18, 2009. Damon gained 20-30 pounds for the role in order to look more like Whitacre.
For the film Soderbergh cast a number of stand up
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
comedians in prominent and supporting roles, including Andrew Daly
Andrew Daly
Andrew "Andy" Daly is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for playing Principal Terrence Cutler in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down.-Early life:Daly was born in Mount Kisco, New York and raised in New Jersey...
, Joel McHale
Joel McHale
Joel Edward McHale is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, television producer, television personality, and voice artist. He is best known for hosting The Soup and for his role as Jeff Winger on Community....
, Allan Havey
Allan Havey
Allan Havey is an American stand-up comic and actor. He started his career as a comedian in New York City in 1981. He made his national debut in 1986 on Late Night with David Letterman and made many appearances on the show throughout the 1980s and 1990s...
, Tom Papa
Tom Papa
Tom Papa is an American comedian, actor and TV host known for his many TV and film appearances.-Early life:Papa was born November 10, 1967 in Passaic, New Jersey, and grew up in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey...
, Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
, Rick Overton
Rick Overton
Richard "Rick" Overton is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include Dennis Miller Live, and his acting credits include Willow and The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.-Life and career:...
, Paul F. Tompkins
Paul F. Tompkins
Paul Francis Tompkins , best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Tompkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a receptionist mother and railway worker father. He started out in stand-up comedy in 1986 at The Comedy Works, Philadelphia, PA, where he...
, the Smothers Brothers
Smothers Brothers
The Smothers Brothers are Thomas and Richard , American singers, musicians, comedians and folk heroes. The brothers' trademark act was performing folk songs , which usually led to arguments between the siblings...
and Bob Zany
Bob Zany
Bob Zany is an American stand-up comedian. He is known for performing with his trademark cigar on stage. According to an article found on his web page, he "stuff[s] a cigar into a plastic bag with a couple of Bob Zany original postcards and charge[s] five bucks for the package...
.
Critical reception
The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 77% of critics gave positive reviews based on 197 reviews with an average score of 6.8/10. Another review aggregator, Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized rating from reviews from mainstream critics, reported a score of 66 out of 100 based on 35 reviews. Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
awarded the film 4 stars out of 4 claiming "The Informant! is fascinating in the way it reveals two levels of events, not always visible to each other or to the audience." While giving the film the grade of a B, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said that "Soderbergh has chosen to apply an attitude of arch whoopee, a greasy veneer of mirth over what is, no joke, a serious mess of malfeasance and mental instability," concluding, "Soderbergh ultimately made the choice to abandon interesting, dispassionate empathy for the more quick-fix payoff of amusement." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, and, in response to critics of the film's comic tone, Pete Travers said, "Laugh you will at The Informant!, but it's way too real to laugh off." People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine also assigned the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, saying, "[Damon]'s a hoot, and so is the movie." Todd McCarthy of Variety also praised Damon's performance, calling his interpretation of Whitacre, "The wacky little brother of Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich-Ellis is an American legal clerk and environmental activist who, despite the lack of a formal law school education, or any legal education, was instrumental in constructing a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company of California in 1993...
".
Box office
The film opened at #2 behind Cloudy with a Chance of MeatballsCloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (film)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a 2009 American computer-animated family comedy film, produced by Sony Pictures Animation, distributed by Columbia Pictures, and released on September 18, 2009. The film is loosely based on the children's book of the same name by Judi and Ron Barrett.The film...
with $10,545,000. As of December 17, 2009 the film had grossed $33,316,821 domestically and $41,771,168 worldwide.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the film opened at #10 with £179,612 from the opening weekend. It was the third highest new entry after A Serious Man
A Serious Man
A Serious Man is a 2009 dark comedy written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a Minnesota Jewish man whose life crumbles both professionally and personally, leading to questions about his faith...
and The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
Awards
The film received nominations for multiple awards, such as a Satellite Award for Best Actor for Matt Damon's performance as well as a nomination from the Detroit Film Critics Society. Damon was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy, but lost to Robert Downey, Jr. in Sherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes (2009 film)
Sherlock Holmes is a 2009 action-mystery film based on the character of the same name created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film was directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. The screenplay by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon...
.
External links
- This American Life #168: The Fix Is In —interview with Mark WhitacreMark WhitacreMark Edward Whitacre came to public attention in 1995 when, as president of the BioProducts Division at Archer Daniels Midland , he was the highest-level corporate executive in U.S. history to become a Federal Bureau of Investigation whistleblower...
and the book's author, Kurt EichenwaldKurt EichenwaldKurt Alexander Eichenwald , an American writer and investigative reporter formerly with The New York Times and later with Condé Nast's business magazine, Portfolio...
, from This American LifeThis American LifeThis American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...