“The Informant!” More Twists Than a Drunken Snake

More Twists Than a Drunken Snake

“Hotshots” looks at a movie!

THE INFORMANT! is based on the true story of a whistle-blower in a giant corporation about an international price-fixing scheme, but it is much more than that.

It’s also a lough-out-loud comedy directed by Steven Soderbergh, who previously directed the 2000 ERIN BROKOVICH in all seriousness, but also directed the recent OCEAN’S movies as goofy crime capers.

Matt Damon stars as Mark “Corky” Whitacre, a high-level executive in Archer Daniels Midland, an Illinois-based agribusiness conglomerate. In 1992 a series of events leads him to believe that there is a “mole” in the company who is feeding information to the company’s Japanese competitors, thereby prompting the Japanese to request $10 million to reveal the identity of the mole and also correct another problem Corky’s company has with a virus.

Corky goes to the FBI, and when they question what his motive is, he says, “I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

The FBI is suspicious, because Corky is making $350,000 a year, and he becomes an informer on his own company. Again, he says, “Things are going on, I don’t approve of.”

Corky is only too happy to carry a concealed recorder to meetings in order to obtain evidence against his own company, because he believes that when all of this is over, he will be rewarded by being made the next president of the corporation.

No, Corky is not the smartest rung on the ladder, and he gives hilarious running commentary in internal monologues as the events unfold.

However, when the audience catches Corky in a lie to the FBI agents who are working with him, the audience thinks “Not so fast!” at this unusual and unexpected turn of events.

The FBI agents follow Corky to business meetings all over the world, and they become exasperated at Corky’s ineptness at being a spy, even though Corky brags that he is “Agent 0014,” because he is twice as smart as “007.”

Then something happens that causes the audience to think “Not so fast!” again.

So, hold onto your seats, because something else happens that causes a “Not so fast!” a third time.

In fact, as the film races to its conclusion, “Not so fast!” keeps coming again and again.

THE INFORMANT! takes more twists and turns than a drunken snake in a maze and is very rewarding.

I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”