Episode 150. The Informant! (2009)

On this episode of B&R at the Movies podcast Berry and Robin watch and discus the 2009 film The Informant!. This off beat comedy from director Steven Soderbergh is the true story of corporate greed involving corn and lysine in a major FBI investigation. This roller-coaster of true crime and dark comedy stars Matt Damon, Tony Hale, Patton Oswalt, Eddie Jemison, Tom Papa, Melanine Lynskey, Tom Wilson, Joel McHale, and Scott Bakula. Come along for this wild ride. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:15

All right, everybody. Welcome back for another episode of BNR at the movies podcast. I'm Barry. And I'm Robin. Alright, so this week was my choice of film.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

And I have decided that we are going to watch the 2009 film The Informant.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Oh, it's that old. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 0:33

Yeah, it's one of those where it's like, you know, sometimes you don't really think about, you know, how old films have gotten.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Yeah, and then you look it up and you're always like, oh, yeah, I guess that one's itchy.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

So this stars uh Matt Damon, Pat Noswalt. Um there's a uh bunch of uh funny comedians that are in it. Uh uh Tom Papa, uh Rick Overton, uh Scott Scott Bacchula, uh huh, uh Tom Wilson, which I you know who Tom Wilson is. He's Biff from Back to the Future.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

Um but yeah, so uh so this film came out in 2009. Um it kind of just kind of like meandered through 2009, didn't really ruffle any big feathers or anything. But I I find it funny. Um it it's listed as a uh a dark comedy. It's based on a true story.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Um, of uh an FBI informant that was helping bring down the company that he worked for. Oh um, so and then the unfortunate twists and turns that happened during it that we're kind of we're we're kind of bumbling through. Okay. Um so it is directed by Steven Soderbergh. Okay. Um he uh famously did Oceans Eleven. Oh that's where I know him. That's why that's the best thing I know him from. Okay. Um but yeah, uh, but this one it's a it's a n it's a it's a it's a good comedy. I like it that it's kind of it's it's kind of just goofy and funny, and then uh really makes you think about like where your food is coming from with this film.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Food.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Didn't know that. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:24

Give me the that's uh yeah, that'll that'll be the little insight for you on that. Okay, okay. But yeah, it's really gonna make you start to start to think about it after this one. And uh yeah, it's it's it's so glad we're eating dinner while we're watching. That's right, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

There are some movies maybe you shouldn't eat.

SPEAKER_02 2:43

Yeah, that's true, and other ones you should. Oh yeah, if we're watching Chef, yeah. Oh, I know.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

I watched that again, not too long ago.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

It was like, oh man, I'm getting hungry just looking at this.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

I gotta eat while I'm watching other ones. I'm just gonna be starving. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

But okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:59

But yeah, okay. Um, but this one is not a food. It's it uh there it's about food, but it's not the main center of the film. So it's um but yeah, but this is uh, like I said, it's a quirky, uh kind of dark comedy that's based on a true story. So I figured uh you haven't seen it. So I haven't.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

I really haven't. I've heard a little bit about it, but uh never seen it. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:27

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:28

All right. Well, we are gonna go ahead and watch The Informant, and then we will come back a little bit to talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

All right, we'll see how this goes.

SPEAKER_02 3:35

That's right. We will be back in a little while. All right, everybody, welcome back. We just got done watching The Informant. And since this was your first time watching it, I'll let you go ahead and take us away on this one.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Once again, I don't like the choices that Matt Damon makes for film. I I I didn't enjoy it. I you know, I think he's a good actor. Yeah. I'm gonna say that. Uh but this story, I mean, really? I don't know. I don't know. It it just was not for me. I I didn't I really didn't see the humor in it.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

Um it just wasn't strong enough for me, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

And um I agree that it's it's kind of you know, so I mean, and even the premise of it.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

So he was he's just lied about everything. Is that is that kind of what what the whole you know bottom line is?

SPEAKER_02 4:43

Yes. He has lied about absolutely everything. And he was he was the only mastermind for everything. He was in on everything, and he was did a lot of it himself. Now the price like you're saying, the price gouging and stuff like that, that was legit, that was happening. But um, and that's why his bosses ended up going away. But like he was like, Oh, you know, I have this, you know, there's a mole, there's no mole. He is the mole. And it's like there's like everything he was saying is like it's all just fabrications.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Yeah, it just it was just too weird for me. I just you know, I just and just kind of got lost in it. And it's like, okay, wait, he's he's lying to everybody.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

Right. Yeah, he li lies to his wife, lies to his bosses, lies to the FBI, lies to his lawyers, lies to his second lawyer, and it's like he lies to everybody.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Yeah, it's just I just no, no. I'm kind of wondering, they they thought they chose to make a story about this? Yeah. Because okay, tell tell me why you like this movie then. Okay, because maybe maybe I'm missing something.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

I like that it's quirky, that it's off beat, that it's unusual, that it's it, you know, it's it's supposed to be kind of done like in like a weird kind of tone. I mean, they even have like Kazoo music playing when the FBI is doing the raid.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Yeah, the music is just really like what?

SPEAKER_02 6:17

Right. Well, and that's the whole thing. Like for me, it's supposed to be awkward and weird. Like the fact that they have every window like overexposed, like just like it's it's supposed to be like uncomfortably weird. Um that you would, you know, you would have like this big um you know overexposure going on for the during the shot. Uh-huh. And it's but it's supposed to be it's supposed to be quirky and offbeat and weird.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

And you know, and that's what I I think it kind of does, where it's like it's and you find out about his lies, and then you find out about more about his lies, and then his lies go deeper, and it's like Yeah, I mean, you know, he he lied about his parents, he lied about and it's like why why why why am I interested?

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Why would I want to be interested in this story?

SPEAKER_02 7:10

You know, this is a weird story.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

I mean it's it is it is a very weird story, and really I just kind of got lost in it. It's like so I'm listening to him talk and then he talks to somebody else and says something else. And yeah, and you know, it it yeah, it just didn't really yeah, no. No. It's kind of a no for me, unfortunately. Unfortunately, and I and I kinda and I wanted, yeah, you know, I really did want to to like it. I guess the movie. I did. Um just no.

SPEAKER_02 7:50

I like that as he's going along throughout it, that he's his voiceover is going, but it's just his thoughts like throughout the day that are just like random thoughts that are like popping into his head.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Yeah, the voiceover was weird too, and it's like, okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

Yeah, and it's like and he's like all of a sudden, you know, he's like, you know, why do they call this that? And it's like, I don't understand that, you know, and it's like and then like spewing like random weird facts.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Yeah, so that I mean that that that was that was kind of cute. Okay. I got that. I got that. But then it's then it's like so he lied about all this, but then in the end, he ended up being like a what a CEO of some company. C O O, yeah. C O yeah, yeah. I was like so lying pays, so lying is okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:44

He gets out gets out of prison and then pretty much ends up going back to another company and then that's a V and then.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

Yeah, it's just like what what? What? Yeah, I guess I somewhere in the middle I just stopped caring about him.

SPEAKER_02 9:00

Well, and that's I that's what you're supposed I think that's what you're supposed to do. And the film is a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

And then it's like then I don't I don't want to watch anymore. I don't care about this guy anymore.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

Because there's nobody you're rooting for anymore?

SPEAKER_00 9:10

No. Uh I really didn't care about anybody. I really didn't, you know. Um I just no, no. Uh no.

SPEAKER_02 9:20

I just I just find it just kind of just like I said, just kind of weird and offbeat a little bit and just kind of like it's and the fact that it's based off of a true story, that it's like, you know, there's somebody out there who actually did this.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

To some degree, you know, like they said, to some degree. Like obviously, you know, they're not gonna use real real people's names and stuff for certain reasons.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Right, yeah. Right. But still, it's just somebody sp went to all this trouble to tell this story. Uh it's like, no, thank you. It's okay. I didn't need to know this one. I didn't it it didn't it wasn't painful. No, you know, that that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_02 10:05

But no, I made emotionally painful for you.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Yeah, I d I didn't I really didn't enjoy it because I really didn't care about anybody.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

And I think that's we've we've talked about that before. If you don't have anybody that you're actually rooting for in the film, then it's hard to I couldn't connect.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

I didn't connect with anyone.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

Right.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

And uh because they were all just kind of I don't know, I kind of caricatures of people.

SPEAKER_02 10:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

You know, um, and yeah, I just I just I just couldn't no no not even his wife, not even no, no. She had that mousey voice that she was using, no. No. May maybe the FBI guys. Yeah. Um, because they seemed like they were trying to do the right thing, I guess. Maybe I don't know. It's hard to know who was trying to do the right thing and who wasn't. Right. You know.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

Um I feel like, especially like Scott Bakula's character, like they were I feel like they were actually legitimately trying to do do right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:12

I I kind of wanted to think that, but then it's like, well, I don't know. I don't know. Don't think anybody's doing the right thing here. I don't I don't get it. I just don't get it.

SPEAKER_02 11:22

I feel if anybody got screwed over the most, it was the FBI because they trusted him. Yeah. And even at the very end, you know, when he's like, Oh yeah, it was really 11, 11 and a half million, and he's like, You said it was nine. And he's like, Oh, you know, you figure it out.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Yeah, yeah. You know, it's like uh he's still lying, you know. It's it's like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

Well, and that's the thing, you don't know if he was lying the first time or if he's lying the second time. Yeah, which one's fine. I mean, um it's uh no, mm-mm.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

No, no, no, no. I and I no, mm-mm. I some of some of the camera work was interesting. Yeah. That I thought was good. Um it really kind of because it was like interesting choices, and it was like, okay, I liked a lot of the camera work.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

Right. Um but kind of quirky choices.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Yeah, yeah. And I I can see that, you know. But um as a whole, no.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

You didn't care for it.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

No, not really. But I mean, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen in my whole life. That's a ringing endorsement. Yeah. Not the worst thing I've ever seen. But you know, it just kinda it just kinda goes back to to Matt Damon and the choices of the films that he decides to make. Especially when he was like the main character.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:47

I I just like I you know, really I can't I can't think of one that I really like where he is the main character except for maybe Goodwill Hunting, which was eons ago.

SPEAKER_02 12:59

Uh the Bourne movies. Yeah, they're I mean they're not really your style of movie.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Yeah, I mean the first Born movie I thought was uh interesting.

SPEAKER_02 13:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

I did. After that, it's like what? Like Tom Cruise doing another mission of Oswald.

SPEAKER_02 13:17

It's like, what? Seriously? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Aren't we done with anything?

SPEAKER_02 13:20

Go back to that well again.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

But uh yeah, well, maybe the second born movie too. I did like how that kind of connected with the first a little bit and that sort of thing. But um, but you know, but there's been so it's these quirky movies that he just wants to do. It's like I mean that's fine. I mean, if he feels like doing them, and that they're not they're not bad, um, you know, as far as like nasty movies or weird, you know, but still it's like I'm confused. I have a question mark over my head. What what are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 13:53

Well, and we talked about like um him doing doing the movie Downsizing.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

That was another one that was kind of I couldn't even make it through the whole thing. It's like I just I just had to I just had to turn away. I couldn't watch the whole thing. But then, you know, before the movie, uh there was a preview for Invictus, which he is in, but he's not the main character.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

So maybe, yeah, maybe it's you like him, but it's better if he's not either not the lead or more of an ensemble kind of yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

I mean, you know, but I don't think he's a bad actor. It's just these choices. Honey, what what are you doing? I mean, I don't know. He's probably living it living a pretty good life.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

You got you know, sometimes you just gotta you gotta pick a weird one sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

Um and but I mean deep down I think he's he's one of the good guys. I mean, personally, as a as a real person. Yeah, I think I do, I do, I do think he's one of the good guys, but I'm just kind of challenging his judgment here a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

If you see his name as the lead of a film, you're not exactly running out to go watch it.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

No, I'm just like I kind of hesitate. And I and I hate that because I would like to, I would like to like him in films more. But I am really having a hard time. I'm struggling here, Matt. What should what you do it? What's coming next?

SPEAKER_02 15:10

You know, and I got maybe it'll be one that he'll he'll pick a role or be in something and then you'll completely turn around on him.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

Yeah. I mean, obviously other people think these are good and he they're having a fun time.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

But I just wish I was. I want to have fun too.

SPEAKER_02 15:27

And it I mean, like we've always said, like not all films are gonna be everybody's cup of tea.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

So we've talked about like, you know, horror films, you know, and stuff like that, where it's like some people love them, some people don't, you know, and stuff like that. Yeah. And for this, it's um I found it kind of weird that IMDB had this listed as a dark comedy because it's like it's I would call it quirky, um, offbeat, um, kind of I wouldn't call it comedy. Well, okay. If it's not a comedy, what the freak it is. I mean, it's uh the only thing you'd probably do would be dramatic, but it's not really dramatic.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

It's not really dramatic either. It's like what are you doing? I don't know. I don't know. I just yeah, it's just uh no, no, I just I'm still shaking my head, going, I I don't know. I don't I don't I don't get it. I just I just don't get it.

SPEAKER_02 16:23

Yeah, yeah. Well, and you know, yeah, not everybody I mean.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

But but I have been I have been curious about this because you know, I have tried watching his other films. And sometimes I make it to the end by myself and going, okay, all right. I didn't that wasn't too painful.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

But and at least watching it this way, you can't you're not gonna shut it off.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

No, when I'm watching it with you, I feel and I gotta say, I was almost dozing off while I was watching this one.

SPEAKER_02 16:50

I kind of felt like you're kind of like leaning down on the couch and like kill the cat's up next to you.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

I just yeah, I could I could turn my head away for a little bit. It's okay. It's all right. I'm not gonna miss anything. I mean, you know, I don't get it. I don't get it. Uh but um but yeah, um unfortunately, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

So I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 17:09

Maybe I just need to go on a little hunt and you know a little investigation into Matt Damon's, you know.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

Filmography. Yeah. Well, at least you could check this one off the list.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

Yeah. Because I did see the entire thing. You know, I could I didn't make it through all the way through. What was the one? Downsizing.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

Downsizing, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

Maybe maybe, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 17:32

But it, you know, like I said, it it's it's nice to be able to be introduced to something that, you know, yeah, it's maybe not your speed, but that's how you find out, you know, whether or not you like it or not.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

I can be I can be pleasantly surprised. Right. You know, and just like, oh, that was yeah, and I th thought with this I was gonna be pleasantly surprised.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

Yeah. But try not. No. You're sorry. I mean, I can't, I you know, I don't always pick a winner, but you know.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

No, but you I mean, but you know, you never know. Well, you know, and and I'm open to it. I'm open to whatever. Right. I mean, most things, you know. I mean, within reaching I do have boundaries, but still, but you know, but there's a lot of movies within those boundaries, so it's like I'm pretty much open. It's like, yeah, we'll give it a shot.

SPEAKER_02 18:21

And I I think I remember like we had talked about this one before, and I think remembered you said that you hadn't seen it, so I was like, oh, okay, you know, we'll watch it. And see, and then that way it's like, all right, now it's off your list, and there you go. Now you don't have to wonder about it. It was actually funny because there was another Matt Damon film that I was gonna pick.

SPEAKER_00 18:39

What was it? What was it? What was it?

SPEAKER_02 18:41

Elysium.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

What is oh, I've never even heard of that.

SPEAKER_02 18:45

So it's a science fiction film.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

And oh, you don't want you don't want you don't want to have sitting at home.

SPEAKER_02 18:52

What's that?

SPEAKER_00 18:53

Martian is it?

SPEAKER_02 18:55

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

I have not I have not brought myself to watch it yet.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Oh, I should have picked it. Oh man. Is that decent? I love it. I think it's great.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

You know, and I I thought, okay, here's one that, you know. Because you know, I'm not putting Matt Damon in the Brad Pitt category. It's not that. It is totally not that, Matt. You are not in that category. Sorry.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

Maybe you should save it for save it for us, and then you can explain.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

I can watch Martian with you.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

Yeah, I've got it.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Yeah, I mean, really, yeah. But you know, I I I forgot about that. And I think I kind of have an aversion. I'm I mean, I I picked it up secondhand. You know, I thought, oh, that's that's really popular. I've heard some good things about that. Maybe I should watch it. And it's just sitting there and sitting there and sitting there. And it's just like, I don't I'm I'm I'm almost afraid. You know, it's like, I wanna like you. I want a little guarantee. But that's a pretty good one, yes. Yes. Oh, yeah. Okay, all right. And there's probably other ones out there for Matt Damon I haven't watched because I'm just a little gun shy on it. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

Yeah, I mean, for this one, it's I would definitely say it's probably not high on his list of his, you know, his his best films. But you know, it's like for me, there's there's another one that I have that I it was much more darker and it's more horror that he's in that it's like that I find funny that based off of our previous films, I don't believe you would find funny. Let's just watch dogma.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

But he's not the main character, Nat.

SPEAKER_02 20:27

He's uh well, and that's the thing, he's he's that's more of an ensemble.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

That's a big ensemble, and he's in there, and I think he does well. I mean, I don't even like him in Ocean Eleven. Of course, I didn't really like Oceans Eleven that much.

SPEAKER_02 20:40

I was gonna say it's like you tolerate.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

But I didn't like the origin the original Ocean Eleven sucked, I thought.

SPEAKER_02 20:45

Um I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

I I own it, I own the original as well, but it's I mean I watched that and then I watched the the you know the more modern one and I like the more modern one a little bit, but no, I yeah. I I I w you know it's he's just one of these actors I really, really want to like. And I I like him as a person, yeah. But I'm not I'm not fine, but you know, maybe I just I just need to keep trying.

SPEAKER_02 21:12

Yep, maybe just find him in that ring.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Not gonna give up on you, Matt. No. Not gonna give up on you.

SPEAKER_02 21:17

No. Well, sorry that this one didn't didn't land for you.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Didn't quite land for me, but yes, it is it is checked off my list, and it is definitely a one and done.

SPEAKER_02 21:27

There you go. Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Well not moving back into this one. I didn't I didn't miss anything. No.

SPEAKER_02 21:32

I didn't I I saw the whole I I understood it. Well, you know, everybody, you know, everybody's got their their stuff they like.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

Yeah, you know, and everybody's got their opinions. You know, that's just my opinion. Yours is different. So, you know, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

All right. All right, we're going to wrap this up. Okay. All right, but thank you everybody for listening. Um, I'd say go check out the informants. Uh may say different.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

Uh you know, I mean uh try try to stay. Awake. It's not that bad. I'm sorry. Hello.

SPEAKER_02 22:07

Oh man.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

Oh, okay. All right. But whatever. Yes. The informant.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Good old Matt.

SPEAKER_02 22:14

There we go. All right. Until next time, I'm Barry. And I'm rapping. And we will talk to you guys later.