OK for kids 15+
Playful tale of corporate misdeeds may interest some teens.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this engaging Steven Soderbergh comedy received an R rating principally for language. The actual subject matter -- corporate misdeeds -- may only appeal to teens, however, because it stars Matt Damon. The movie is based on a true story and sends some mixed messages about corporate ethics; ethical breaches are treated somewhat lightly, which may make the crimes seem less serious. And the main character isn't exactly a role model himself. That said, teens old enough to understand the movie's tone won't miss the message about the importance of questioning greed and its place in today's society. While there's little sex or violence, you can expect some drinking and plenty of cursing (including "f--k," "s--t," and more), plus frank, sometimes complicated discussions about certain criminal activities.
- Families can talk about why Mark reveals what he does. Are his true motives clear? Is he ultimately a hero or a villain?
- Why do companies, particiularly large ones, seem unable to prevent breaches in ethics? Is there a general culture of greed that encourages unlawful behavior?
- The movie is based on a true story. Do you think filmmakers changed any of the key facts for the movie? Why would they do that? How could you find out?
The good stuff
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Messages: The main character says he wants to expose a huge corporate scandal because he believes it's wrong, but it soon it becomes clear that he has less pure motives for coming forward. The film is based on a true story about an investigation intoprice-fixing by massive conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland.
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Role models: Mark is an unreliable narrator who may not always be telling the whole truth. His motives for becoming an informant are questionable, and his stories usually paint him as either a hero or victim but never show him doing anything wrong.
What to watch for
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Violence: Some intense arguments.
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Sex: One man crudely discusses a former co-worker and how attractive she was.
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Language: Plenty of swearing, including many uses of "f--k" (some with "mother"), “s--t,” "t-ts," "goddamn," “a--hole,” "damn," "hell," and more.
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Consumerism: Brands mentioned or seen include luxury cars (like Porsche and Ferrari), EconoLodge, and Anheuser Busch.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some adult characters drink -- both socially and at times of crisis.
Fan Reviews provided by
1
The Informant! by MDiamondMD
Soderburg and Eichenwald's movie is neither fact nor fiction, and therefore both fishy and foul. Using real names from the ADM price-fixing scandal creates a pseudo factuality, in spite of the disclaimer at the beginning--"some characters are composites, the writers have taken dramatic license...so there." A quick poke in the eye, the author wants to blind us to the truth. Matt Damon played the title role as a disturbed and morally ambiguous character, and naively claimed he did not need to study the living person he defamed. If this was a post-modern deconstruction of the whistleblower scenario, why use actual names? The give-away of the movie's real agenda was placing the words of convicted ADM heir apparent, Mike Andreas, in Whitacre's mouth--"The customer is our enemy and the competitor is our friend." The movie's message is simple--Whitacre's a bad whacko, ****happens, shut up. Follow the money trail and you'll likely find Andreas backing, just like he did Watergate. Revenge!
1
Get me out by dpbrew
What a waste of talent and time. I would have resented getting this on Netflix, but at least could have turned it off. We got the point and wow was it dull! This movie does not deserve the so-so rating. It's a fact that if you check the movies on NetFlix it is almost impossible to find a movie that makes it much higher than a 3.0. Those who produce movies seemed to lack cutting edge creativity, but survive financially by spurting out drivel.
3
Drier than a box of cornmeal by ChuckleMonkey
How did this movie get sold to the studio, exactly? "Yeah, we're gonna fatten up Matt Damon, a franchise action star... but if you like jokes about dextrose and lycene, boy have we got a film for you!"
While the aforementioned Damon (or the doppleganger who apparently ATE Matt Damon) is exceptionally good in the film - good enough that I'd consider him a longshot for an Oscar nom, although a win seems like a stretch - the problem is the script he's been surrounded with. It's billed as a comedy... which clearly indicates that advertising has even less regulation than the corn industry the movie is based on. Seriously, they could have sold me a $10 ticket to see the trailer and I would have gotten the same jokes. Ultimately, the film can't overcome the fact that the script never truly decides whether Damon's character is our protagonist or our antagonist - which prevents the audience from ever actually sypmathizing with him.
Wait for the DVD - maybe it'll come with free corn. :)
1
informant by 214214
a dreadful film in which everybody seemed like automatons. I mean, give me a =break, surely the parents would have noticed their son had a habit of lying! Surely the wife would have registered something around the seventh new car! Or the kids want something he was hot to give them, a swimming pool or something. It was totally unconvincing, especiallly for a True Story.
1
The Informant by ddallura
This movie did not capture the interest of anyone in my group. It started slow and never picked up.
1
The informant by Geezd
Not good at all
1
Lies by azladyrider
I havent seen the actual movie yet but I lived this while I was working in that small town for that CROOKED and CORRUPT corporation. I know most of the players and TRUST ME on this one, if they made this out to be a comedy they did it at ADM's urgings. The film makers were paid off to make Mr Whitacre look horrible and ADM look like saints. Since when does a serious issue such as price fixing become a huge joke?
I will be at the earliest showing today for this movie and I am sure I will be trying hard not to jump out of my seat and scream BULLSH** over and over again.
If they merely wanted to make a comedy they should have done so with another subject. ADM is as CROOKED at they come TRUST ME! One of their main attorneys is known in town as "If you are guilty as hell go to Fombelle" (Norman Fombelle) The heads of ADM had ties to Watergate for gods sake. PLEASE read the other book involved with this - the one that is called Rats in the Grain - it is truer then this is
1
Worst and most boring movie I've ever watched. by karmalife
I was so disappointed with this movie. It never took-off, it just dragged on, and on, and on and was a pointless waste of time.
4
Great movie for the right audiences by yuvilio
Man, I don't usually write movie reviews but there are a lot of harsh ones for this flick. Upon reading them, a lot of the negatives could have been avoided if people bothered researching the movie. This is not an Bourne style action chaser. It's a corporate crime movie with some other elements sprinkled in. For someone wanting a lot of action, they'll be devastated to sit through all the talk that this movie has.
I happen to love this kind of thing since it teaches me about how several layers of lies upon eachother can create such confusion and mayhem in our world. Damon has us guessing well as to what the real motivation behind his character is util the end. Sometimes it feels like he games everyone he can and other times it seems like he's not in control of the events he starts.
For those who didn't like this movie because they thought it was slow and not enough was going on, look it up in rottentomatoes.com or some other site before you go.
1
Five Word Review by graiz4
Slow sattire ... fell asleep