Review of The Informant!

On paper and in theory, this should fire on all cylinders. There are no slouches here -- Soderbergh included -- but the film doesn't really start to lift off until near the end. I think the problem is that Whiteacre's such an obvious liar (an something of a toady) that his stories never really gain much traction, and the result that was meant to be suspenseful and funny is much closer to boring, disappointing, and exasperating. There are flashes here and there where the film was genuinely funny, but those moments had more to do with an actor's delivery than what was set up on the page. I can hardly fault anyone for leaping into this feet first, though: the plan and vision would have looked like sure success.