Compulsive Liar

I watched “The Informant!” over the weekend, starring Matt Damon and Scott Bakula. We had planned to see “The Invention of Lying” but backed out at the last minute after considering the mixed reviews. But as it turned out, we ended up watching a movie about liars anyway.

“The Informant!” is a spy comedy in the best way possible – summarized so nicely in the scene were Damon is showing off his latest spy equipment to his gardener and ironically calling himself “0014” on the belief that he was twice as smart as “007”.

And as funny as the movie gets as Damon’s crimes become apparent, (he goes from being whistleblower to admitting to FBI agents while seeking a presidential pardon that he embezzled over $11 million from ADM even as he schemed to be named CEO), what’s ultimately satisfying about the movie and Damon’s character’s stupidity was the fact that the whole movie is based on a true story.

Real, lying corporate criminals apparently are just that stupid.