The Informers (2008)

Please click the links to read my reviews of two other films that were adapted from Bret Easton Ellis novels: Less Than Zero, and American Psycho. 

Synopsis: Have you ever wanted to go back to 1983 in order to spend a week with a bunch of rich, doped-up, morally-bankrupt narcissists and their spoiled, obnoxious kids? Me neither.

Blurb From the DVD Jacket: "Academy Award winners Billy Bob Thornton and Kim Basinger and Academy Award nominees Winona Ryder and Mickey Rourke star in an interweaving tale, which unfolds in Los Angeles in the decadent ‘80s: a city ruled by addictions of every type – from sex, to drugs, to power – where youth is wasted, where love is fleeting, where every night is a headlong rush to the next orgy of sensation.” 

What Did I Learn?: If you want to bond with your estranged teenaged son, it’s a really bad idea to hit on the girl he just met a few hours earlier. 

You Might Like This Movie If: you really want to step back into 1983.

 

Really?: 1) So, William (Thornton) wants to reunite with his estranged wife (Basinger), yet continue sleeping with Cheryl (Ryder) because he doesn't want to pay the costs of a divorce? How long does he think he can maintain that charade? 2) Wait - a scumbag criminal (Rourke) kidnaps a young boy off the streets in order to sell him into sex slavery, and he gets away, scot-free? That's a very unsatisfying conclusion. 3) From what I remember, the clothing styles of the early 1980s looked a lot like the late 1970s. It's funny how none of the men wear three-piece suits or large aviator-style sunglasses.

 

Rating: See: "Synopsis." With such an impressive cast of performers and a screenplay from Bret Easton Ellis, The Informers should have been a winner, but it's rather difficult to watch. None of these characters are even remotely sympathetic or likeable, and the Mickey Rourke sub-plot made me sick to my stomach. I'll give The Informers a few stars for some impressive performances (Thornton and Basinger are great together) and a kick-ass New Wave soundtrack, but I cannot recommend this movie. 4.5/10 stars. 

Would it Work For a Bad Movie Night?: Maybe. Take a drink any time a sulky kid complains about his/her parental units.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0865554/?ref_=rvi_tt