Hilariously Schmaltzy 'Informant!' Soundtrack Rules

One of our most anticipated films of the fall is Steven Soderbergh’s black comedy about a bumbling whistleblower in the agricultural community titled, “The Informant!”

It stars Matt Damon — in doughy, 30-lbs plus form with a silly mustache — and also co-stars a strange, but off-the-beaten path group of actors like Joel McHale (E!’s “The Soup”), Scott Bakula (TV’s “Quantum Leap”), Tony Hale (Buster from “Arrested Development”) Patton Oswalt and Melanie Lynskey (“Mr. Show”).

The trailer looks deliciously arch and even Coen Brothers-esque, so it’s sure to be a good time (though it does seem to also have Soderbergh-ian shades of absurdity evinced in the “Oceans” films).

One of the other elements we were most excited about was the fact that renowned stage and film composer Marvin Hamlisch (“Take the Money And Run,” “The Sting,” “Ordinary People”) and his brand of — what we dubbed ’70s melodramatic teardrop pop — composed the score. ’70s scores are missing from most movies these days and in general are a bit out of synch with the times, but they’re incredible relics and if Tarantino can recycle Ennio Morricone… Anyhow, his score is now available via ITunes/Amazon and, as we hoped, it’s rather sublime, purposefully schmaltzy (some awesome easy-listening, “Spanish Flea” type vibes) and sure to provide some laughs. Just previewing the score is, in itself, hysterical. We probably can’t do it justice, but just trust us and give the previews a listen, such as the ostentatiously jazzy and flowery oboe-flavored, “Meet Mark,” or the quasi spy-take on songs like, “Car Meeting.” It’s all too much and just cracks us up. There’s a lot of intentionally cornball horns and over-the-top orchestration. Man, we miss, ’70s-style scores!

It all hopefully just means this movie is going to rule all the more. It plays at TIFF in September, and whattyaknow, we’ll actually be there for some of the Toronto Film Festival.