Review: The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)

The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)

2.5

COMEDY
U.S. Release Date: 11/06/09
Running Length: 93 Minutes
MPAA Classification: R (Profanity, Nudity, Drugs)

Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Director: Grant Heslov

Cast: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey

Screenplay: Peter Straughan, based on the book by Jon Ronso

Cinematography: Robert Elswit
Music: Rolfe Kent
U.S. Distributor: Overture Films

Review by: Carter Moulton, for The State News

11/11/09

It’s obvious to conclude the tone of Grant Heslov’s The Men Who Stare At Goats immediately—in the first scene, we get an opening title that reads, “more of this is true than you would believe.” Satire it is. That being said, don’t go into The Men Who Stare At Goats with realism in the forefront of your mind; you won’t find it here. Solar-powered grills and psychic military units who use their superpowers for the good of America exist in this world.

The storyline, based on Jon Ronson’s novel, sees Ewan McGregor star as Bob Wilton, a floundering journalist. In an attempt to revive his career and prove to his ex-wife that he isn’t a failure, Wilton travels to the heart of the Iraq war in an attempt to cover more dangerous stories. There, he comes across Lyn Cassady (played by a beer-battered George Clooney), a man who claims to be a former “Jedi”—a name given to members of U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion. The First Earth Battalion is a secret military force that was founded in the 1980s by Bill Django (played by Jeff Bridges), an earth-loving hippie and firm believer in psychic ability. Throughout the film, we get glimpses into Cassady’s history with Django and the battalion, including the emergence of Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), the man determined to bring down the psychic unit.

Sound confusing? It is a bit. But, because The Men Who Stare At Goats outwardly is a farce, there’s not a real pressure to understand everything. After all, we’re talking about supernatural powers here. You won’t see Clooney smirking in a suit or sweet-talking co-workers with an unspoken elegance here; Clooney is gray and scruffy in this role, more closely resembling an over-the-hump renegade version of Charlie Chaplin. McGregor and Clooney have chemistry, and watching them banter back and forth is a treat as both actors are at the top—or at least semi-top—of their game; however, Bridges delivers the best performance by far.

The film feels long at 93 minutes, which probably can be attributed to the never-ceasing chitter chatter and slight gags stuffed inside of Heslov’s film. Goats has a style resmbling a Coen brothers’ film—which is unfortunately a downfall. When compared to Fargo or O Brother, Where Art Thou?—the latter also stars Clooney—The Men Who Stare At Goats simply doesn’t hold up. Perhaps comparing Heslov’s film to the best of Coen satire isn’t fair. After all, he isn’t asking us to do so, and I enjoyed this more than Burn After Reading. Clooney doesn’t seem so fatigued in Heslov’s film. Although it lacks focus and any substantial dramatic elements to ground it, there’s an energy and confidence in the whispy ways Heslov tells his story, and when energy and confidence join forces, there always will be worse things to spend your money on.