“Goats” good, has weak wrap-up
Movie Review
Casey Lowry, Photo & Graphics Editor
photo: courtesy Overture Films
“More of this is true than you would believe.”
These words appear on screen before the title sequence of “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” setting the scene for a bizarre adventure.
Inspired by Jon Ronson’s book of the same title, the story is an amusing take on the U.S. Army’s experiments in paranormal and psychic abilities, though it is not quite as snarky as I would have hoped.
Ewan McGregor stars as Bob Wilton, a journalist living a quiet, simple life in Ann Arbor, Mich. When his wife leaves him for his editor, Bob hatches a plan to go to Iraq, find a spectacular story, become a world-renowned journalist and subsequently win his wife back.
When he arrives in Iraq, Bob runs into Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). The name rings a bell for Bob. He had once interviewed a man back home who had claimed to be a psychic spy for the Army. In his tales, he had mentioned Lyn Cassady as the most talented of all the psychics.
It turns out that these stories Bob thought were bogus were actually true. Bob follows Lyn on his mission across Iraq, learning about the Jedi ways of the New Earth Battalion that was created in the 1980’s.
The film’s use of flashbacks is impressively seamless. We are constantly transported to the ’80s as Bob’s voice-over narration explains the background for Lyn’s absurd behavior.
The whole tale of the New Earth Battalion is told, starting with its creation by hippy Lieutenant Colonel Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) and ending with its disbandment by the corrupt and greedy Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey). All of the jumping back and forth through time flows very naturally. The transitions are both effortless and hilarious.
Stunning visuals are certainly not lacking. The beautiful desert surroundings are candy for the eyes without overshadowing the characters, which were superbly acted by a fail-proof cast.
Clooney, Bridges and Spacey all deliver their gags with expertise, and McGregor is a believable everyman.
The writing, too, is brilliant. Each nonsensical joke is topped by one even more ludicrous.
The ending, however, is a let down. When Bob and Lyn get to their destination, the momentum of this wild, trippy film drifts away. I was hoping to see at least one of the loony characters go out with a bang after floating through the story just above the line of credulity, but the film offered no such satisfaction.
They could have at least shown more goats. The title is a bit misleading, as only one scene actually involves a man staring at a goat, but it matches the overarching weirdness of the film.
Although “Goats” is flawed, director Grant Heslov and actor George Clooney, who also worked together on “Good Night and Good Luck,” make a great team. We can expect great things from them in the future.
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