Cinema Soldier

Score:

I liked The Men Who Stare at Goats. A lot of critics didn't. It's certainly not the funniest movie of the year, or even the best satire, but it's a good farce with strong performances and some very ridiculous moments. I'm convinced that adding George Clooney to any cast is worth an extra review star itself. 

The plot follows Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), an Ann Arbor reporter who's kind of a loser. After his wife leaves him, he does what we'd all do: sign up as an embedded reporter in the Iraq war (it's the early 2000s). He calls home frequently from a safe looking hotel in Kuwait trying to make his wife/ex-wife love him again. His plan isn't working, and watching him is a bore.

When he meets Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney), things get more interesting. Cassidy describes himself as a Jedi warrior and a peacekeeping supersoldier, and thinks he's capable of almost anything. He recalls his involvement in a Reagan-era military program called the New Earth army, where the United States Gov't turned to a late-blooming hippie, Lieutenant Bill Django (the Dude, Jeff Bridges), to form a top-secret psychic military unit. The goals of this unit make about as much sense as its existence: to train soldiers to run through walls, kill goats by staring at them, and end all war as we know it by bringing flowers to the battlefield. The New Earth Army even had nonlethal weaponry made out of biodegradable materials! In one scene, we see Cassidy (Clooney) trying to heat up his burger using a giant cone to magnify the rays of the sun. It doesn't work.

In another scene, we learn that Cassidy likes classic rock music to help him concentrate and use his powers. His band of choice: Boston. Later, we hear "More Than a Feeling" play during a spiritual vision. All of these flashbacks and Clooney scenes are hilarious and lighthearted. 

The plot slowly derails and loses steam toward the end, though I'm not sure there is a good way to end a movie like this. It's mostly a collection of loosely tied farcical flashbacks tied with a somewhat uneventful journey through the desert. From the opening credits were told that "more of this is true than you would believe" and I do believe. I even looked it up. According to Wikipedia, there really was a psychic military unit, and Wikipedia can't be wrong. The movie never makes judgement on whether the psychic powers are real or not, but Cassidy and others honestly believe they have powers, even when they fail. In one scene, the military asks one of the psychics where a murderer is hiding. He responds with "ask Angela Lansbury." I'm guessing he's seen Murder, She Wrote. Lansbury, unfortunately, doesn't know the answer. 

Be warned: if you hate Star Wars, you won't like/understand Goats. There are a lot of references to the force and the dark side. Even if you haven't seen the movies, these references aren't hard to get, but they won't be as much fun. Ewan McGregger, who plays Obi Wan Kenobi in the newer Star Wars trilogy, plays a character who hasn't seen it. Reagan must have loved George Lucas. He sure had a lot of military programs based on his ideas.