DVD Reviews

Men Who Stare at Goats – DVD Review

By Frankie Dees Mar 22, 2010, 16:31 GMT

In this comedic look at real life events that are almost too bizarre to believe, reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) discovers an experimental top-secret wing of the U.S. military called The New Earth Army, trained to change the ways wars are fought through New Age psychic power. In search of his next big story, Wilton tracks down Lyn Cassady (Academy Award® winner George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims ...more

A ambitious absurdist comedy that features the likes of George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor and a goat? Yes please. This particular ambitious absurdist comedy? Sadly no - despite the best efforts of that great cast and yes, that includes the goat.

‘The Men Who Stare At Goats’ was directed by Grant Heslov - who is clearly taking advantage of his past writing collaboration with George Clooney (Heslov co-wrote ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ with Clooney).

He enlists Clooney’s Coen-bred comedy chops, but where that film was understated excellence, this pic is the complete opposite. It is overstated and about as subtle as a goat kick to the head.

Using UK Guardian journo Jon Ronson’s book of the same name and the paraphrased tagline ‘only the most unbelievable parts of this story are true’ as inspiration, playwright Peter Straughan fashions a dense but overly abstract adaptation that never really gels as a complete film.

It starts off intriguing enough but around the half-way mark, the realization that this film wasn’t going anywhere set in. And I was right.

The audience’s relatable viewpoint gets stuffed into the character of a small-time journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) who is desperate to prove to himself and his wife (who left him for his editor) that he…is a man? has something to say in life? Not sure but he heads off to Iraq around the time of the Bush invasion to do it.

Back in the states, he was assigned to interview some wacko who claimed psychic powers and this wacko ended up telling Bob that he was a American military-trained psychic spy or ‘remote viewer’ and part of a New Age Army that could use the powers of the mind to kill animals (apparently one such hamster met such an untimely death) and that the best of them was one Lyn Cassady.

Now coincidences of all coincidences, Bob Wilton runs into Cassady (George Clooney) in Kuwait City who is undercover as an Arkansas plastic corp. salesman. Apparently, Cassady is on a ‘remote viewer’ mission and Wilton manages to convince Cassady that he should tag along and capture the story.

As the two proceed into Iraq and get lost, kidnapped by terrorists, and other such misadventures, Cassady shares the backstory of the ‘New Earth Army’ - the idea of Vietnam vet Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) 25 years earlier who gets taken in with New Age philosophies.

Claiming that he can create ‘warrior monks’, a special breed of soldiers with mental super powers, the U.S. military agrees to allow Django special privileges to create his army – i.e. allowing new recruits to grow out hippie hair and gallivant around the base like crazy people.

Cassady, displaying a natural psychic ability, quickly rises to the top of the class, but the New Earth Army is soon disbanded thanks to the exploits of jealous new recruit Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey). He manages to sabotage the group, get somebody killed and then points the finger at Django.

The past catches up with the present when Wilton and Cassady run across Larry Hooper in Iraq now running his own psychic army with the help of a burnt-out Django.

And if all that sounds nutty, well it is, but that’s not what makes the film ineffective. Indeed, there are a few lunacy-inspired laughs with Clooney operating at his screwball best, Bridges doing his signature Lebowski and Spacey on fine acidic form.

However, the laughs are not frequent enough to make this a worthwhile comedy by itself nor is the satire sharp enough to make this worth your time otherwise a la ‘Catch 22’ or ‘Dr. Strangelove’ - clear precursor’s to what I’m sure Heslov was aiming for.

The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Special Features start off with two audio commentaries, the first from director Grant Heslov who oddly doesn’t have much to say and the second with Jon Ronson who is at the opposite end of the spectrum with a lot to say. Go for the Ronson commentary for the better time.

‘Goats Declassified: The Real Men of the First Earth Battalion’ is an interesting look at some of the real people that inspired Johnson’s book.

‘Project Hollywood: A Classified Report from the Set’ is a short behind-the-scenes featurette that doesn’t shed a lot of light on the production of the pic. ‘Character Bios’ are quick clips focusing particular characters, a few minutes of unsubstantial ‘Deleted Scenes’ and the high-def Trailer round things out.

Considering this cast and material, I can’t look at this pic as anything but a missed opportunity despite Clooney, Bridges and Spacey investing their loony best into the pic. I suggest a rental for fans of the cast and the few laughs but be prepared for disappointment.