Wildly Funny Movie - with a dollop of philosophy

Rating: 6/10 (30 March 2010)

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS probably will always maintain a rather small audience. The film is strange on every level, is filled with some fairly outrageous ideas, has more punch lines than a standup comedian, and is populated by a strong cast of characters who seem to be thoroughly enjoying the madness of the story. It is a shifting tale started by a lovesick reporter (Ewan McGregor) who discovers a military secret concerning the Jedi Warriors - a post Vietnam group developed by on Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), a left over hippie who developed a line of psychic spies who could read minds and control events just by thinking. Two major members of the Jed Warriors were Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) and Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) - the Yin and Yang/dark and light sides of the movement. Spill all of this into Iraq and a series of events that shows how absurd humans behave in war time and the fun never stops. It is nutty, at times confusing in the manner in which the story is laid out, but it is always entertaining - if you like a touch of the bizarre superimposed on what was apparently a real story!
Grady Harp