Maybe the Goat Died of Embarrassment...

Rating: 3/10 (7 December 2009)

I like George Clooney. I like comedies. I also needed a movie to see. It seemed natural, despite having the year's single most inexplicable title, I'd buy a ticket to see The Men Who Stare at Goats. Sadly, the title may have been the best thing about this movie.
Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor, displaying an almost flawless American accent) is a frustrated reporter for a small town newspaper. Despite fighting to be assigned to more serious stories, Bob is sent to interview yet another nut for still one more fluff piece. His wife (Rebecca Mader), who also works for the newspaper, is his only real joy in life. But when his wife leaves him for the least likely of characters, Bob throws caution to the wind and heads for Iraq in search of some real news.
Unfortunately, his adventures in Iraq prove less than exciting. Until, that is, he overhears something in a bar that leads him to believe the nut he interviewed earlier might not have been so crazy after all. As Bob tries to learn more, he targets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) for information. Cassady seems to Bob to be a character in his own right, but not one that has much credibility or who is likely to prove of much use in furthering Bob's own goals. But Cassady does offer Bob a way to get closer to the war action, and so he's able to take advantage of at least that much.
On their way across the desert, Lyn talks and Bob listens. He tells stories of a hippie Army commander (Jeff Bridges) who works with a group of soldiers sponsored by a somewhat off kilter general (Stephen Lang). He describes events Bob can scarcely credit, including the tale of a man (Kevin Spacey) whose abilities prove his undoing. And there's more! Of course, the men are in a war zone and things can't stay quiet enough for stories indefinitely...
I still like George Clooney, and he does a credible job here. Ewan McGregor is a little wide-eyed, but I bought into his character, too. Jeff Bridges is good as is Kevin Spacey, but I really loved Stephen Lang's General Hopgood. The supporting cast, including a mildly amusing appearance by Robert Patrick (of Terminator 2 fame), is also fine.
So what's really wrong with The Men Who Stare at Goats? The script. Penned by Peter Straughan and based on the book by Jon Ronson (which I have not read), the premise is terrific. The fact that there's some basis in truth makes the notion more titillating and the potential for comedy that much greater. And yet it's quite simply not realized. When a movie billed as a comedy isn't funny (despite having one or two laugh-out-loud moments, the film is on balance mundane at best), you've got a pretty obvious problem as far as I'm concerned! Other more peripheral problems include what appear to me to be budgetary issues. For example, flashbacks showing a young George Clooney show instead a middle aged George Clooney wearing a wig. Now if Brad Pitt can look so flawlessly youthful as Benjamin Button, why on earth can't somebody take 20 years off Clooney? Special effects (most notably one late in the film, though there are others) appear rudimentary and are certainly unbelievable. These things also took away from any enjoyment I might have otherwise had in this film.
BOTTOM LINE: The Men Who Stare at Goats had possibilities. None of them were realized. I frankly can't recommend you bother.
POLITICAL NOTES: There were any number of people and situations that could be interpreted as offensive to the military. I won't go so far as to suggest that that was intentional since I suspect it was a ham-handed (and unfunny) attempt at humor. But one thing I can't let go is the overall disrespect for the mainstream military on exhibit here.
FAMILY SUITABILITY: The Men Who Stare at Goats is rated R for language, some drug content and brief nudity. The rating might be a little harsh, but I wouldn't bring my kids anyway. Actually, the truth is,, if I'd known then what I know now, I wouldn't go myself.