You don't take anything with you out of the theater

Rating: 6/10 (7 November 2009)

I liked Men Who Stare at Goats reasonably well while I was watching it. It has moments of inspired humor. The problem I have with it though is it just doesn't do much. The script while humorous is weak in crucial areas of character development and plot. In the end the movie feels empty and hollow.
Part of why I think the film is weak is it's lack of real direction. Men Who Stare at Goats tries to be a black comedy. It isn't quite dark enough to do this. It isn't smart and urbane enough to be a quirky comedy either. What we are left with is a hybrid of several genres trying to mix together. I kept thinking I would have loved to have seen Mike Judge's take on this material. It's too dramatic to be a straight forward comedy but too serious to be a straight forward drama. The idea of trying to add dramatic elements into a story about Jedi Warriors is kind of silly to begin with. That concept actually gets more laughs from me than some of the stuff in the movie. What the film really needs is a stand out comedic actor in it's cast. I am not arguing Jeff Bridges talent and I like his performance but that role is tailor made for a comedian. Imagine what someone like Steve Carrell could do with that role or Clooney's role for that matter. A stronger comedic presence is sorely needed in this film.
Ewan McGregor is good in his role, but I don't think he is strong enough to carry this story. It's kind of funny seeing him reference Jedi warriors but there are moments when this character is simply dry. I partially blame the script but I can't let McGregor off the hook. The character's lines read as if he were a quirky Woody Allen type character. McGregor offers little of this in his performance. He is supposed to be weak like his dialogue suggests but McGregor is simply being himself. He also fades in and out of his American accent which isn't very good to begin with. I like Ewan I really do but this is by far his most disappointing performance. Again he's good in making us believe this story but he is not good to make us believe his character. He's more of a narrator than a character.
The plot? The movie doesn't really have one. It's more of a series of events than a plot. Ewan McGregor enters a world where the US Government in Soviet paranoia created psychic soldiers. That's the story of the movie nothing more. Our characters move from Point A to Point B for no other reason than the plot dictate that they must. There is no threat to these psychic soldiers nor any actual hints of political commentary about the military. The film could have used both. Instead it becomes a character piece with little episodic scenes. God Bless George Clooney because he takes this material very seriously. I think he could get some mild Oscar consideration because his performance is very good. Kevin Spacey is good but doesn't have anything to really do with this character. He can be a very funny actor and he gets laughs. The laughs come from a vantage point of having this serious actor play a semi-serious character doing stupid stuff. It's kind of funny is what I found myself saying through out the film.
I admire the film's cast and the basic concept but it's not enough for me to fully recommend the film. By all means see it on video. In the long run though it just isn't worth the talent involved.