Matt’s Review of “Men Who Stare at Goats”

Matt’s Review of “Men Who Stare at Goats”7.0101

This quirky adventure mixes the irony of psychic warfare in the US army, a tale of self discovery, political commentary, a mix of great actors, and a premise that is guaranteed to be off-the-wall. While this may seem like a sure winner, it stumbles rather than taking flight and becoming a true classic.

The movie follows the life of Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), a reporter for a small-town newspaper. After discovering an affair and divorcing his wife, his life hits rock bottom, and he flies to Kuwait to try and impress his ex-wife. This all changes when he stumbles across Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a self-proclaimed “Jedi Warrior.” As a member of the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion, Lyn proclaims he is a master in the use of paranormal powers. And thus further evolves the story into the quirky, unique piece of storytelling that it is.

The plot dances around from flashbacks of Lyn’s recounts of First Earth Battalion. This is uniquely interesting, as it has a “tall tale” feel to how its presenting, as the unique visuals of the movie play as you get a fun narrative by Lyn himself. These moments shine, with a unique blend of comedy, witty characters, fun visuals, and it plays out very well. However, these momentary distractions are not the real focus of the story, and is more like a spin-off from the real plot.

Digging back into the modern-day plot instead of the Vietnam and 70’s-inspired stories brings a far more dry, empty tone to it. As Lyn and Bob travel across the empty, dry Iraqi desert, much of the plot and humor also turns similarly empty and dry. While it has it’s occasional spots of clever humor, and even a few outrageous, laugh out loud moments, these are few and far between. It’s stuck somewhere between a satire and a straight up comedy, and the movie seems confused on which direction its seeking.

There’s a lot of things I found funny – like the use of the word “Jedi” and how they use Ewan McGregor’s character (also Obi Wan Kenobi), the flashbacks, how they use some of the scenes to tie into actual events, the introduction of Kevin Spacey’s character, and many other specific incidents I truly felt were funny, even hysterical. But, as a whole, I have a find time really finding the movie to be a good comedy and had a hard time keeping a good pace, a steady level of comedy, or even a consistent theme. It was jumpy.

The direction definitely feels like a Coen Brothers movie, but it’s definitely not. Grant Heslov tries to capture the absurdity and humor of a Coen Brothers film, but in the end it lacks the charm. And which such a strong cast, it’s truly disappointing that it didn’t hit it’s notes a bit better.

While the tone may seem negative, this is definitely not a bad movie. But with such a strong cast of characters, the wacky plot, and some really cool moments, you truly expected this movie to break itself out of the mold a little more. However, while the film entertained, it certainly didn’t dazzle.

At the end, despite wanting more out of the film, I was entertained for my $10 ticket. A somewhat confusing, hit-and-miss film combined with strong characters and a few really memorable moments make this a film I’d definitely recommend to fans of dry satire or comedy mixed with a bit of political overtones.

Trailer

Screenshots

One Response to “Matt’s Review of “Men Who Stare at Goats””

1. Mattc0m :: My “Men Who Stare at Goats” Review says:

   November 15, 2009 at 11:47 am

   [...] in what I’ve got to say? View my review posted at MovieSector. It’s got the full text, screen captures, a trailer, and my final score (you can also add [...]