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THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS R, language, some drug content and brief nudity 1:33



Even though this movie was produced by George Clooney and directed by Clooney's film company partner, Grant Heslov, it looks and sounds like something the Coen brothers would do. It's quirky, darkly funny and based on the non-fiction bestseller by Jon Ronson. It details the true story of the New Earth Army, though the first thing we're told is that we will find all of this hard to believe.

Bob Wilton (Ewan Mcgregor), a milquetoast kind of a guy, living and working as a journalist in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has just been dumped by his wife for their editor at the local newspaper. To prove something to her and himself (but mostly her), he jets halfway across the globe in an attempt to become embedded with the troops in Iraq.

While biding his time in Kuwait, he meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney), a former soldier who was once part of a secret paranormal squad, known unofficially as the "Warrior Monks", which the U.S. Army was experimenting with in the seventies. Cassady recognizes a common bond in Wilton and drags him along on a "secret mission" in Iraq. Once they cross over into the country, through a series of mishaps, they are eventually united with two of the primary members of the monks, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) and the nasty Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey, at his best).

I am saddened to say that David did not enjoy this film. He has a hard time appreciating the humor in staring a live goat to death. I, myself, do not actually find this amusing, it's the absurdity of this experimentation and the characters involved that I find quite hilarious.

The role of Cassady was tailor-made for Clooney. He exudes just the right amount of empathy, seriousness and fallibility to make Cassady someone for whom we want to root. During his early days with the group, we watch as Django encourages Cassady to let loose and dance, something he was forbidden to do as a child. His geekiness is endearing, made even more so by the incongruity of his good looks. However, this movie would be nothing to write about without Bridges and Spacey. No one can do "far out, man!" like Bridges. He becomes commander of this New Age group, delving into such free thinking activities like driving blindfolded, psychic findings and drugs.

You have to love the idea, which started with a general named Hopgood (Stephen Lang), who thought the Russians were ahead of the U.S. in this area. The fact that the U.S. Army was even willing to give this a green light is amazing. But it all falls apart when Hooper uses a new, very young recruit to experiment with LSD. Spacey is so, so good at playing the bad guy --- it's a joy to watch.

Despite whatever my illustrious partner writes, I found "The Men Who Stare At Goats" vastly entertaining. But, if you have no appreciation for the absurd and amusing (like David), then it's best if you pass on this one.


With a movie title like this, there is one word that best describes the film: quirky. That doesn't necessarily translate into laughs, although about half of our screening audience found this story entertaining. For me, not so much. I like George Clooney a lot. He has grown enormously as an actor, particularly in dramatic roles. But this film left me cold, whereas Jeanne loved it.

Clooney is one of a gaggle of producers for "The Men Who Stare at Goats", along with his pal Grant Heslov, who also directed. Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges fill out the main cast, so the movie doesn't lack for star power.

The film harkens back to the '70's when LSD was the king of mind-blowing experiences. Bridges, as Bill Django, is a has-been hippie military man modeled after the real-life persona of Jim Channon, who espoused the theory that U.S. soldiers should use their minds to fight the enemy, a sort of mind-over-matter experiment of psychic weaponry that ultimately failed. This was an actual government-subsidized program given credence and backing from, among others, President Ronald Reagan.

The running gag in the film is that Django taught Clooney's character (Lyn Cassady) and other soldiers how to sharpen their mental powers to the point where they could kill an animal, such as a goat, just by looking at it. By extension, the soldier would then be able to overpower any opponent non-violently by applying this highly developed cerebral ability.

My impression of the movie is that the actors were having a much better time making the film than I did sitting in the theater watching it. Django, during an hallucigenic moment, even mentions Timothy Leary at one point, something that will likely mean nothing to anyone under thirty. Being old, I, of course, got the joke --- and still didn't laugh. Another sequence had Cassady and reporter Bob Wilton (McGregor) driving through the Iraqi desert crashing into the one and only boulder on the road visible for miles. Jeanne cackled --- I didn't.

Wilton is an investigative reporter who convinces Cassady to take him to Iraq so he can prove his valor, as an embedded journalist, to his wife, Debora. She dumped him for his editor, a man with a steel prosthetic for a right arm, complete with claws for fingers, which Debora lovingly caresses in several shots---not so funny.

This is all done tongue-in-cheek, and while it's fun to watch these veteran actors play off each other, I can't recommend this film.

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