REVIEW: The Men Who Stare at Goats

Plot summary for The Men Who Stare at Goats from IMDb.com:

A reporter, trying to lose himself in the romance of war after his marriage fails, gets more than he bargains for when he meets a special forces agent who reveals the existence of a secret, psychic military unit whose goal is to end war as we know it. The founder of the unit has gone missing and the trail leads to another psychic soldier who has distorted the mission to serve his own ends.

Reality is how we perceive it. At least, that seems to be the message from the new Iraq War comedy, The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey. The film flirts with reality both on and off the screen. On the screen, George Clooney's Lyn Cassady truly believes in his psychic abilities, which appear to maybe exist… maybe. I mean the guy does stop the heart of a goat. But, of course, we are also shown plenty of proof that this psychic stuff is baloney. Off the screen, the film is supposedly based on some true events. The film begins with the caveat of "More of this is true than you would believe." But as to whether, for example, there really were attempts to locate Manuel Noriega through remote viewing or whether this was entertaining fiction remains unknown to the audience. If, as Ewan McGregor’s character states, you’re looking for something to believe in, this movie may just show you a whole other side to the US Army.

This ballad of psychic soldiers is played surprisingly straight by all, which is great because I don't think I could handle a whole bunch of winking at the camera. It could really be summed up as a war/buddy/road film with "The Dude" as a major in the Army. There's another "reality" thing right there. I don't know if the "The Dude" could've made it in the Army.

This film was really funny, yet still addressed quite a few serious topics, religion, terrorism, torture, the privatization of the Iraq War, just to name a few. All these topics were broached in the same humorous, beyond belief approach that the psych material was presented. It created an interesting contrast; as an audience member, you knew and recognized aspects of true events, yet the way they were introduced or concluded left doubt in their reality. Overall this was an interesting approach and made for an enjoyable dilemma to watch. But for some topics this didn't work, especially at the end. Some of the topics just seemed too heavy for this light, playful manner of portraying them. It accounted for some awkward and confusing moments. The film also left events and topics very quickly, before fully satisfy the curiosity of the viewers. While this was consistent throughout the film, it did leave for a slightly unsatisfying ending.

The acting in the film was all very fun and believable - great cast. Overall, we'd recommend you go see this movie; while maybe not amazing it was an enjoyable movie experience. Its also a chance to find something to believe in…

Kinsey: 3.5/5

Wade: 3.5/5