The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)

Review:

There have been a few desperate moments in my life when I considered joining the army. Mostly they were in the throes of youthful unemployment limbo and I would later discredit them as absurd escapist fantasies that would likely have rendered me either severely unhappy or dead. Thankfully I have never been given to great impulsion or lunacy, and so I have not found out why I would not like the army.

And yet then there are movies like “The Men Who Stare at Goats” and its (superior) forerunners like “MASH” (1970) and “Stripes” (1982) that construe the army not as an institution for corroding individuality, but a place where societal outcasts and misfits can thrive and through their individuation they thwart the enemy. These are not war movies, they are army comedies. War movies never make me want to go to war but army comedies always make me want to be in an army comedy.

Alas, the army is not a comedy…and maybe that’s why army comedies are so fun. “Men Who Stare at Goats” tells the truer-than-you-would-think story of a secret segment of the army that specializes in developing psychic and paranormal abilities. The film chronicles two parallel and converging stories that both have George Clooney at their center. Clooney plays Lyn Cassady, a special ops soldier with purportedly great psychic prowess. In the first story, he is accompanied by a young reporter (Ewan McGregor) through the deserts of Iraq for a secret mission. There’s some fun stuff in there – mainly the shenanigans of George Clooney - but this story generally left me wanting to watch ‘Three Kings’ again.

The second story is far more engaging. Set in the 1980s an American General convinced that the Russians are developing a psychic army gets funding for a United States Psychic task force. Heading up the unit is Bill (Jeff Bridges), an unorthodox leader if the army ever had one. Bill becomes young Lyn Cassady’s mentor and fosters the young man’s psychic talents. This story chronicles the rise and eventual downfall of the United States Army’s Psychics and you just can’t help but be amused by their audacity – and by how much you actually believe it.

Rating:

On a scale of one to Casablanca, this film scores a “The Jerk.” (1979)

Rationalization:

This would be a masterpiece if watched on an airplane. Seen in a movie theater, it registers as a good film with some funny scenes and intriguing ideas, but you just want it to dig a little deeper. Go more for broke. Thoughtful films are best when they’ve gone broke. I would have dropped the Ewan McGregor character and focused more on the 1980s.