George Clooney sits down in a military uniform, eyes intensely focused, neck muscles bulging. Suddenly, the chewing goat he's focused on topples over onto the floor. It's difficult to decide whether to laugh out loud or to stare at the movie screen thinking, "What?"
That's exactly how you'll feel for the entirety of "The Men Who Stare At Goats," a wacky, at times hilarious, but mostly disjointed film that takes viewers on a wild and slapstick but confusing ride.
The film, based on a nonfiction book of the same name, stars Ewan McGregor as Bob, a journalist who stumbles upon a story about a secret Army operation focused on creating a unit of "supersoldiers" with powers that include the ability to pass through walls and stop the heart of a goat just by staring at it. When Bob meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney), a former member of the unit, the film takes viewers through two back-and-forth stories: Cassady's vague secret mission in Iraq with Bob tagging along, and the flashback origin of how Cassady's "New Earth Army" began.
In small bits, the present-day portion of the film is fun. Clooney is an absolute pro at this kind of character. He has a knack for combining quirk with charm in a way that is both believable and incredibly watchable.
His bickering with McGregor is also a hoot. The two actors share a wonderful chemistry that is the driving force for most of the film. Watching Cassady nonchalantly torturing Bob or driving him crazy while trying to decide which direction to take at a forked road is a riot.
The problem with their scenes, however, is that they lack a concrete story. You won't remember much about why the two are traveling through the desert beyond their witty interactions with each other, and you'll quickly tire of watching their car malfunction more than once.
But you will remember the flashbacks, the oddball scenes that need more flesh. The backstory is intriguing, but if it is based on a true story in part, then why not give viewers more of the real thing? While it's hard to believe that most of the psychic portions happened, it isn't entirely implausible that a unit like this might have existed. Instead of giving viewers a taste of the strange truth, the flashbacks are at times so outlandish (particularly a scene where the soldiers are instructed to freely dance instead of keeping formation) that they borderline on ridiculous.
Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey have roles as integral members of the unit's beginning, but their characters are underused and one-note. Bridges, in particular, could have used more development as the hippy officer who created the operation.
Ultimately, the film's main plot gets so separated from the flashbacks that by the time Clooney and McGregor meet up with Bridges and Spacey in the present, it's difficult to remember what exactly is going on.
"The Men Who Stare At Goats" is a film in every way as strange as its title. It's a mess -- a well-acted and sometimes laugh-out-loud mess--but too unfocused overall to let you leave without scratching your head.
Grade: C+
