A Military Action Movie or an Excuse to Interrogate Goats?

After deciding to not go see the “must see” film of the weekend (A Christmas Carol), I opted for The Men who Stare at Goats, which to my surprise, packed the theater very well on its opening day showing.

I guess the star power of this film, which includes George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey, was enough to fill seats at the theater.

All in all, the film’s great cast did help carry the film that has suffered from bad reviews and its “under the radar” status.

TMWSAG follows reporter Bob Wilton (McGregor), who unfortunately had lost the affection of his wife to his own newspaper’s editor.

Out of spite to prove his wife that he in fact was the “all star,” Wilton decides to go to Iraq to report on the war.

During his trip, he meets a man name Lyn Cassady (Clooney) who serves as not only a ticket to cross the Iraqi border but shares stories to Wilton about his past.

As the misadventures of Wilton and Cassady continue, Cassady tells Wilton his narrative, which mainly focuses around a secret organization in the military that trains men to use their psychic abilities to end the war completely.

Wilton learns of a man named Bill Django (Bridges), the hippie in charge of training the men of this whole operation.

There is also mentioned of Larry Hooper (Spacey), the ever long rival of Cassady during his military days.

Of course this story is wrapped around a story that is supposedly true, as well as a “how did everyone turn out?” at the end (which gives this movie of constant flashbacks some direction).

So now I determine whether this movie was good or not, in which I would answer: “better than expected.”

First, the film is carried by an all star cast.

Clooney’s delivery of his funny lines left the audience laughing out loud during the eccentricity of each situation.

McGregor in some respects to Clooney plays the straight man, which adds another layer of humor to this comedy.  The character Bill Django is by far the most eccentric character of the whole bunch.

Portrayed as a hippie mentor, Bridges hits a home run.

Spacey also adds the rivalry factor in the mix, and as always, does a great job.

All in all, the characters are different, funny and portrayed by the best of the best.

The actors truly help carry this film.

On a second note, the content and the story of this whole bizarre situation is something deserving of some merits.

Granted, this is a very loose story with a small plot, but the content which is primarily derived from Cassady’s flashbacks is astounding and funny.

True, they don’t always propel the story forward, but it does add another layer to each character, or perhaps supplement the main plot with some funny back story, which in the end provides ultimate humor.

Yes, the content is a lot to take in because it is indeed a lot of expository, yet it’s good expository.

Every outside parallel is funny, yet doesn’t ruin the current rhythm of the film.

So, again TMWSAG is a surprising little comedy with great acting that does deserve appropriate viewership.

Its all star cast provides quality humor, and the uniqueness of this story is worth value.

My grade: B-