Sunday, November 08, 2009
A+E, Movies, Reviews

‘Goats’ an enjoyable head-trip

 

Those who believe the ’70s was the movies’ best decade will love “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” a M*A*S*H*-up of themes, styles, fashions and drugs from that era, blended into a 21st-century scenario.

George Clooney stars as Lyn Cassady, one of a top-secret group of psychic soldiers trained to use mind control—or “alternative combat techniques”—to prevent wars. Or win them; the goal keeps changing as if the goal posts were on roller skates, because half the men describing it are liars and the other half are stoned.

Journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) meets Lyn in a bar in Kuwait in 2003. Bob knows Lyn’s name from a guy named Gus (Stephen Root) he interviewed back in Michigan, who claimed to be a “psychic spy” trained to “kill animals … just by staring at them.”

Lyn, who prefers the term “remote viewer” to “psychic spy,” can apparently send his mind anywhere on the planet to find things or people. He reveals the history of the New Earth Army as he and Bob travel into Iraq, get kidnapped and have a series of adventures.

We’re pretty well into the movie before Lyn mentions his nemesis, Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), who pops up in Iraq, selling psychic techniques back to the government that trained him in them.

Based on Jon Ronson’s book, which was labeled nonfiction, “The Men Who Stare at Goats” has third-act problems, when the amusing bits coalesce into a story requiring some sort of resolution.

The film’s similarity to those ’70s movies made by people on drugs for people on drugs leads me to suspect a “reverse rehab” movement is underway in Hollywood. The good news: You can be clean and sober and still enjoy it. 3 STARS—Steve Warren