Not very often do I come around a film that leaves me wondering what the point of its existence really is. That theme is the central focus of the hilarious Burn After Reading, which toyed with that idea and became a playful parody of itself. In a film that seems to be either a love letter to the style of the Coen Brothers or a story that they themselves rejected to adapt, Grant Heslov's The Men Who Stare at Goats in an incredibly strange and often pointless black comedy that's often goofier than it should be. This movie has so much quirky potential and seems to be one that tries too hard to turn a niche true story into something entertaining enough for the masses but entirely misses that mark. While the performances and music are fantastic, there is not nearly enough substantial story in its script to constitute this long runtime (and granted, it's only 94 minutes long). Regardless of how useless I find this film to be, however, it's one of those rare comedies that isn't for everyone but is obvious that the cast and crew had a blast creating.
Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is an investigative journalist who is sent to Iraq to cover the war but instead meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), an ex-soldier who was part of the United States' New Earth Army. Wilton decides to tell his story about the special paranormal unit, who apparently used their "superpowers" in special undercover operations. The two go on a journey deep into Iraq in order for Cassady to reunite with other ex-soldiers who he was trained with. This partially true script, written by Peter Straughan and adapted from the book of the same name by Jon Ronson, is very peculiar in and of itself. Without even the addition of Heslov's direction or the comedic performances from the entire cast, the story lends itself to being chock full of wondrous humor. The kind of humor that makes an audience really wonder if the film's events even happened or why the filmmakers felt the need to tell this story at this particular time. More than anything, this movie provides enough just solely weird and "what the fuck" type of substance to keep its audience engaged. Heslov did a mediocre job of keeping this story on track but the true entertainment of it comes from the sheer wonder of what the story could even mean. The film itself is a bit muddled with the lackluster direction but there is still a lot of simple comedy that kept me, at the least, entertained. The premise is wacky enough to make me want to see what this film was about and in that aspect, it succeeded. The story has a very full-circle resolution that is incredibly satisfying but one that I still felt could have been much stronger. There is also an absolute plethora of references and dialogue about Star Wars that took me way out of the story. I do not know if it's because Heslov was really trying to get on McGregor's nerves but the constant joking took away a lot of opportunities for much more solid comedy. Just like this film's intended message, I feel jumbled in my thoughts or even what to say. I suppose its biggest takeaways are that A) not everyone is meant to make black comedies like the Coens and B) just because a true story exists in novel form doesn't mean it has to be adapted to the screen. I feel like this story is much better suited for the page, as this film ended up being a bit of a miss.
The incredibly strange, offbeat humor that tries its best to infect this story could not have been made even relatively possible without the inclusion of George Clooney and Jeff Bridges' character Bill Django. These two have such a strange yet attractive dynamic to them and while they are vastly different actors on their own, work together very well. As the two characters' relationship is explored through flashbacks, much is revealed about them that makes their eventual reunion so fantastic. Clooney in particular, however, is absolutely hilarious in this film. This is just yet another example of how I think Clooney is much better suited for comedy arisen from dramatic situations than just drama itself. His portrayal of this ex-soldier was not only irreverent but was a perfect choice to help tell this story. The many musical choices throughout this movie also helped to add to the comedy. Clooney's flawless delivery about the type of music that keeps him calm is one of the funniest scenes in this entire film and the inclusion of such music as Boston's "More Than a Feeling" only adds to the hilarity. The music works very well with the story and provides solid callbacks for the characters to work with and I really appreciated that utilization. The Men Who Stare at Goats does not really have much to say, other than telling one of the strangest war stories ever, but I think that was the point. Other films have accomplished this theme much better but there is nothing particularly wrong about this movie. I just wish that Heslov could have picked a certain direction and stuck with it to make this overall film more memorable.
I distinctly remember when I was ten years old as this film came out and even then I wondered what this could possibly be about. Ten years later and I suppose I'm asking the same questions as I just kept wondering what the point of this story even was. The Men Who Stare at Goats is such a strange title and has a story peculiar enough to live up to its oddball creative choices. It works as a simple comedy and it's interesting enough that this is a true story but the execution of this idea is definitely not strong enough to make me want to revisit.
My Rating: ★★★
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