Men Who Stare At Goats 032310

Ewan MacGregor is a really down on his luck reporter with an American accent. His wife has just left him for his editor and he’s determined to prove to her that he’s a real man by going to Iraq and reporting on the newly started war. The problem is: he doesn’t have the clearance to cross the border. But, he meets George Clooney, a previously retired psychic soldier who is on a secret mission. MacGregor had heard about this group of soldiers before and offers to tell the group’s story if George Clooney takes him with him. What follows is a strange story mixed with a history lesson.

This movie is quirky, it’s silly, and it’s really clever. The jokes are funny and the story is told very well. It intercuts between the history of the psychic soldiers (codenamed: Jedi) and the story Ewan MacGregor’s character is going through and you never lose interest and the problem that many stories working like that have, only really being interested in one of the stories, is kept at bay. The humor is kept at a constant because even when the dialogue isn’t being funny, the situation is so absurd that you keep laughing at it. It’s particularly funny to hear Ewan ask what a jedi is. If you don’t know why that’s funny, I have nothing more to say to you. There’s also an area of mystery surrounding George Clooney, where you’re consistently unsure if he’s insane, brainwashed, or really has the powers he’s claiming to have. Plus the politics you would expect surrounding the Iraq war aren’t really mentioned. There’s one scene that being anti-Iraq is the only explanation but it’s not annoying.

Really, my only complaint is the story, in the end, didn’t go anywhere. There wasn’t any dénouement, merely the ending of the story. There was no real villain. There was an antagonist but he really didn’t pose much of threat and he didn’t really meet much of an end.

The story is fun and really caters to those that enjoyed the nutty comedies of the 80’s. I give it a C+. Well worth watching but while people will still remember it, there will be no rebirth of watching it in about fifteen years.