The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

Director:

Grant Heslov

Writers:

Peter Straughan (screenplay)
Jon Ronson (book)

Release Date:

6 November 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Tagline:

No goats. No glory.

Plot:

A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.

Plot Keywords:

Goat | Animal In Title | Psychic Power | New Age | Staring Contest

US Showtimes:

Pacific Culver Stadium 12

12:30pm | 3:05 | 5:45 | 8:20 | 11:05

(personalize)

Cast

George Clooney	...	Lyn Cassady
Ewan McGregor	...	Bob Wilton
Jeff Bridges	...	Bill Django
Kevin Spacey	...	Larry Hooper
Stephen Lang	...	Brigadier General Dean Hopgood
Robert Patrick	...	Todd Nixon
Waleed Zuaiter	...	Mahmud Daash
Stephen Root	...	Gus Lacey
Glenn Morshower	...	Major Holtz
Nick Offerman	...	Scotty Mercer
Tim Griffin	...	Tim Kootz
Rebecca Mader	...	Debora Wilton
Jacob Browne	...	Lieutenant Boone
Todd La Tourrette	...	Dave
Brad Grunberg	...	Ron

Also Known As:

Безумный спецназ (Russia) [ru]
L'uomo che fissa le capre (Italy) [it]
Les hommes qui regardent les chèvres (Canada: French title) [fr]
Männer, die auf Ziegen starren (Germany) [de]
Mehed, kes jõllitavad kitsesid (Estonia) [et]
Menn som stirrer på geiter (Norway) [no]
Oi antres pou koitoun epimona katsikes (Greece) [el]
Viri, kas skatas uz kazam (Latvia) [lv]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some drug content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45563) | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Norway:15 | Netherlands:12 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

BBC Films

Trivia:

Lyn Cassady explains his work is like being a "Jedi Warrior" to Ewan McGregor (who played a Jedi Master in the Star Wars prequels).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the Ft. Bragg scene dated 1980, portraits of both President Reagan and Defense Secretary Weinberger can be seen hanging on the wall; although elected in 1980, Reagan was not sworn in until 1981 and soon thereafter appointed Weinberger.

Quotes:

Bob Wilton: So what do you use to remote view?
Lyn Cassady: I drink. And I find classic rock helps.
Bob Wilton: Any music in particular?
Lyn Cassady: Boston. Boston usually works.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Jay Leno Show: (#1.32)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Oudistic

Optimum Trajectory

Greetings again from the darkness. The best I can do here is give this one credit for trying to be a little different. From the opening credits when we are told ''You wouldn't believe how much of this is true', the quasi-farcical approach works sometimes and falls flat at other time.

George Clooney begins the film at his deadpan best, but the story is so convoluted, that even he doesn't know what to do with it after that. Can't even tell you why Ewan McGregor would take his role unless he owed actor-turned-director Grant Heslov a favor. Kevin Spacey sleepwalks through another performance, though Jeff Bridges does have some fun in a 1960's style montage.

Mostly all I can say is I am confused how a film with so much seemingly going on, could actually be so boring. The story needed to take a real direction instead of bouncing around between is it a real secret spy program, or is it a film of self-discovery, or is it a parody, or is it a commentary? Some filmmakers can mesh different styles, but rather than meshed, this one was just messy.