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The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

tomatometer

52

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 200
Fresh: 103 | Rotten: 97

Though The Men Who Stare at Goats is a mostly entertaining, farcical glimpse of men at war, some may find its satire and dark humor less than edgy.

43

Average Rating: 5/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 21

Though The Men Who Stare at Goats is a mostly entertaining, farcical glimpse of men at war, some may find its satire and dark humor less than edgy.

audience

43

liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 230,452

My Rating

Movie Info

Loosely adapted from a nonfiction book by Jon Ronson, Grant Heslov's directorial debut The Men Who Stare at Goats begins as heartbroken reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) heads off to imbed himself with troops as the Iraq War starts, but Wilton can't get himself into the country until he chances upon Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). It turns out Lyn spent decades as part of the New Earth Army -- a platoon of men, led by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), who lived a new-age lifestyle in an attempt to

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Drama, Comedy

Jon Ronson, Peter Straughan

Mar 23, 2010

$32.4M

Overture Films

Cast

All Critics (200) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (103) | Rotten (98) | DVD (9)

All in all, Goats would have been groaningly familiar, even back in the 1960s.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Newsday | Comment (1)
Newsday
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's a disappointment.

November 9, 2009 Full Review Source: At the Movies | Comments (4)
At the Movies
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Everyone involved seems to have had a pretty good time, but this one looks like it was more fun to make than it is to watch.

November 9, 2009 Full Review Source: At the Movies | Comment
At the Movies
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The narrative flips and flops ruin the comedic flow.

November 6, 2009 Full Review Source: New York Daily News | Comment (1)
New York Daily News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

If this is what a Hollywood liberal conscience looks like, it's a glib and useless thing.

November 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comments (8)
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is grizzled, wild-eyed Clooney, not the suave sophisticate, and it's a nice change of pace.

November 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comment (1)
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The oddity of its subject matter can't quite find a suitable groove between weird believability and preposterous put-on.

September 30, 2011 Full Review Source: American Profile | Comment

A genuinely funny film packed with acting talent (...) well worth 90 minutes of anyone's time.

February 3, 2011 Full Review Source: What Culture | Comment

although Clooney's charm factor helps Cassady rise above the caricatures created by the rest of the cast. ... it won't necessarily elevate a mediocre film into one worth watching.

January 31, 2011 Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | Comment

The Men Who Stare at Goats makes [True Lies] seem like a sensitive and balanced take on American/Middle Eastern relations.

October 21, 2010 Full Review Source: Quickflix | Comment

The film aspires to the kind of quirk the Coen Brothers do so well. It delivers quirk in droves. It just stops short of the big yucks.

July 4, 2010 Comment
Screenwize

The slapstick is broad and the jokes are scattershot, but the satirical digs at the self-delusion directing much of American foreign policy are well aimed.

May 12, 2010 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | Comment
LarsenOnFilm

Una comedia satírica y anti militarista mucho menos graciosa de lo que prometía.

April 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | Comment
Uruguay Total

A series of barely tethered surrealistic shenanigans perpetrated by coasting A-listers.

March 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | Comment
Lessons of Darkness

A one-trick pony, or should I say one-trick goat, which relies heavily on slight variations of a running joke which gets stale pretty fast.

March 28, 2010 Full Review Source: Sly Fox | Comment
Sly Fox

...an odd movie that falls in between the cracks of dramedy and military satire. While it has a fine cast and some terrific moments, this story of an experimental U.S. military unit with allegedly psychic powers never really gets off the ground.

March 26, 2010 Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | Comment (1)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Strained and uncomfortably buffonish. Everybody (except Clooney) is mugging when they should've just tried acting. Real satire draws blood. This one nudges you in the ribs.

March 19, 2010 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | Comment
Philadelphia Weekly

Silly psychics make good characters but don't have enough to do

March 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Habit | Comment
Movie Habit

While this often hilariously haphazard film draws you in, you're ultimately left trying to discern fact from fiction.

March 2, 2010 Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | Comment
FILMINK (Australia)

Despite this offbeat film's shortcomings, one can't help but admire director Grant Heslov and his influential pal Clooney in bringing to the screen yet another timely reminder of war's ludicrousness and ultimate futility.

March 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Sunday Times (Australia) | Comment
Sunday Times (Australia)

The film meanders in a nonsensical way and never reaches a satisfactory conclusion. It's got a Coen Brothers edge to it and will leave many viewers scratching their heads.

March 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Courier Mail (Australia) | Comment
Courier Mail (Australia)

It's more like a series of amazing anecdotes and crazy adventures than a fully formed story

February 27, 2010 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Men Who Stare at Goats

A very strange movie but with a cast of actors that I love. So I fought through it and well it wouldnt surprise me if OUR MILITARY DID do stupid things like this.

November 12, 2009
jmanard52

Super Reviewer

The humour and plot aren't really on the same page throughout and there's no way of telling whether an act is supposed to be serious or comical. But it'll entertain most people and it's faithful to it's source material.

October 1, 2011
Michael M.
Michael Miller

Super Reviewer

    1. Bob Wilton: It's the Silence of the Goats!
    – Submitted by Robbie G (3 months ago)
    1. Lyn Cassady: Dear Mother Earth... I will drink your blue waters... and eat your green skin.
    – Submitted by rob g (9 months ago)
    1. Bill Django: I'm liberating this base!
    – Submitted by rob g (9 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Männer die auf Ziegen starren (DE)
  • Men Who Stare at Goats (UK)
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