This is shaping up to be quite a year for George Clooney. Early buzz on “Up In The Air” has been very good and now, his other starring vehicle this fall, the Grant Heslov directed comedy “The Men Who Stare At Goats” has earned it’s own share of early, positive word as well. Based on UK journalist Jon Ronson’s non-fiction chronicle of the wackier side of American military intelligence operations, the trailer gave us a distinctly Coen’s vibe that apparently is pretty accurate. Not everyone was impressed, however, as evinced by Spoutblog’s collecting and subsequent listicle of all the reactions to every writer on the Internet who saw the trailer. Reactions were mixed to say the least, but reviews, however, have been surprisingly positive perhaps turning around the lukewarm buzz.
Noting the Coen-esque feel, Derek Elley at Variety calls the film “a superbly written loony-tunes satire, played by a tony cast at the top of its game.” He gives thumbs up to both Clooney and Ewan McGregor’s performances, and a special mention to the always reliable Robert Elswit’s cinematography.
Mike Goodridge over at ScreenDaily does call it a “trifle,” but also notes the standout cast, calling them a “quartet of amusing, self-referential performances from Messrs Clooney, Bridges, McGregor and Spacey” while calling the film “a trifle but a pleasing trifle nevertheless.” However, he saves his biggest accolades for the script by Peter Straughan, saying it “could well bag adapted screenplay nominations.” Nice.
More Coen comparisons abound in Brendan’s review for Empire Movies, as he calls it a “solid” film and notes that fans of George Clooney will be “impressed by yet another strong performance being added to his already impressive resume.”
Finally, Guy Lodge at InContention gives another nod to the script saying, “it’s the eccentric patter that drives this particular vehicle to its destination: if nothing else, it’s the only war film you’re ever likely to see with an Angela Lansbury namecheck. Sometimes a movie — even one about Iraq — doesn’t need to be anything more than a good time.”
One of the only fairly mixed reviews was from THR’s Deborah Young who wrote, “[while the film] should have been funnier than this, but even if ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’ is not worth comparing to ‘Dr. Strangelove,’ it should satisfy audiences with its great cast and patent absurdities, coated in quaint nostalgia for the happy hippie days of yore.” If that’s a pan, they’ll surely take it.
As the tone of films during Oscar season turns decidedly more serious, it’s good to know that there is a light-hearted, well executed comedy on the horizon that will be nice break from the slog.