The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)

Mr. Postietoastie sure does like to use the word “meta”. He taught me what the word meant not too long ago. I thought it was some made up word being used to reference Magic: The Gathering in some fairly dorky way. Alas, my ignorance preceded me. What Mr. Postietoastie told me was that meta was in fact something being aware of itself and making reference to this fact. I had been enlightened. New vocab word. I’m smarter, thus more sexy. 

 

Make a note.

 

So because I have learned of the word to describe such an event, it is safe to say that The Men Who Stare At Goats can be used as a fine example of something being meta. Let me explain with a brief description of the film.

 

Jeff Bridges in an army man who gets shot during Vietnam by a Vietcong soldier because none of his fellow soldiers would shoot at this particular Vietcong. So Jeff Bridges goes the way of the hippy to try and decipher the pacifistic tendencies of the human species.   He then goes on to pitch his new belief system about creating the perfect alternate soldier by way of paranormal means. The government green lights this and a new soldier are in development. What is this new soldier called? Why the Jedi of course. Who is the journalist in this film learning all about these actions? Ewan McGregor, aka the young Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the greatest Jedi of all time. 

 

“What are these Jedi you speak of?” he emulates throughout the movie.

 

Fairly meta if I do say so myself. I wish the screenwriter had had Jeff Bridges throwing around a glowing blue Frisbee and talking about starmen. Perhaps Kevin Spacey, the villain of the story, could have talked about an American Beauty or 7 deadly sins. 

 

Overall the film seems to me to be an attempt to replicate a Coen Brothers intelligent comedy. Not as good as Intolerable Cruelty or Oh Brother Where Art Thou,   wacky, silly and in many ways ridiculous though not the worst way to spend an hour and a half.