Is it just me, or did Kevin Spacey say a couple of years ago that he was ceasing to appear in feature films? I remember seeing one of his plays advertised at a theatre in Waterloo a few years ago and thinking, ‘Man, what a shame.’ Since then, he has appeared in blackjack drama ‘21’, and more recently (and certainly more memorably) in the spectacular ‘Moon’ voicing Sam Rockwell’s personal computer, GERTY. Seeing Spacey onscreen has become somewhat of a novelty, and what a novelty it is.
‘The Men Who Stared At Goats’ is political satire at it’s finest. A comedic look at the American military and it’s apparently true investment into psychic warfare (or ‘Psy-Ops’) throughout the 1980s. While it doesn’t consistently conjure up laughs, the laughs that are there really do bust a gut.
These days, I can’t watch Jeff Bridges without thinking about just how awesome he was in ‘The Big Lebowski’. The fact that his first scene in ‘Goats’ is set in ‘Nam is particularly amusing, and I couldn’t help but think of John Goodman the whole time (it’s a league game, Smokey). While there is no direct parallel between Bridges’ Bill Django and The Dude, Bridges is his usual free-spirited self to great comedic effect.
Empire hit the nail on the head when they referred to George Clooney’s performance as his ‘best comedic role since Everett McGill’, and I have to agree. While I find Clooney’s charm in all his roles somewhat humourous, if you blend that with a moustache and an 80’s mop, you get something really special. So special in fact, that combined with the strength of Spacey and Bridges, you almost forget about Ewan McGregor altogether. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got all the time in the world for one of our finest exports to Hollywood. However, when there is such American star power on offer, a talented Scot narrating in an accent foreign to him is easy to shun. No disrespect, but I just didn’t buy into McGregor’s struggling journalist, Bob Wilton. Not a poor performance by any means, it’s just that Clooney, Bridges and Spacey in particular are true heavyweights against which the likes of McGregor (whose experience on the comedy front is limited) cannot compete.
If we’re getting down to brass taxes, this is Kevin Spacey’s film. The last time an actor raised a chuckle every time he appeared on screen (for me) was Robert Downey Jr in ‘Tropic Thunder’. With extremely limited screen time, Spacey does the same in a terrific little role as Django’s opposite, Larry Hooper. A role which (if there’s justice in Hollywood) should earn Spacey at least a Golden Globe nomination if not a Best Supporting Actor nod come the end of January. Whether he’s summoning his spirit guide, Maude, or tripping balls on acid, he’s making you smile every second he’s on screen. It’s a performance that along with his voiceover in ‘Moon’, satisfies my Spacey needs for the year. The fact that he’s been a prominent character in two of the year’s finer indie flicks gives me hope. Hope that this extraordinary talent is on the verge of a fully fledged return to the feature film forefront.
With all these class acts, I find myself asking the same question again and again since seeing the film a mere twelve hours ago. If not for the stellar cast, would this film actually be any good? Unfortunately, the answer is probably ‘not particularly’. I may still have made the effort to see it, and I may still have sniggered throughout, but it is the sheer strength of the ensemble and the damn near perfect delivery of a somewhat lacklustre script that will make this film a critical success.
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