George Clooney and Ewan McGregor in 'The Men Who Stare At Goats'

The Men Who Stare At Goats
(Grant Heslov): George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey
Running time: 90 minutes
Rating: 2/5(15A)

Jon Ronson's book about bizarre, secret paranormal US military projects is fed through the grinder. It emerges as one long skit short of a plan. Ewan McGregor, who travelled around the world on a motorbike in search of a personality and never found one, plays Bob Wilton, who finds himself back in the desert, entangled in an Iraqi mission with Lyn Cassidy, a skittish, middle-aged former secret soldier played by George Clooney. Through Lyn, Bob learns of the Vietnam era's New Earth Army, led by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), a branch of hopeful psychic warriors in the US army.

Director Grant Heslov has much amusement going back into time to watch the various stoner-inspired antics. But it is only mildly wacky. George Clooney, meanwhile, thinks he's in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Jeff Bridges is back in The Big Lebowski. And the scriptwriters? They haven't a clue what they're in, producing a story that is largely inconsequential. A wasted opportunity.