Bostonist caught the new George Clooney flick, Men Who Stare at Goats, last night. Despite being a little over the top, the film is an often-entertaining (if ultimately somewhat pointless) ride through the PsyOps of the New Earth Army, with The Dude as guide (you could pretend that Jeff Bridges is playing a different character here, but he's really not). From killing goats to locating long-lost idols and nemeses, the psychic abilities of Clooney's character ("Jedi warrior" Lyn Cassady) prove remarkably effective, at least within the fictional realm. The film's a sort of Fear and Loathing in Baghdad with a little Catch-22 mixed in, plus some Kevin Spacey going borderline Nazi (it's mostly the mustache, but he's also quite an asshole to his fellow Earth Army members). Perhaps more important than Cassady's excessive tan and his appropriately groovy mental prowess, though, is the subtle yet sustained presence of Boston in the film.
Our fair city first surfaces when Lyn attempts to explain his preferred methods for getting into psychic mode. "Drinking helps," he admits, then adds that music does too, one of his favorite tunes being Boston's "More Than a Feeling." The song comes up again later in the film, a reminder of both the necessarily subjective, feeling-based nature of both PsyOps and war in general, as well as of the 1970s vibe surrounding the New Earth Army ("I will eat your green skin" is one of the Jedi warriors' vows to Mother Earth).
Boston comes up again when military contractors rescue Cassady and company from a dire situation in the desert. We're cited as an important market for corporate product right before an inter-contractor fight opens fire at an Iraqi gas station (at which the contractors' SUVs arrived by pushing aside citizens' cars). Gee, doesn't it make you feel good to support these contractors with both tax and after tax dollars?
Some critics are slamming the movie for not taking a clear satirical stance, but maybe they're missing the point. War doesn't make much sense, whether it's waged by rich contractor assholes with guns or hippies with eagle feathers: was this movie about a particularly absurd form of "warfare" really supposed to? If nothing else, it's at least possible to close your eyes and slip away into enjoyment of Clooney's cloud-bursting eyes during the film.

"New New England"


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