The Men Who Stare at Goats

More of this is true than you would believe.

I used to listen to Loveline years and years ago when Adam Corolla was one of the hosts, and when a wise-ass would get through the screeners with an obviously fake story, he would respond with the deflating phrase: "Is that true? Because it's not funny."

When the phrase "More of this is true than you would believe" flashed on the screen at the beginning of this movie, I knew I was in trouble.

Because throughout the movie, I found myself analyzing every scene wondering if it was real or if it was bullshit. Ultimately, after each scene I did a quick evaluation and decided that it was only entertaining if it was true. And since I didn't know, I had to assume that it was not true, and on that basis I was not entertained.

It actually picked up near the end. I also happen to think the end was the most fictitious, which leads me to believe that they should've thrown out basing on a true story, and gone completely over the top.

On the other hand, if they hadn't thrown the "partly" true bit at me, I probably wouldn't have analyzed the movie as much, and may have been a little more entertained. But ultimately, I think the best bet was to either be true or be crazy, because the in-between left a sour taste in my mouth.

According to wikipedia, however, the book was actually sixteen different, unconnected stories, and the movie attempted to merge those stories into common, fictitious characters. I think I actually would read the book if it landed in my lap; the subject matter sounds entertaining. If I surfed this movie on tv again, however, I would just keep going. 2 stars.