Goats

(2012) Goats DRAMA

Adapted the screenplay from his own novel by the name of Mark Poirier, that was co-produced and directed by Christopher Neil which is a subtle oddball of a film centering on 15 year old, Ellis Whitman (Graham Phillips) coming to grips with the break up of his family and the people he interacts with, once leaving the household to go to an all boys prep school. At first, Ellis appears to be the only normal one since he's the narrator, but viewers should be able to feel empathy with other characters as the film is progressing, particularly the father, Frank Whitman (Ty Burrell) at first they nicknamed him as "F-cker Frank" who abandoned him and his mother to be with other people... and so we thought. It is called "Goats" because of Ellis's bond with the animals as well as the quirky character "Goatman", an unusual role played by David Duchovny who does nothing but smokes cannabis, and originally lives in the same household as Ellis as caretaker of the pool and gardener. Vera Farmiga (Into the Air) who plays the Ellis's mother as Wendy is probably the only character that's hard to identify but overall she's still quite harmless. Kerri Russell also stars as Judy, and a memorable sleazy performance by Justin Kirk as Bennett. This is one of those rare oddball movies about how things are able to work themselves out without resorting to extreme measures.

I saw this film at the Loft here in Tucson, Arizona, where a lot of the movie was actually filmed! It was one of the best movies I've seen this film season-up there with 50/50 and the Descendants. The film had depth to it, which made the comedy in in it witty and made the audience want to know what would happen next. The best undiscovered (as of yet) film of the year. The actors and actresses were beyond perfect for the film-you could tell they cared about the characters, and they were selected perfectly for their roles as well. Seeing David Duchovny as a pot-head goat farmer was exquisite. All in all, this movie was amazing. I hope it comes out in theaters so I can take everyone to go see it!

Review: This is your everyday tale of a teenager growing up with weird surroundings. We have seen this type of storyline many times before, but the unique thing about this storyline is the fact the leading character is being brought up by a goat man. There is enough in the plot to make the story interesting, but I did fall asleep a few times during the movie because the leading character seemed pretty dull with not much personality. All of the surrounding characters in the movie, especially Duchovny, have strange life's with much going on, which the young teenager has to deal with, along with college life and a alcoholic room mate. Personally, I was hoping for a something a bit different than the norm, but there isn't enough to make this movie stand out from different movies in this genre. Watchable!

Round-Up: If this movie had a leading character with better screen charisma, then it wouldn't have been to bad. Even if they would have taken out the leading character, it had enough substance to be a different type of movie. Anyway, for me, it is Duchovny that makes this film, but the disappointing thing is that he is not in it that much. We are just watching a boy become a man who had to make some difficult choices, like every teenager nowadays.

Budget: $5million Worldwide Gross: N/A

I recommend this movie to people who are into there dramas about a teenager growing up with strange surroundings. 4/10

Great cast with chemistry delivers an engaging performance of an coming of age tale. The story revolves around Ellis, a teenage boy trying to carve out his own life despite having the enormous weight of raising his new-age mother. His troubles are further compounded by his father figure, Goatman, a full blown stoner/gardener who seems mentally stuck at the age of 17. Be prepared to laugh out loud.

Set in Tucson, AZ, the movie also features some of the most beautiful images of the Sonoran Desert. No fake landscapes and plastic saguaros, Tucson's authentic glory is on display in this film. The feel of the town is real.

Although I appreciate many independent films, there are few I want to see over and over, and this is one that I follow from the big screen, to the cheap-theater, and all the way to blue-ray.

So so film has a really strong performance from "Modern Family's" Ty Burrell to recommend it for but sadly not much else to really separate it from the pack of the other high school kid comes of age in boarding school films out there. Film's trailer promises a wacky comedy about a hippie like guy with a lot of goats and a lot of life lessons to impart but the film really more or less uses him as set dressing...which is a shame because David Duchovny is clearly having a good time and is quite game for whatever the script wants to throw at him and indeed he seems so ready for wackiness that we all but laugh the first time we see him because it looks for all the world that his character is going to be the real star of this movie and a real laugh getter--but aside from having him duel with ex Weeds star Justin Kirk for the affections of a rather over the top Vera Farmiga the screenplay either can't or won't let Goat Man do much of anything else. The film's center is "The Good Wife" son Graham Phillips as a kid raised in the desert and finding his way in this boarding school--and befriending his roommate and finding a young woman and etc. The film's real star should've been Goat Man. I'm not saying that the film is lousy or even boring although it has some boring stretches, but its kind of slight, when the elements were clearly here for something really vivid and memorable. The film even has characters that it clearly doesn't know what to do with besides Goat Man and the crazy new age mom and the obnoxious boyfriend---there's also the tough chick who threatens to beat up Phillips at the beginning of the film, lives in the desert with Phillips and Goat Man and everyone and is taken under Vera famiga's wing in the middle of the film, but the film never gives her anything to do there's also Keri Russell (forever Felicity to me) who's character is given somewhat of a build-up but then once she gets introduced she's given nothing to do and is all but forgotten about from the rest of the film as well, which brings me back to Ty Burrell. He plays the much much hated father of Phillips' character. Vera Farmiga whom vastly overplays the new agey mother of Phillips' character (and is bravely unsympathetic here--meaning her character is very unlikable) has spent a good amount of her screen time bashing her ex-husband so when he finally shows up played by the dad from Modern Family--we're all ready to pretty much hate him--but the strong somewhat no nonsense portrayal by Burrell actually makes him the most likable character (not to mention the most level headed) in the entire movie. I thought his presence actually served to anchor the entire film itself--and his presence as a supporting character really served to help ground the whole movie itself into a reality that it was sorely lacking otherwise. Oh again its not that its a bad movie per se--but it should've been a lot better then it was.