Goats

[yoco]

Release Date: August 10, 2012 (limited)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Director: Christopher Neil
Screenwriter: Mark Jude Poirier
Starring: David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Graham Phillips, Justin Kirk, Ty Burrell, Keri Russell, Anthony Anderson, Dakota Johnson
Genre: Comedy

In "Goats," Ellis (Graham Phillips) is the most adult member of his eccentric family at 15 years old. His mom (Vera Farmiga) is a New Age hippie that spends all of her time working on self-help rituals with her hustler boyfriend (Justin Kirk). His dad (Ty Burrell) left home years ago and is more focused on his new wife (Keri Russell) and family. And then there's Goat Man (David Duchovny), the goat-herding sage who has lived in their pool house since Ellis was a child, teaching him the meaning of stability, commitment, and expanding one's mind.

[SealLion]

Now this would look interesting to watch. I wonder what David Duchovny would be like in this film??

[slikrapid]

Ellis (Graham Phillips) is the most adult member of his eccentric family at 15 years old

must have something to do with goat-man's pearls of 'wisdom', like:

'doesn't matter where we go on these tracks, we just wander' - the first part is correct if one doesn't care what happens or where/how one ends up, the second part confuses 'perception of the voyage' with 'the voyage' (what it really is/does)

'its the journey that counts' - just as silly as saying: 'the beginning/end of the journey is what counts' - what actually counts is what one does/achieves/realizes/becomes while on the journey(s), as they represent the outcome of the past (actions) and the way the future unravels/unfolds for the traveler - some kind of a journey will always exist, regardless of the observed moment (in time) - the beginning of one journey is at the same time the end of the previous one, likewise: the end of one journey is the beginning of another - as the traveler changes so do the journeys and vice versa, in fact, the one cannot even exist without the other (there is no journey without the traveler, there is no traveler that isn't on some kind of a journey, none of them has superior relevance, they simply go hand-in-hand ie. are really inseparable, its just our distorted perception of things that suggests otherwise)

'many rivers to cross' - meaning: one's voyage is still a long way from completion, with many hurdles lying ahead

a New Age hippie that spends all of her time working on self-help rituals

the point being to ridicule them for their incompetence & inadequate methods (of achieving that which is missing in their lives)

His dad (Ty Burrell) left home years ago and is more focused on his new wife (Keri Russell) and family.

which are all attractive/prosperous, acting as a sign-post of what is socially desirable

And then there's Goat Man (David Duchovny), the goat-herding sage who has lived in their pool house since Ellis was a child, teaching him the meaning of stability, commitment, and expanding one's mind.

the writers are playing with two opposing themes: that of the goat-horns (horns representing wisdom) and goats as a herd (meaning: less intelligent, followers,...) - the sage would be 'the man', the kid his 'apprentice' (or successor), the rest (movie characters or humans in general) more or less a strange/lost herd in 'need' of steering, so the joke here is on the unsuspecting viewer (being thought of as one of 'the goats') perceiving goats merely as some randomly chosen animals for the movie's comedic effect


for a rather decent comedy with d. duchovny see: Evolution (2001)
for a better movie featuring goats and some similar themes see: The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)