SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

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

Graham Phillips, really a teenager, is Ellis living near Tucson. He is basically a good, smart kid with a really strange mother. Vera Farmiga is his mother Wendy . She seems to have a steady stream of new boyfriends, and as events unfold doesn't not appear to be very nurturing for Ellis.Unknown to Wendy he applies to the upper-crust private prep school his dad went to. As a 15-yr-old he is a freshman, and in spite of mom's fears he goes off to the D.C. area, where his dad also lives.Ty Burrell is the dad, Frank . As happens often in real life, Wendy had pretty much demonized Frank, convincing Ellis that his dad was a bad, uncaring guy. But as he gets to know him, Ellis finds Frank to be a warm person who cares about his son, but had stayed away from Tucson because of the psycho Wendy.Dakota Johnson (daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith) is Minnie , who works at the all-boys prep school, but sneaks into the library often, working her way through the "100 favorite books" list. She is friendly with Ellis, teases him a little. The other boys says she is a prostitute, but only for juniors and seniors. Ellis discounts that, saying it is not true. It seems he has an ongoing interest in perhaps having something happen with this older girl.David Duchovny is Goat Man . The movie never really clarifies why he likes to train goats, or take them for walks in the desert, and in fact at one point declares that he doesn't like goats. But he is allowed to live in the pool house, for doing odd jobs around the property and keeping the pool clean. He grows his own pot and shares it often with others. He is an interesting, quirky character who turns out to be one of the more normal.The story in essence is a "coming-of-age" for young Ellis. He recognizes his mother for who she really is, he gets to know his father and dad's new wife (Kerri Russell). He learns that maybe Minnie really is a prostitute or a "loose" woman after he sees her with other boys off campus asking them "did you get all sweaty?" She eventually invites Ellis to meet her off-campus "to spend some of that allowance money" he has. He turns her down, in a show of maturity, realizing she is not the kind of girl he wants to be around. Not you usual movie, overall I enjoyed it more than its IMDb rating would suggest.

Having read a review prior to attending the screening, I had mixed expectations about Goats. But in the time since, this complex and poignant film has stuck with me more than most any film I have seen lately. As billed, Goats is a coming of age story, but it is much deeper than the typical angst ridden drama with a teen central character. In fact, all the people in 15-year-old Ellis's life, no matter what their age, face the turmoil of growing up.A smart, but weed-toking slacker, Ellis is probably the most grounded of this oddball mix of humanity. Graham Phillips does a marvelous job of showing us his emotional journey rather than short cutting with some cheesy exposition. He doesn't have any real drive other then a conflicted sense he needs to move beyond the life he grew up with. This portrayal is very true to life. Director Christopher Neil gets a lot of depth out of his actors without over doing it. The performances of Vera Farmiga and David Duchovny are wonderful as the over-the-top, self absorbed seeker of spirituality Wendy, and the so laid back his is almost in reverse Goat Man. Justin Kirk is fun to watch as Wendy's arrogant, two timing sleaze bag boyfriend. An all to brief cameo of Minnie Driver as a spiritual coach is a hoot.There is stark visual contrast between Ellis's new world of east coast boarding school and his old life in Tucson. This mirrors the emotional jarring Ellis is going through. As the film treks forward on two parallel trails, we are also reminded that, despite our protests, life continues without those we love. When these trails intersect, we see how Ellis is pulled between his two worlds.The scenes shot in and around Tucson, Arizona give Goats a unique look. Thankfully, the film avoids the clichés of Tucson. Sure we see saguaros, the mountains and vast alluring desert landscapes. But they are part of the environment the characters naturally inhabit rather than used as pretty postcard filler shots. It also, for the most part, avoids the clichés of boarding school. There is a nice twist when the track coach takes Ellis's joint, and simultaneously blackmails him in to running cross-country, while savoring a smoke.Throughout the film, a lot is said indirectly through action, or through dialog containing multiple meanings. When Goat Man says, "I hate my goats," it reveals a moment of clarity: an inner disappointment with his life and the feeling he is trapped in it.The packed crowd at the screening I attended laughed, cheered, and in the end, erupted into applause. Where so many films of this genre plod to a tedious end, Goats treks lightly to its conclusion. It is not tied up neatly with a bow. The characters all have a long journey ahead, and most likely, they won't get where they think they want to go. Kind of like, well, goats. In the end, I found I wanted to see more of the story. It is an entertaining film that leaves you with something to talk about.

Like "Rushmore" by way of Malick, Goats is a charmer through and through. It has the feel of a surprise minor classic, a movie you'll rediscover and marvel over on repeat viewings. David Duchovny, Vera Farimiga, Graham Phillips are exceptional, and Keri Russell was a revelation. The cinematography sneaks up on you -- a lesson in how visual composition settles a movie of many parts into a fully realized work of entertainment. Every small role is cast perfectly, especially the student body at Ellis's prep school. By the film's well-earned, immaculate ending, you have a feeling of wholeness. Ty Burrell, by the way, in a major reinvention, is touching and believable as a father, long vilified, whose patience pays off in ways you may not see coming.