“The Men Who Stare at Goats” begins with a line claiming more of this film is true than you think, referring to the fact the movie is inspired by the U.S. Army’s actual attempts to use psychic powers. Yet, the film would have been more accurate in saying, “Hey, these things really happened. That’s funny, isn’t it? So laugh regardless of whether the movie itself is any good.” While the film does offer a farcical glimpse into the military’s past blunders, the movie itself is as scatterbrained as the idea that you can stop a goat’s heart by staring at.

In his directorial debut, Grant Heslov does an acceptable job of visualizing the script and pulling together a group of A-list names to act it out. However, therein lies the problem. The screenplay was never any good to begin with.

Although the film is based on a book of the same title by Jon Ronson, screenwriter Peter Straughan has just as much luck adapting this movie as he did “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People,” which was based on a memoir of the same name. As an Academy Award nominated co-writer for “Good Night, and Good Luck,” Heslov would have been better off playing it closer to the chest by helping write the screenplay himself.

Playing a character loosely based on Ronson, Ewan McGregor (“Amelia”) is Bob Wilton, a fledgling journalist who heads to Iraq to prove his self-worth after his wife leaves him for his one-armed editor. Once there, he meets up with Lyn Cassady (George Clooney, “Burn After Reading”), a self-proclaimed “Jedi Knight” who trained with the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion to develop a range of psychological skills. Hoping to find the story of a lifetime, Wilton joins Cassady on a mission to find First Earth Battalion founder Bill Django (Jeff Bridges, “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People”).

While Ronson’s book was ripe with opportunity for satire, Straughan fails to take a full bite. What he does take is shown primarily through flashbacks, which not so coincidentally are some of the film’s best scenes, as we get to fully see the ridiculousness that was the military’s use of New Age movements. Better yet, audiences get to see a shaggy haired Clooney dance the night away with The Dude.

The film’s main storyline, on the other hand, can most accurately be summed up as “George & Ewan’s Bogus Journey through Iraq.” Sure, the pair’s mission was intended to be silly and nonsensical, but it would be far more entertaining if there was more substance to all the goofiness. There are some good one-liners dispersed throughout, but mostly it’s just a bunch of undeveloped fluff that segues to more undeveloped fluff.

In fact, some of the film’s funniest scenes had nothing to do with the movie itself. For example, it was amusing watching Clooney describe to McGregor the ins and outs of being a Jedi Knight, with the knowledge that McGregor was a Jedi Knight himself in the “Star Wars” films.

Although his character was severely underdeveloped, Clooney is undoubtedly this film’s driving force. The man is only getting better with age as he lets all inhibitions go and just has fun with the role. Yet, amongst all the silliness, Clooney plays his character with such adamant conviction he almost has you believing invisibility, remote viewing and walking through walls are possible.

The supporting cast, however, was lackluster to say the least. McGregor spends most of the movie playing the annoying sidekick who won’t stop asking questions and struggling to cover up his Scottish accent. Although funny at first, Bridges’ stereotypical hippie portrayal also gets rather irritating after awhile.

Playing the dark side to Clooney’s light side, Kevin Spacey (“21”) is wasted talent as Larry Hooper. Spacey clearly has experience playing the bad guy (“The Usual Suspects,” “Se7en” and “Superman Returns” among others) and it’s a shame the screenplay failed to fully develop what could have been a captivating character.

Despite its numerous flaws, “The Men Who Stare at Goats” does have some redeeming qualities in its nonsensical nature and Clooney’s performance. It also provides yet another opportunity to laugh at our government’s stupidity. Therefore, to say watching this film is as entertaining as, well, staring at goats would be an exaggeration, but there certainly are some better options out there for you to explore.

2 1/2 stars out of 5.