How sad is this?

Fresh and Exciting

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

I watched the movie Goats not really knowing what it was about, but right from the beginning I was taken in by such great characters and not to mention some big time actors I went "Huh didn't expect them to be in this movie!" too. when you first start watching you think Ellis is going to go off to Gates and that's where the rest of the movie will take place but in fact the majority doesn't. Its labeled comedy but it is at times a drama also which you pretty much can guarantee with a divorced couple and a kid, I'm not going to check the spoilers box because I'm not going to spoil anyone about the movie although there's not much to spoil. but I will say for a critic to give this movie a score of 0 is pathetic. If you have any soul, passion or love at all you can relate to Goats, its a coming of age dramedy that makes you feel just that, not too happy and not too sad, right in the middle and that's just okay. It makes you realize your life is what you make it and sometimes doing the wrong thing is actually doing the right thing in disguise. Goats is definitely one of those gems you remember forever its not mainstream and its not cheesy its just right, I'm glad I watched Goats, It was thoroughly enjoyed! Would recommend it to anyone who... well anyone!

OK. so it wasn't the greatest coming of age film i've ever seen. but it had its moments. don't want to spoil those for anyone. especially since i didn't check the spoiler box. i think, maybe, those who didn't like it needed something more. if nothing else, more explained. probably young and looking for answers. thing about life is, answers are where you find them... and sometimes things 'just are'. i'm ALSO thinking that they wanted to see the movie go in certain directions. and it doesn't. it, like any other (good) story, has its own agenda. and by this i mean other than making a gajillion bucks. sorry for those of you that wanted it, but no car chases, nudity(which is a shame considering that vera farmiga is in it. not this movie people. sorry), wildass tripping scenes, gunfights or car chases. one goat chase, though. oops. was that a spoiler? what i meant by the summary was that the rating, as of my writing this, is five point FOUR! five point FOUR! i was amazed at how low it was. but then i saw a bunch of favorable reviews. good thing, too, cause you don't want me to turn this around and go home. OK. time for the next film. look folks(i probably mean 'kids'), maybe you should just stick to the blockbusters and leave the indies for those of us who can handle them, rather than thinking your opinions are worth diddly. i almost didn't see this film because of the ridiculously low rating. but then a friend told me she really liked it. saved again. hallelujah and good night.

A seemingly effortless adaptation of the Novel by Mark Poirier, comes off without a hitch. Maybe that's because Mr. Poirier also wrote the screenplay? When adapting a novel of this depth and profundity to film one often looses the emotional continuity and thus overall impact of the book. Not this time. The film is a triumph for first time director Christopher Neil and his unforgettable cast comprised of Vera Farmiga, David Duchovny, Ty Burrell and more. Graham Phillips makes his debut as our protagonist, and does a superb job. His emotional depth on screen accompanied by his impeccable timing is a joy to see from an actor of only 18 years of age. The conventional media press has categorized, and in my opinion marginalized the film "Goats" as another coming-of-age film about a boy. It is clearly a coming-of-age film about the boy's parents. His parents make the changes in the end. They have the epiphanies. Even the boy's flawed mentor "Goat Man" (David Duchovny) cuts his hair and changes his ways. Our protagonist remains his frustrated self throughout. In a sense the story is what we all hoped and dreamed of growing up but never got, and is almost certainly a deep yearning shared by countless adult children of unhappy parents. So it's not so much a coming-of-age film as it is a writer's childhood fantasy of fixing his parents. Or of his parents fixing themselves. This in itself is an original idea for a film, and demands our attention. By the time the credits rolled, the film had drawn a smile on my face that lasted the rest of the evening. I loved it and cannot wait to see it again. And again…Hats off!

Loved the film-subtle and touching with some laugh out loud moments. Fortunate to see it at the Tucson Sundance showing. Filmed on location here so there was great audience engagement at the sold out showing. So interesting to hear the Q and A with the writer and director and producers after the film. The story was very personal to the director and mirrored his upbringing in many ways. He and the writer were simpatico about the script and vision of the film. Producers also seems very attached and committed to the story. Well-cast and well written. Graham Phillips makes an impressive transition to film and captures Ellis with perfect reserve. David Ducovny was born to play Goat Man. Even the goats were superbly cast. Beautifully filmed and directed. Hope it makes it to the big screen. It's a treasure of an Indie that deserves wide distribution.