Goats
Image Entertainment | Release Date: August 10, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
38
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
11
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Time OutEric HynesAug 7, 2012
Farmiga persuades as a kooky monster of a matriarch, while Javier is an ideal vessel for Duchovny's laconic line readings (he's grown into an even more deadpan Bill Murray). Goats may cover an all-too-familiar terrain, but at least it grazes it well. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumAug 8, 2012
Ellis (The Good Wife's Graham Phillips), an alienated teen, smokes weed and hangs out with a goat-obsessed, pot-cultivating surrogate father (David Duchovny, hidden by hair). New Age details aside, though, Ellis is easily identifiable as a distant cousin-by-genre to J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield. Read full review
58
The PlaylistTodd GilchristJul 28, 2012
Overall, it's not that Neil's directorial debut is boring or even disappointing, it's that it's just unexceptional – almost exactly the sort of dime-a-dozen growing-up story that's become a Sundance/ independent film world cliché. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleAug 12, 2012
It all remains remarkably free of memorable comic situations, dramatic tension or emotional insight. Adolescence may be bruising, crazy or normal, but it's rarely this staid. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartAug 10, 2012
First-time director Christopher Neil (a Coppola cousin) scores points for scenery: The treks in the Arizona desert are shot beautifully - as is Duchovny's chiseled, oft-naked bod. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen HoldenAug 9, 2012
If Mr. Neil had the tonal mastery of Wes Anderson, Goats could have been so much more than an episodic sequence of whimsical little psychodramas. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineKalvin HenelyAug 9, 2012
Christopher Neil's film is more location-scouted and photographed than directed and acted. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubAlison WillmoreAug 8, 2012
It's a strange stunt of a role for Duchovny, who even when playing characters indulging in sex, drugs, or conspiracy theories, has the air of a savvy urbanite, a quality he can't submerge while trying to act as a perpetually high mystic. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedAug 8, 2012
Ms. Farmiga is the only one who seems to be having any fun, as an aging flower child stuck in an earlier decade and addicted to healing vortex workshops and primal screams. Mellow, but very much a work in progress, Goats has a bland but overcrowded menu that could benefit from a little feta. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweJul 28, 2012
A coming-of-age story without any clear epiphany, Goats meanders rather aimlessly through 92 minutes of running time. Read full review
40
VarietyRob NelsonJul 28, 2012
This monotonously deadpan coming-of-age comedy has little to recommend it beyond some beautiful widescreen cinematography and the momentary kick of seeing David Duchovny looking like a stoned Jesus as Goat Man. Read full review
20
Village VoiceNick SchagerAug 7, 2012
Incapable of energizing Mark Poirier's leaden script (based on his own novel), Christopher Neil directs with a mechanical blandness made more tedious still by a score of gentle guitar strumming so aggravatingly benign it might inspire you to partake in one of Wendy's climactic, cathartic primal screams. Read full review
0
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierAug 9, 2012
Goats is just b-a-a-a-aad. Read full review
More From This Movie

38 Critic Reviews

7.2 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL