While the opening credits may depict a group of fraternity brothers jumping around and having a good time with one another, “Goat” makes one thing very clear: this isn’t a happy comedy about fraternity life like “Old School.” Rather, this is a nightmare, one that strikes far closer to home than one might think.
Based off the 2004 memoir of the same name, “Goat” follows college undergrad Brad Land (Ben Schnetzer), as he makes the big leap into fraternity life after his socially graceful brother Brett (Nick Jonas) persuades him with promises of brotherhood and fun times. However, Brad quickly finds out that not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Instead, he and the other pledges are forced to participate in the infamous “Hell Week,” a torturous ordeal dreaded by everyone. From an unhealthy amount of alcohol consumption to complete humiliation, the abusive ante keeps being upped as the week moves on to a point that — spoilers for a real life event — eventually proves deadly for one of the eager new members.
While this might not seem too scary — it’s no secret really to anyone what kind of events occur during the hazing process — the most troubling fact is that the events depicted here actually happened at Clemson University itself, in the Kappa Sigma fraternity during the late 1990s.
Naturally, the name of the university in the film adaptation was changed to a fictional one, and the campus Brett and Brad enroll at bears no resemblance to Clemson University. Regardless, that doesn’t change the truth of what occurred here 20 years ago. The fact that “Goat” was released on the two year anniversary of Tucker Hipp’s death makes its message pretty clear: hazing, or at least the type of hazing being presented, needs to end. From what is presented in the movie, one can’t help sympathizing for these pledges, as many of the events which transpire are very unforgiving, especially one involving a keg of beer and a baby goat.
While “Goat” has a cast mostly filled with unknowns, each actor does a surprising job showing the deteriorating mental states of their respective characters as Hell Week takes its toll. Nick Jonas — yes, THAT Nick Jonas — was probably the one that wowed me the most, proving that he has the chops to handle more serious roles. A quick cameo of James Franco, who also helped produce the film, as a former member of the fraternity was also a great surprise that brought a brief moment of levity to a dark plot.
However, the only major gripe of the movie is absolutely the most problematic, that being the real life story and character of Brad. From the get go, it is pretty clear that he is very socially awkward and has obvious emotional issues, especially in regards to abandonment, as he frequently gets into a nervous panic every time his brother Brett so much as goes to the bathroom. These issues are only exacerbated when he foolishly allows two unknown men into his car after a party, and they proceed to rob and beat the ever loving hell out of him, leaving him more insecure and emasculated then before. It’s natural that the brotherhood first lifestyle of fraternities might seem appealing after having to go through all that, but Brad acts surprised when the hazing acts are brought out during Hell Week.
My point? Brad absolutely wasn’t meant for fraternity life, as “Goat” constantly shows throughout its runtime. I mean, it wouldn’t make much sense for a soldier with PTSD to go to a fireworks show, so Brad’s insistence on sticking with fraternity life despite having such a fragile mental state is not only baffling, it really only leaves audiences to blame in the end.
Brad’s depiction of fraternity life isn’t much better either, resorting to portraying many members of Kappa Sigma as nothing more than two dimensional strawmen. You are either a poor, unfortunate soul who made the mistake of becoming involved in fraternity life, or you are an undeniable monster involved in the process. The thinking is very reductive and doesn’t help fix this issue at all. Of course, there are great people involved in Greek life. Though how they act at parties or are involved they are in the inevitable hazing process remains to be disclosed, some of them are genuine people who help those in need of assistance. While this doesn’t mean that the people involved in fraternities are all blameless little angels, reducing everyone to cartoon villains is just as bad.
While “Goat” is well put together, it brings up many more issues in its own argument than it does for its point against Hell Week practices. Yes, the main idea is that hazing acts have the tendency to go too far. Yes, it often results in deaths like depicted in the movie and with Tucker Hipps. That is completely true and should be stopped. Despite that message, “Goat” ends up talking more trash than it does truth. Sure, there is absolutely something worth discussing in there; it’s just a shame that you have to search through all the hay from the strawmen presented to find it.