Get the Goat or Cabras Da Peste is a Brazilian comedy film directed by Vitor Brandt and starring Edmilson Filho, Matheus Nachtergaele, Victor Allen, Evelyn Castro, Soren Hellerup alongside other cast members. The movie is written by Brandt along with Denis Nielsen.
If you think that you’ve had enough of the “bumbling cops doing stupid things” cliché, then fear not, Netlix’s Get the Goat brings just that. Featuring two cops who are terrible at their job and will, almost always, destroy something they are given to do, the film follows the tried and tested recipe of law enforcement officers doing the weirdest and most illogical things to induce laughter in the audience.
In Get the Goat, we have Bruceuilis, who loses his town-famous goat Celestina and goes out in search of her. While in Sao Paolo, he meets another cop Trindade who is as pitiful as him and extremely cowardly as well. The two of them are equally clumsy and are adept at making absolutely nonsensical decisions, resulting in extremely disastrous outcomes.
Listen, I don’t particularly enjoy this “stupid cop doing stupid things” subgenre. They are, more often than not, filled with silly and in-your-face jokes that don’t mean much and force you to laugh. The situations and the protagonists’ decisions are so nonsensical that it makes you question how someone can do this. It’s not funny, and it makes me awkwardly watch two adults making a fool of themselves.
The supporting characters, however, are the complete opposite of them which makes the contrast sharp but doesn’t really add anything other than the absurdity of the entire thing. Take for example Trindade – every single one of his colleagues are muscular and hunky men with six-packs while he’s a tiny fellow apparently without any discernible characteristics. You probably wouldn’t be able to tell him apart from the tree beside him, except for the fact that the tree atleast is useful in some way.
Get the Goat also features the age-old movie angle that these bumbling characters are somehow able to go up against mobsters in a bid to find Celestina. It really is not believable and although you might tell me that that’s the whole point – I’d beg to differ. The absurdity and the slapstick comedy worked when these things were new and there was a certain novelty attached to it. But it’s 2021 – better sources of comedy are expected and needed.
The protagonists, Edmilson Filho and Matheus Nachtergaele, are good as the cops though and are believable in their roles. Although it’s not a movie and theme that I’d ever agree with, I think the film somehow works because of these two actors. Filho also has certain instances where he can show-off his martial arts prowess and these scenes come as a surprise and leave you stunned.
Summing up: Get the Goat
I think the point of Get the Goat is that it doesn’t want to be a movie that is taken seriously. It is silly, annoying and mostly too unbelievable to be taken seriously and it revels in the glory of that thought. There’s not much smartness that you can hope from it, but that’s okay if you’re looking for a simple comedy that doesn’t let you think too much. However, for someone who’s looking for a smart comedy with layers, you’re going to be seriously disappointed. It’s mostly too absurd and dull for my taste of comedy, but for people who enjoy slapstick, this might be something fun to watch.
Get the Goat or Cabras De Peste is streaming on Netflix.
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