Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

Close on the heels of his ADAPTATION, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman scores again with CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, based on the (fictional?) autobiography of the same title by Chuck Barris. It's also George Clooney's initial outing as Director.

At the very beginning when the audience sees a bearded and naked Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) standing as if in a trance while a frumpy housekeeper vacuums around him, the viewer suspects that the film will be something special, outrageous, or both. This is the starting point for an extended flashback as Barris recalls his young adulthood, when it seemed everybody but him was having sex, to his successful career as a TV game show creator and low-brow polluter of the American airwaves ("The Dating Game", "The Newlywed Game", "The Gong Show"). Pretty standard stuff except that along the way Barris is seduced by a penchant for violence into a double life as a CIA contract killer, and the schizophrenia brought on by his double life almost proves his undoing.

Rockwell is superb in the leading role, as is Director Clooney, who plays his square-jawed, no-nonsense CIA recruiter and control, Jim Byrd. (Byrd to Barris: "Listen, you're thirty-two years old and you've achieved nothing. Jesus Christ was dead and alive again by thirty-three. Better get cracking.") Drew Barrymore does a swell job as Penny, the on-again, off-again love of Chuck's life, but she's deliciously upstaged by Julia Roberts in a new sort of character for her, that of the seductive and deadly femme fatale spy, Patricia. ("Prove how much you love me, baby. Kill for me. Then I'm all yours".) Brad Pitt and Matt Damon have hilarious two-second cameos on stools. And there's one scene where a Federal official lectures The Dating Game contestants on the dire repercussions of introducing risqué material into their game show appearance that alone is worth the price of admission. I don't know who that actor was, but he deserves an Oscar for a one-minute speech.

This is a movie that perhaps has to be seen twice to be fully appreciated for the deft and clever use of camera perspective, scene and timing changes, and almost-overexposed color, all of which keeps the audience on its toes wondering what's coming next. And the Big Question: who's The Mole?

This is one of the best dark comedies that I've seen in a long while. It's one of the must-see films of 2002/2003. Bravo, bravo!

A movie that combines "Ocean's Eleven" stars and a core storyline from "A Beautiful Mind" with the TV progenitor of Simon Cowell? It seems unlikely, as does much of the book this film's script was based on, yet it all comes together well in a very weird, but hilarious piece of entertainment.

Sam Rockwell is dead-on as game show producer Chuck Barris, who created not only two staples of American television mediocrity (The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game), but also the "American Idol" of the 1970s -The Gong Show. The only differences between Barris' production and today's "Idol" are that Barris featured ONLY bad wanna-bes, so there were no recording contracts and such offered, and his judges were a lot funnier, as was he. Of course, viewers were different back then, too, in that they didn't know what to make of a show on which struggling "talent" were verbally abused. Today, that's half of Idol's viewership. In any case, Rockwell's portrayal of him is perfect.

Equally good are Drew Barrymore, as Barris' on-again, off-again, on-again love interest, George Clooney as Barris' supposed CIA handler, and fellow assassin Julia Roberts. In fact, Barrymore is considerably better here than in most of her roles. The appearance of Rutger Hauer also made me laugh, especially given the tough guy roles he used to play. And cameos by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon are priceless.

As for the "A Beautiful Mind" reference, Barris' assertion that he served as a CIA assassin during that period is so absurd that it immediately made me think of the Russell Crowe/Jennifer Connelly film's delusional spy sequences. It's also fitting considering that the central message of Barris' book is that it is immensely painful to have a brilliant mind in early life, yet end up wasting it on developing cheap fodder like "The Dating Game." (Pretty much the story of American televison in general.)

Don't get me wrong -this is NOT a movie classic. Still, Barris is such a weird yet bright man that the film is fun throughout. And its depiction of this period of TV-making in America is funny, believable, and all too insightful as to how we ended up with the flood of "reality" and game shows that pollute our TV screens today. The film blames Barris, because he did himself, but it's the networks that pushed and paid for this dreck, and still do.

If you have an absurdist bone in your body, you'll at least get several laughs out of this. Enjoy.

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George Clooney is a fine actor and he has done excellent work in the past. However, when I heard that Clooney was going to direct, I was a bit apprehensive. There are actors who have done great work as directors (Orson Welles, Robert Redford, Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood), yet George Clooney did not strike me as one who would excel as a director. Then along comes Confessions of a Dangerous Mind to convince me otherwise. Working from a screenplay by the always-great Charlie Kaufman (scribe of Adaptation), Clooney has constructed a fabulous film that succeeds in just about every way.

Clooney has the benefit of an intriguing story, based on the book by Gong Show host Chuck Barris, a great script and a fantastic cast. Sam Rockwell is a fine actor, and Confessions is probably his best work to date. Rockwell carries the movie; A daunting task, but he succeeds admirably. He brings humanity and sadness to his character and even makes him somewhat sympathetic. Hopefully he will be getting better and better parts after this one. Drew Barrymore is great as Barris' sort-of girlfriend, Clooney himself appears as the CIA recruiter who's interested in Barris, and Julia Roberts shows up as a fellow operative. George Clooney has learned much from his friend Steven Soderbergh and brings an astute sense of visual style to the film. Clooney really deserves credit for an exceptional filmmaking job.

Whether or not Barris' story is true is really not of concern to me. Even if it's all fiction, then it made for a remarkable story anyway. It will give viewers something to debate after seeing the film. The real Chuck Barris shows up for a cameo at the end, in a very touching and sad moment. Indeed there's a strong element of sadness to the story as Barris realizes what he has been and what he could have been. "I'm doomed to hell" he writes. And not just for being the one responsible for The Gong Show.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind was overlooked at the box office when it opened back in January. Perhaps it was the fact that George Clooney and Julia Roberts were only in small parts that kept people away. Or perhaps people were scared away by Charlie Kaufman's name, knowing it would likely be "weird". It's a shame though, because those people missed one of most unique and enjoyable films of the year. It's perhaps not for all tastes, but for those who enjoy quirky films beyond the usual Hollywood dreck, Confessions will be highly enjoyable.

Hopefully with the upcoming DVD release, this wonderful film will find its audience and will be appreciated for years to come.

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I am so surprised there are not more customer reviews for this DVD. It is a great little film! Funny, but very dark at times. It has everything, including great directing (George Clooney), a great cast, and a very quirky story line. I was a bachelor on the original "Dating Game" in 1971. I don't remember Chuck Barris being on the set for our taping. Perhaps he was acting as chaperone to another swinging couple in an exotic locale like Berlin. It was great rewatching this after seeing "The Ides of March." George Clooney's work has only gotten better.

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Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) spent every conscious moment since puberty chasing women -with little success. Then he discovered the newly emerging world of television. This was something he could do. He could put on a show. He understood the public's tastes. And there were available women galore. Barris started out giving tours at a television network, and worked upward from there. He met a free-spirited woman named Penny (Drew Barrymore), whom he later married, through a one-night stand with her roommate. Penny believed in Chuck, encouraged him, and gave him all the independence he could want. Chuck rose to prominence at ABC when his "Newlywed Game" became a hit. He went on to produce "The Dating Game" and "The Gong Show", in which he also starred. But Chuck Barris led a double life. Shortly after his success with "The Dating Game", he claims to have been approached by a recruiter for the CIA (George Clooney), who told Chuck that he perfectly fit the "profile" to do contract work for the agency and that his country needed him in its battle against Communism. Chuck agreed to the job. And the CIA trained him as an assassin who would use the cover of escorting "The Dating Game"'s winning couples around the world to carry out his murderous assignments. Or was it all a fiction from the mind of this consummate entertainer?

"Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" is based on Chuck Barris' autobiography of the same name, public records, and hundreds of hours of taped interviews. The film was directed by George Clooney in what is one of the most impressive directorial debuts ever by an actor. Charlie Kaufman, who has made a name for himself writing non-linear films, wrote the screenplay. The constraints imposed by the mostly linear nature of this film bring out the best of Kaufman's abilities, though, and result in his best screenplay yet. Chuck Barris' game shows were precursors to modern reality television and "trash tv". Sam Rockwell brilliantly conveys Barris' simultaneous inferiority and superiority complexes. He made me wonder if some of today's trash tv moguls don't suffer from the same neuroses. George Clooney employs a combination of traditional and heavily stylized techniques to bring Chuck Barris' story to the screen. The film's style gets heavy-handed as the story nears its end, but this seems an appropriate expression of Barris' eventual unraveling. The question that "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" elicits but never answers is: Is it true? Was Chuck Barris really an assassin for the CIA? The idea that we cannot know how much of this story is true and how much is fiction is probably part of the film's appeal. I am inclined to think that Barris' claims are a result of his peculiar combination of intense self-importance and acute self-loathing. But the man always knew how to entertain, and George Clooney has brought Chuck Barris' strange story to the screen with skill and ingenuity.

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