Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Movie-Tie In: An Unauthorized Autobiography

Rating:
Summary: What's What?
Review: I didn't much like "The Dating Game", thought "The Newlywed Game" was okay, and have never seen "The Gong Show" so my impressions of Chuck Barris weren't very vivid. However, after discovering he wrote the song "Palisades Park" and reading CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND: AN UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY, I have to admit that Chuck Barris is a genius, even if he is the "King of Schlock".

I thought this book would be silly, uninteresting, and perhaps a little quirky. Well, it is quirky, but it's also quite entertaining and interesting. It's hard to say whether the events described in the book or fact or fiction. Barris writes about everything in his life in a very self-defacing, humorous manner (including the events we know are fact) so it's impossible to figure out if the events described are all true, partly true, or just a total yarn. I mean it wouldn't surprise me because the book reads like a cop-off of some of the best mystery/cloak-and-dagger writings around much in the same way that "The Gong Show" was a parody of popular talent search shows. Yet, at the same time, the events are so bizarre and fit so well into known facts, everything really could be true.

Anyway. The book is full of sex, violence, and foul language; but other than the language, none of it is very graphic. I mean, it seems early contestants on "The Dating Game" could describe their sexual exploits more graphically than Barris. Nevertheless, the book is thoroughly entertaining and difficult to put down.

Rating:
Summary: A fun read despite some hard to believe stories
Review: I have a confession to make: I've never seen "The Gong Show," not even one episode. I'm aware of the basic premise and I know (being somewhat odd myself) that this odd little show would be one I would like, but I've just never seen an episode, not even on Nick at Nite. That show, of course, is Chuck Barris's claim to fame. That could change very soon, however, when George Clooney's new movie "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" hits a theater near you. It is a movie based on Barris's "unauthorized autobiography," where he relates tales of being a hit on television and being a hit (man) for the CIA. Chuck Barris, you see, is not only the creator of "The Dating Game," "The Newlywed Game," and "The Gong Show" --- he spent nearly two decades as a decorated covert assassin for the CIA. CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND is his story.

The book itself is a bit weird (much like a slew of the contestants on his game shows), but he makes it interesting with his spicy writing style, his candor and his filthy mouth because, boy, Chuck Barris can swear like a sailor! It starts innocently enough with him discussing aging as an old television superstar and then quickly moves into killing people --- bad guys like Mario Moretti and Salvador Panagra Renda. CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND makes for a somewhat intriguing read, as Barris alternates between discussing his game shows and his travels overseas to kill various criminals. It is filled with some fun and some double-crossing and some sex and some shootings (sounds like a good movie!).

"Brazioni's shoulders were hunched together. He was shooting from the hip. Soledad's right arm was fully extended, unloading his gun at point-blank range, the end of the barrel just inches away from Renda's face. All I heard were little popping sounds. Renda slumped to the back of the bench, his head flopping to the side. Someone screamed." Barris's writing is quick, succinct and to the point. As you're reading it, you can imagine Barris telling the story to you face to face in conversation, perhaps over a couple of martinis at a late night party catered with little quiches and shrimp cocktails. For that, the book makes its mark.

But, just as successful as he is in telling his life story, you can't help but think, particularly with a subtitle like "unauthorized autobiography," that it's a bunch of bunk. It would be fun to think that a game show host could also be an assassin (can you imagine the patriot Bob Barker knocking someone off with a .22-caliber automatic with silencer)? But at the same time, can we believe that a game show host COULD be an assassin? It's a stretch. Also, he writes the details of the murders, the spy games and the double-crosses in a very cool and matter-of-fact way. Wouldn't the CIA not want people to know the kind of information that he's giving freely to whoever picks up his book (or, in the coming months, to whoever goes to the movies)?

Overall it is a fun diversionary read, but after finishing it, you feel a little duped (like Dorothy felt when she realized the Wizard of Oz was just a smart guy behind a curtain) and a little put on, like perhaps someone should have gonged Chuck Barris when he started talking about his whirlwind adventures of killing enemies of the state. Can it be true?

--- Reviewed by Jonathan Shipley

Rating:
Summary: Hmm...well, I don't think I believe him, but who cares?
Review: It's a good read anyway. The movie is quite good too, although both versions of the tale - both Barris's own memoirs and the film adaptation - contain some narrative flaws that more picky readers/viewers might not fall for.

Rating:
Summary: Could not put it down
Review: The book is a well-written, fast-paced narrative of Chuck Barris' bizarro, manic depressive alternative universe.

Barris was a television game show producer and he relates the history of his most successful programs -- The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and The Gong Show. He also, briefly, mentions his less successful programs, like The Mother-In-Law Game.

What gives the book its punch is Barris's claim that while he was a TV producer, he was also an assassin for the CIA. He relates that he murdered people, bad guys, all over the world at the behest of the U.S. Government. Fact or fiction? Who cares! It makes for a great read.

The humor-challanged should skip this book.

Rating:
Summary: Who Cares About Whether It's All True?
Review: We can spend a lot of time arguing about whether or not the CIA ever hired Chuck Barris to kills Soviet Spies throughout the world. We will probably never know the truth and maybe it's best we never find out.

Still, there are a few facts about this book that you can't argue. First off, Chuck Barris is a very funny person. If you don't find yourself rolling with laughter at a few passages in this book then you have no sense of humor. Even if you thought the Dating Game and the Newlywed Game were affronts to civil behavior, you will laugh at some of his recollections about those shows. The same is true for some of his memories about the Gong Show.

Another fact about this book is that Barris is very self-centered and narcisstic at times. For that reason, you might come away after the reading this book with a negative opinion about Chuck Barris the person. Still, you will do so with some fun because he can spin quite a yarn. Even if you don't believe any of his CIA stories, you will enjoy reading about them. You might think Barris is either a jerk, a liar, or similar to the people you knew in college, but you will still have fun reading this book.