Rating: 
Summary: terrific directorial debut for Clooney
Review: Years ago Chuck Barris wrote a rather astonishing autobiography in which he claimed that not only was he a sex-crazed Hollywood producer, but he also happened to have been an independent contractor (hit man) for the CIA. The project floated around Hollywood for quite a while, until George Clooney assembled a marvelous team to bring it to the screen. Clooney's direction is superb -- he uses interesting, compelling and surprisingly low-tech visuals to augment this remarkable tale and imbue it with a real sense of Barris's subjective POV. He gets top-notch assistance from cinematographer Newton Siegel (Three Kings) and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich). Sam Rockwell gives a magnificent performance as Barris, and the supporting cast is divine -- Drew Barrymore as long-suffering girlfriend Penny, Clooney as Barris's CIA handler and Julia Roberts as a mysterious femme fatale. Brief performances by Rutger Hauer and Maggie Gyllenhall are very funny, and cameos by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon are hysterical. The soundtrack is also very good.DVD extras are exceptionally good -- a commentary track with Clooney and Siegel; a 23-minute behind-the-scenes featurette; 12 deleted scenes with optional commentary; Sam Rockwell's screen test; a featurette on the "real" Chuck Barris featuring Barris and augmented by comments from Jaye P. Morgan, Dick Clark , the Unknown Comic and other past associates; stills; and 5 Gong Show acts. The film can be heard in English or French and subtitled in English. This is a surreal good time and fine filmmaking, and further establishes Clooney as a power to be reckoned with in H-ville.
Rating: 
Summary: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Review: This movie was actually a pleasant surprise considering how off the wall the presumption that Chuck Barris was a hitman for the CIA during the time frame he became successful creating TV shows. True or not, I found the movie entertaining, the actors were spot on in their roles. I've never cared for the roles that George Clooney has chosen but he was actually good in this one. The same for Drew Barrymore as Barris' main squeeze.The movie included cameos from Dick Clark, Jaye P. Morgan and other "judges" from the Gong show and others who knew Barris. There were clips of some of the more obnoxious acts from Gong as well as the infamous clip that answered the question "Where was the weirdest place you ever felt like making whoopee" from the Newlywed game and some funny clips from another Barris creation the Dating Game.
And let's not forget the Unknown Comic and Gene, Gene the Dancing Machine!
I wouldn't suggest this one as a Top 100 or even spending the money to buy it, but it was well worth renting it or borrowing it.
John Row
Rating: 
Summary: Bashful's DVD Summary #001
Review: Best: 1) Sam Rockwell's impersonation was spot-on.
2) The script was goofy and lighthearted.
3) It had a fairly authentic 1970's feel.
4) We get to see some of the actual "Gong Show" people again
5) We get to hear Chuck Barris himself talk about things.
6) There are lots of special features including commentary. Worst: 1) It should have been funnier.
2) There are no final answers about Chuck being former CIA.
3) There were no Drew Barrymore nude scenes (ha). Recommendation: Don't spend $20 on this one. Wait until you can get it for $10 or less, then jump on it.
Rating:
Summary: True? False? Who cares?
Review: For director Clooney's first effort, this film is stunning in its originality and vision. Staying far away from Hollywood cliches, Clooney and cinematographer Newton Siegel have created a masterpiece from Charlie Kaufman's brilliant and quirky screenplay. The acting in this film is superb as well, with Sam Rockwell stealing the show with his almost eerie transformation into Chuck Barris. George Clooney cast himself perfectly as the deadpan CIA agent. I even liked Julia Roberts as the over-the-top femme fatale. Drew Barrymore was very sharp and charming, and Rutger Hauer and Maggier Gyllenhaal were excellent casting choices as well. Watch for VERY brief (and funny) cameos by Matt Damon and Brad Pitt. The intercut interviews with Dick Clark, Jaye P. Morgan, Gene Gene, Jim Lange, and The Unknown Comic add credibility and enhance the mystery of the story. All said, a very fun and satisfying film! The extras are among the best I've seen on DVD- Lots of behind the scenes info and interviews with cast and crew enhances the great accomplishment this film represents. Don't miss Sam Rockwell's screen tests!
Rating:
Summary: Will Reach Cult Status
Review: This is a VERY underrated film. If this came out, say...some odd years ago it would be praised by all sorts of walking life. Set aside the thought of this whole narrative being a work of fiction and you have an incredible, surrealistic tale of a man who seems to have lost all hope and sanity filmed in the wittiest on-camera/editing charm so seemingly lacking from Hollywood productions of this day and age. It has its share of brilliantly comedic moments (I come to think of the man walking into frame after Barris has shown the clip of The Dating Game to Goldberg. He steps in out of nowhere, turns the television set off, and walks back to where he came from, shoes squeeking in the silence.), the performences are ALL top-notch, and the film also carries a well-traced homage to cinematic deaths. Watch it a few times. Highly quotable and not for everybody. Kaufman and Clooney should unite again.
Rating:
Summary: Great...couldn't look away
Review: Can the creator of "The Newlyweds Game", "The Dating Game" and the "Gong Show", some of the precursors to Reality TV give us something to chew on better than this? Seems so, for Barris wrote a spy tale as an autobiography and George Clooney smartly directed this tale. It's portrayed as "maybe it's true" which adds to the fun --it is about a real person but my feeling is, well, never mind that, you go see it and decide for yourself. The story is about Barris, climbing the corporate ladder, creating TV shows that eventually become huge hits, yet leading a secret life, one far removed from television celebrity. Barris claims he is an independent agent for the CIA, doing "wet work." Recruited because he is a congenital killer. Clooney does a stellar job as director, storyboarding the scenes and using some excellent cinematographic techniques. Sam Rockwell is great as Barris, toning down the impression so it is not always exactly "on"--you see him deliberately drifting in and out of "Barris" in a canny way. The ending is not much of a surprise, but the story is one that had me entertained from start to finish. A smart film, well-directed and well-acted. The extra footage (deleted scenes, about the making of) were worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this movie - but then again I love root canal!
Review: OK, this review is biased. I was a huge fan of the Gong Show when it was on NBC in the late 70s. Gene Gene the Dancing Machine...the Unknown Comic...Jaye P. Morgan! I loved them all, but I especially loved the man in the center of the insanity, Chuck Barris. The most ill-suited TV host ever was the perfect host for this crazy amalgam of "talent" that competed for a grand prize of around $500 and a cheezy statue. My friends and I always thought that Barris was high on a snowy substance as he laughed and clapped and flubbed his lines - the luckiest man in show business? Maybe, but this movie, adapted by the great Charlie Kaufman from Barris' unauthorized autobiography, suggests that there was a lot more going on behind his goofy on-air persona. Whether or not you believe that Barris was a hitman for the CIA while creating, producing, & starring in his hit series during the 70s, this movie lets us imagine a world where Barris is chaperoning the winners from the Dating Game to such exotic locales as beautiful West Berlin as a cover so he carry out his assignments as ordered by the mysterious Mr. Byrd (George Clooney, who also directs). He also interacts with the mysterious Patricia (Julia Roberts, miscast as the exotic beauty who may or may not be a mole). Barris is initially disgusted by his CIA job, but finds himself drawn to it and eventually seems to prefer it to his public life as a game show clown. I really enjoyed the artful surrealism to this film. Since the story may or may not be the hallucination of a demented man, it's best not to take the film too seriously and instead enjoy the clever cinematography and trick shots. I especially liked the sequence at 30 Rock in New York that show, via one long take, Barris' evolution from tour group member, to tour guide, to NBC executive. I also thought the beautiful Drew Barrymore did a terrific job as the free spirit Penny who believes in Chuck all through his life, even when he doesn't deserve her love. She is a much better actress than she gets credit for, and deserves a lot of praise. The extras on this DVD are also terrific. The audio commentary with Clooney and his director of photography reveal a lot of the tricks they used to make this story come to life (including a very funny inside joke involving Oswald and Ruby) and the featurettes introduce us to the "real" Chuck Barris, and show us the screen test of Sam Rockwell, who does an amazing job of completely becoming Chuck Barris. All in all, congratulations are due to everyone involved with this terrific production. This is a fun movie.
Rating:
Summary: Strange, outrageous and completely captivating. I loved it!
Review: I should have realized this was going to be a bizarre film when I saw that the screenplay was written by Charlie Kaufman of "Being John Malkovich" fame. It was adapted from a supposed autobiography of Chuck Barris, the host of "The Gong Show" and "The Dating Game" television shows. In the book, Chuck Barris says he was a CIA agent for many years and he murdered 33 people. He supposedly carried out some of these murders while he was chaperoning winners of "The Dating Game" show to such places as Helsinki and West Berlin. Sam Rockwell stars as Chuck Barris and he shines in the role which calls for him to be depressed and self-loathing as well as incredibly ambitious and outwardly successful television host. George Clooney plays a small role as a CIA agent, but he also directed this film and he does a masterful job by using some very original film techniques to re-create the era of the TV game shows. Drew Barrymore is cast in the role of Barris' loyal girlfriend. She's a pleasure to look at and sometimes I wonder what she ever saw in Barris because he cheated on her all the time and rejected most of her hints about marriage. But she's a fresh delight throughout, a juxtaposition to the dark intrigues that Barris was supposedly carrying out. Julia Roberts has a small role as the femme fatale. It's a good part and she does it well. Sounds strange to you? Well it does to me too. I almost shut it off a couple of times because it was so outrageous. But then I got into the rhythm of it and, by the end, I was completely captivated. So captivated in fact, that I watched every single special feature on the DVD, including interviews with George Clooney, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell and Chuck Barris. The big question arises. Was it true? Nobody, including Chuck Barris, will answer that question. Personally, I think it's all fiction. But whether the story is true or not, it sure is creative. And it has a lot to say about a particular era in the recent past. It's hard to say if this was a comedy or a drama. But it isn't hard to say that the film was well done even though it might not appeal to everyone. I therefore give it a high recommendation. Especially for film buffs.
Rating: 
Summary: Gong
Review: This is an awful movie. I suppose the message of the movie is that Chuck Barris despises himself, and thus it is because of that self-contempt that he projected himself outward, into shows such as the Gong Show. Oh, and somewhere in all that contempt, is some sort of truism about America, and what Americans like and want. But I'm not buying that. Director George Clooney obviously admires the edgier directors of his day - the Coen brothers, and Tarantino. (And one could roll it even further back, to the savage satires of Paddy Chayefsky ("Network").) But he lacks their deft skills (Coen brothers) and/or thorough understanding of genre (Tarantino). And besides, even black comedies should, on occasion, be funny. The secret life as CIA hit man bit is as boring and stupid as any act that ever appeared on the Gong Show. But hey, cynical Chuck really is a romantic at heart. That's why he has a divided psyche, the need for a secret life, since in his heart he knows what a toilet bowl his real life is. What bull! One star however for Julia Roberts twitching on the floor after a dose of poison. (Somewhere in that scene is a metaphor for her career and/or her approach toward acting.) Barris, truly a troll of a man, deserves to be forgotten. Why Clooney decided to go with this project escapes me. It's like watching a career suicide. Perhaps this is where Barris' genius can really be found - touch him and die.
Rating:
Summary: An OK movie
Review: I'm not going to give you an in-depth review, comparing the various themes and mechanisms of the plot... I'll just say that it's an OK movie with some wild concepts being explored in the story. The part I enjoyed the most was when they were training with M1 Garands. I believe at the time the M-14 was not readily available as the standard rifle (which was shortly replaced by the M-16).
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