Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Rating:
Summary: Bizarrely creative
Review: George Clooney shows yet another aspect of his interesting career in the movies by stepping into the shoes of Director for the strangely, absurdly interesting CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND. Much of the feel of the biopic of Chuck Barris' life and times as an on-the-edge talent who gave us The Gong Show and The Dating Game is tongue in cheek or surreal or film noir (is the CIA assassin bit for real?). There is a small statement at the inception of this prolonged purview of Barris' life that claims the film is based on diaries etc so we are led to believe this is indeed fact - stranger than fiction. Clooney has a terrific style with pacing and view choices, color, mood, music - all of which contribute to creating a solid movie. His generosity of spirit is also noted by quick cameo appearances by the likes of Brad Pitt, Rutger Hauer, Julia Roberts etc and his main characters Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, and Clooney himself are all superb. This is an odd movie and perhaps not for everyone's taste, but it certainly introduces a fine fresh look that bodes well for more work from Clooney.

Rating:
Summary: I kept hoping for it to get good
Review: Summary:
Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) is a nobody that becomes a somebody when he moves to New York from Nowhereville and comes up with some of the most famous game shows in television history, including: The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and The Gong Show. While in New York he meets two people that become very important to him. First is Penny (Drew Barrymore), who initially seems to have the same attitude about sex and relationships as he does, sex shouldn't involve relationships, but over time develops a deep love for Chuck. The other person Chuck meets is Jim Byrd (George Clooney), a recruiter for a branch of the CIA, who recruits Chuck and turns him into an assassin.

The rest of the movie follows Chuck as he alternates between producing popular game shows and disappearing for a week or so to assassinate people for the CIA. Along the way he realizes that the only person that he ever really wants to be with when he gets down is Penny.

I should also note that the movie's format is a combination of the events surrounding the writing of the book and the actual contents of the book. Chuck hits a low just as the book is ending. His low actually inspires him to write the book, and when the book is done, Chuck quits his career in game show producing and moves to France.

My Comments:
First, you should know that this movie is based off of 'The Unauthorized Autobiography of Chuck Barris', a book that Chuck will not come right out and say is true or not. So, you are kind of left wondering throughout the whole movie if Chuck's association with the CIA is real, if they are just hallucinations, or if it is just a plot device that Chuck Barris came up with to sell his book.

Because you don't really know if the contents of the book is fact or fiction, you can't really criticize the movie on that level. But what the movie doesn't do, which, not having read the book I can't say if the book is the same or not, is make logical connections between one scene and the next. It isn't too hard to follow the movie, but some scene changes are 3 or 4 years in Chuck's life whereas others are just to the next room. You catch on fairly quickly, but there is a lot that goes on between these jumps that sometimes you just have to wonder what it is you missed. For instance, near the end of the movie it is revealed that there is a mole in the CIA branch in which Chuck is working. The mole is killing people off, but the introduction of the topic of the mole is a very short scene and, as it turns out, the mole plot line is a major part of the last 30 minutes of the movie. I had no idea what Chuck and Jim Byrd were talking about for almost 5 minutes before I started to catch on to the idea that this mole was something that could seriously threaten Chuck's life.

The acting is also a problem. The actors are pretty big names, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell (well, Sam's not that big, but he is getting there), but I wasn't too impressed with most of them, the exception being Julia Roberts. I'm not a huge fan of George Clooney or Drew Barrymore; I don't think either of them are great actors and they didn't really surprise me with stellar performances in this film. They were bearable, but I didn't look forward to them like a child looks forward to Christmas morning - it was more like a child looking forward President's Day - it's just another day.

As for Sam Rockwell, he really was amazing in The Green Mile, but he was just plain annoying in this movie. Of course, maybe that was what he was supposed to be... Maybe Chuck Barris is just an annoying guy and Sam Rockwell's portrayal was excellent, or maybe Sam Rockwell wasn't very good. I don't know, because I don't know Chuck Barris, but if I hear Sam Rockwell slap his hands together one more time on The Gong Show, I think I'm going to shoot him. It wasn't funny. It wasn't impressive. It was insufferable. If it hadn't been for the interview in the special features with Chuck Barris, I think I would have left the movie thinking he was an out and out jerk. But, he seemed kind of nice, if not a bit manipulative, in the interview so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and just consider this a flopped performance by Sam Rockwell.

Overall, I thought this movie had a lot of potential, but it just never caught on. The characters never seemed to click, the story bounced around so much that it felt like a wooden roller coaster, and the pacing was often very, very slow. The only part I really liked about this movie was Julia Roberts who, surprisingly, did this performance for free and was actually a pretty good spy. It's too bad I haven't read the book or I would probably recommend it instead of the movie. But, because I haven't, I guess I'll just have to say this is a movie that you can miss and not feel bad that you did - there is nothing to see here, not even good outtakes from The Gong Show.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent performances!!!
Review: This is a pretty "offbeat" movie, to say the least. For many modern day viewers younger than 25 or so, Chuck Barris will be pretty much unknown to them. But for those of us who remember THE GONG SHOW or THE DATING GAME, it's a real treat. That's not to say that young people won't enjoy it, I just think they'll miss out on some of the fun.

The movie delves into the mad fantasies of Barris, and it never speculates on whether his "autobiography" is true or not. Was he really a hitman for the CIA? Well, it seems pretty darn unlikely, but it is presented here as though it is true. But we also see that Barris slowly goes mad. Is he deluded (like the lead in A BEAUTIFUL MIND) or is he just having fun with his readers / audience, or was it all true. We don't know, and director Clooney doesn't give us the info we need to decide. Therefore the movie has a slightly unfinished feeling, but I'm sure that was intentional.

The best parts of the movie are the Oscar-worthy performance by Sam Rockwell, and the delightful turn from Drew Barrymore. Drew is a charming actress with a limited range (see DONNIE DARKO for the limits of that range). She is sweet, sexy, vulnerable and loveable in this movie, as Barris' much abused girlfriend. I really think it may be her best "serious" work. Rockwell is a revelation. I remembered him pretty well from THE GREEN MILE, but I think it's great that Clooney was savy enough to pick this guy. He has a great look for the part, and he totally emerses himself in the role. It's a performance that runs just about every emotional range, and the viewer goes right along with him. If the movie had done better, I think Rockwell might have been an Oscar contender. It's a shame he was overlooked.

Clooney does a very competent job as director, and I think it's great that he tackled such an offbeat project. He doesn't take it too seriously, yet there is lots of loving period detail that makes the tone seem just right. His performance is adequate if a bit generic. He's another actor with limited range (see SOLARIS...if you dare), but he puts a nice twist on his charm as a villain in this movie. Julia Roberts has a smallish role, and frankly, she is pretty bland. Compared to the high-spirits and zest for life of Drew Barrymore's character, Roberts just isn't believable as someone Barris would chuck everything for. I'm not the biggest Julia fan, but even I can admit that when she's on target, she is quite effective. In this movie, I feel like she was just doing her buddy George a favor by showing up to work, but hadn't even bothered to read the rest of the script.

But, that being said, all in all, I highly recommend this movie for mature movie goers. Kids will hate it, but for an adult who doesn't mind stretching the bounds just a smidge, it should be a nice, light treat.

Also, as an aside, the final shot of the movie is a real humdinger. Clooney is to be congratulated for thinking of it!

Rating:
Summary: Chuck Barris, Game Show Host and Spook Assassin?
Review: I saw this movie in German and English. I loved both versions. It is so incredible it is probably true. In real life truth is quite often stranger than fiction. Chuck Barris famous for the Gong Show and other such inane and mundane "entertainment" claims to be a CIA contract assassin. He is sent for secret training where he excels at shooting targets of Chairman Mao, Fidel Castro and Lenin with his trusty M1 30.06 Garand rifle. He is taught to make nitroglycerine and other improvised explosives as well as other black arts all to the tune of Wednesday's Child which was also the theme song of another classic spy movie (The Quiller Memorandum). The most amusing scene in a horrible kind of way is where the would be assassins are taught how to torture, oops! I meant "interrogate" their captives for information. Chuck finds it all very funny and takes copius notes. Then off he goes, in between recording TV shows, terminating the enemies of Uncle Sam in various, strange locales all over the world. He is even captured by the STASI and KGB in a joint operation, and exchanged at the Berlin Wall for one of the previous contestants of one of his game shows, who it appears is a KGB spook. A wonderful scene in a dark German nightclub when Chuck goes up to the wrong female contact and says his code phrase but gets the wrong response. Quick to improvise, he finds the right one on his next try. Very well done are the intimate scenes. It is very true that people in high risk jobs tend to find release from the stress, danger and tension in sex, especially for spies. George Clooney is great as his Company controller and Julia Roberts is really sexy in her portrayal of a cold, amoral CIA officer or agent, we are not told which. Anyway, she dies. Chuck is too smart to let her poison him and she poisons herself inadvertently. The wedding scene is hilarious! Black comedy at its best. He cofesses to his wife that he is a CIA assassin in the limo enroute to their honeymoon, and she laughs in his face thinking it is a joke. I laughed till my belly ached. Very enjoyable. See it and decide for yourself. Truth or fiction? Sometimes even the people involved don't know. By Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet

Rating:
Summary: On a Blind Date with a Hitman
Review: Supposedly a 'true story' the film is based on the 'unauthorised autobiography of Chuck Barris' one of whom you have probably never heard of, but have watched his game-show concepts many a time.

The film begins with a middle-aged man who isolates himself in a flat away from the public, ex-girlfriend (Drew Barrymore) and moreover reality. Sitting at his typewriter, Chuck (Sam Rockwell) narrates how pathetic life is in general and the common thoughts of young hopefuls who dream that in ten years time they will be highly successful, but by the age of sixty, retrospectively analysing where it all went wrong. Five short minutes into the film I have already placed the film into the Drama bucket, until suddenly the camera cuts to a real-life commentary from some random woman, who obviously was acquainted to Chuck. This is shortly followed by commentary from the man himself Chuck Barris, looking like your average elderly man living next door. Somewhat bizarre, you have to give Mr. Clooney benefit of the doubt, this being his directorial debut you can hardly expect him to weigh up to the likes of Scorsese and Peter Jackson, and so I will turn a blind eye. I mean surely it cannot get any worse...

The plot lightens up later, with Chuck blagging his first job at NBC as a tourist guide, and I must say this is the first stage in the film that I become impressed with Mr Clooney. In one continuous shot, the camera centres on Chuck who is grouped with a bunch of tourists being shown around the works of NBC by a girl guide, with the camera swiftly moving onto Chuck now being a tour guide himself, showing a couple around the NBC building. The shot is worked wonderfully well and is clearly emphasised through the smooth movement between the girl guide and Chuck perfected by the scripted NBC dialogue of what both guides are saying simultaneously.

Chuck has bigger ambitions and in hope of sleeping with a woman at work applies for a promotion at NBC. Moving on from here, we see Chuck flying out with reality TV- Show concepts left, right and centre, all of which attract little attention from any TV producers. Chuck now laid off from work, with no one interested in his ideas for a television breakthrough is intruded by Jim Byrd (George Clooney) a CIA specialist in search of his next employee. Agent Byrd having studied Chuck all his life insists that he fits the profile to be a very good killer for the CIA and persuades Chuck to go to a special training camp, where he will learn the necessities of the CIA.

Being involved with the CIA is obviously top-secret classified information and so we have the joy of watching Chuck ducking and diving around in order to prevent anyone, especially his girlfriend, sussing him out. This becomes all the more cumbersome when an ABC executive finally decide that they want to run his show 'The Dating Game.' With the intention of quitting the CIA to solely concentrate on his TV show, Chuck is confronted by Byrd who delivers an irresistible proposition. The CIA will fund couples on 'The Dating Game' to holidays in Eastern Europe and whilst the fortunate couple are having a romantic time away; Chuck will be on his latest mission plugging European Communists.

The film then takes you on board a roller-coaster ride, bringing in the likes of Julia Roberts, lots of killings, terrible talentless people, freakish flashbacks of Chuck in his youth, two quick famous cameo friends of Clooney (I won't spoil it for you), and a clever little twist at the end.

From an overall perspective of the film, it's really not as bad as the first five minutes would suggest. Clooney experiments with the camera and does so quite well, Sam Rockwell, unknown to me before this film, is impressive and Drew Barrymore shows she is more than just a pretty face.

In time, 'Confessions Of Dangerous Mind' could well be regarded as a masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: A well titled film
Review: This is a film that takes a step forward at an intersection in filmmaking. It examines and exploits an individual characters mind to its extremes. Similar to the far reaches of Fight Club and Vanilla Sky, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind shows the true potential of human creativity and imagination. However this film has one thing I had not yet seen; this film is real, about a person whose perspective is not just imagined. Bravo George Clooney; I have gained respect. Well worth your purchase. Four stars.

Rating:
Summary: Win a trip to romantic East Berlin!
Review: If you were like me - growing up in the 70s, watching the cheesy bell-bottom fare on TV, including "The Gong Show," you will find some of this film to be absolutely surreal. Incredible detail went into the sets, costumes, hair and makeup to take the viewer back to the sets of popular gameshows that were the brainchild of Chuck Barris.

If you aren't old enough, or just never saw those shows - you will still find this to be a fascinating story.

Depicted as an over-sexed, perverted child, Barris (played masterfully by Sam Rockwell) quickly connives his way up the corporate ladder at the ABC TV studio and is given the opportunity to put his ideas on day-time television.

Some of his creations are shot down before they can be shown on the air, others are highly viewed and popular, yet lauded by critics as the worst TV has to offer.

Bed-hopping Barris then meets Penny (played wonderfully by Drew Barrymoore), and he gets a glimpse of true love. Despite his affection for her and her loyalty to him, Barris is constantly cheating on her in a never-ending persuit of finding whatever it is he feels is missing in his life.

He is approached by a CIA operative (played by George Clooney) who states that he (Barris) fits the profile of a CIA hitman and they want to recruit him.

Did this really ever happen? As perposterous as the story is, the more you watch the film, the more likely you are to believe it... in the end, you'll still be pondering - was he, or wasn't he?

Barris gets trained by the CIA in a bizarre, secluded setting with other potential agents. After making his first "hit," he feels disgusted, and then exhilirated. He lives for the excitement, danger and ultimately the power. Things suddenly change when the network decides to aire another one of his ideas, "The Dating Game," and he goes back to "normal" life. The CIA operative who recruited him shows up and tells him in no uncertain terms that he cannot just "walk away" from his governmental hit-man duties and live to tell about it.

The story then evolves into a sometimes scary, sometimes bittersweet, sometimes hilarious mixture of running a gameshow and travelling around the world to assassinate enemies of the United States and its allies.

When you see this - make sure you watch the entire length of the credits - you will see interviews with some famous and some not-so-famous people in Barris's life who comment on his "unauthorized" autobiography and on him as an individual - and you then see Barris as he is today. Not exactly proud of his shady past, but not ashamed either - just matter-of-fact about the 33 people he claims to have killed as a contract hitman, and the game shows he created and the songs he composed.

So many intertwining stories - the delivery was masterful. To cram so much into one movie and end up with great film is quite an achievement. Sam Rockwell's performance was Oscar worthy and Barrymoore should get a long-overdue nomination as well.

Great movie-going experience and just a well-rounded, entertaining film.

There is violence, nudity, sex and language that could peel paint - so this is not one for the kids.

Rating:
Summary: AWARD CALIBRE
Review: Terrific fun-- smart dark comedy that goes beyond the surface and becomes moving. Sam Rockwell delivers an award-calibre title performance. George Clooney has a stylish debut as a director and directs Drew Barrymore to a natural sweetness that has been missing from most of her recent films and Julia Roberts plays against type with perfection-- a small role-- but she steals every scene. One of the best films of last year--- I'm so glad it is getting a re-release on August 1st-- and I can't wait for Julia Roberts to return to leading lady status this Christmas with "Mona Lisa Smile."

Rating:
Summary: not for the average clooney fan
Review: I have to admit, I didn't have high hopes for George Clooney's directorial debut. A film based on the psychotic "autobiography" of washed up television game show producer extrodinaire Chuck Barris, revealing his secret life as a CIA contract agent seemed to be a recipe for disaster. Leave it to Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation), sans make-believe twin brother Donald, to create a script so rich with dementia that even Barris himself would be proud. Clooney takes the script and runs with it, and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel (who I insist must be an alias of Soderberg's, considering their stylistic likeness) and Sam Rockwell's Chuck Barris keep up the pace (and utter mahem) quite nicely.

As with all of Kaufman's other screenplays, the audience experiences the rollercoaster of the lead character's psychosis, which Kaufman is truly the master of representing in words. Until Confessions, I don't feel as though any director or cinematographer has truly captured the visuals of Kaufman's mental madness more effectively than Clooney and Sigel. I always thought Terry Gilliam and Kaufman would be a perfect pair considering their similar tendencies toward artist psychosis. Quite possibly because of this, I noticed several similarities between Confessions and Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

This is not a film for the average Clooney fans, since it will probably leave them scratching their heads just like Soderberg's Solaris did. Though, at least Confessions does not feature Clooney's naked rear as the center of its mainstream hype, in fact it lacks any mainstream hype at all. This is true indie, art house quality, with stylistic (bordering on experimental) editing and cinematography. It all seems so fabricated, just like the story, despite its use of documentary interviews (which appear less real than the narrative elements) and found footage.

The Gong Show, Dating Game and Newleywed Show footage bring back all my childhood television memories of growing up in the 1970's. Confessions is obviously a medium for a critique of U.S. television standards, which haven't changed much since the days of Chuck Barris. U.S. television is still obsessed with its working class culture making fools of themselves on television. We've even taken this to a new level of being "entertained" by "real" (usually lower class) people being chased and arrested on prime time television. And who watches this stuff? Generally the same class of people appearing on screen. How sick is that? According to Confessions, we only have Chuck Barris to blame for "lowering the bar." My only criticism is that Confessions is only preaching to the choir. Its art house, intellectual mentality will make it unapproachable and uncomprehendable for the people that really need to watch and learn, the U.S. working class. Even the best of directors have this problem (Soderberg for example, except for Erin Brokavich which did appeal to the working class audience thanks to Julia Roberts) so I don't hold this against Clooney.

Confessions is a movie that would make his past directors, namely Soderberg and the Coen Brothers, proud. Clooney has obviously learned a lot about directing from his acting career, and untilizes everything effectively while creating his own distinct style. Other actors turned directors should watch and learn.

Rating:
Summary: The answer is in the title
Review: Confessions of a dangerous mindis George Clooneys first time as a director. I must say he was pretty good. With an interesting script and excellent actors, all Clooney had to do was not invent too much and it would be fine. It was.

This is Chuck Barris unauthorized autobiography, based on the homonimous book by the same Chuck Barris. Ever since he was young, Barris intention was to work on TV. Later, he was famous for being the producer of tv shows like The Gong show and The newlywed game, among others.

What I gather from watching the movie is that Barris title for his book is extremely appropriate. Being prisoner of a dangerous mind, Barris way to escape a monotonous existence and problems in childhood was to invent the life he always wanted to live. So, he made up CIA agent Jim Byrd, who recruits Barris to be a hitman for the agency.

About the movie: I first payed attention to Sam Rockwell in The green mile; in that one he was better even than Tom Hanks as a crazy psychopath. In Confessions..., Rockwell delivers a stupendous performance as the troubled and yet funny Chuck Barris. Also great is roller-coaster-career Drew Barrymore. This one is a high-point in her acting; shes intense, pretty and serious all at the same time. Minor participations that must be noted are those of the director, George Clooney, as the enigmatic and kind of clowny CIA recruiter Jim Byrd; Rutger Hauer as a german spy; and, most of all, Julia Roberts as another enigmatic woman in Chuck Barris life.

All this makes Confessions...a good movie. The problem, though, is that, as it gets closer to the end, I felt the movie was a little pointless, and I couldnt see a plausible point for the movie to go. And in fact, in the end Confessions... didnt go nowhere. It just stopped. But I still give it a good rating because of the interesting first 60 minutes, interesting premises, and, above all, Rockwells performance.

Grade 8.6/10