RealLiveClaude
I wanted to watch as I did watch "the Gong Show" with Chuck Barris in the end of the 1970s. Thus the fine directing of George Clooney and good appearances of Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts and Sam Rockwell (who steals the show) as well as Mr. Clooney itself, I kinda was left confused whether this story of a double life between producer/host and secret agent is believable. In my case, it is rather a tale in which even the CIA denies any involvement. Which makes me confused in a sense if I believe him or not about this twisted story...You be the judge. My verdict: watch it for curiosity, especially if you want to know a little bit of the man behind the "Dating Game", the "Newlyweds Game" and of course "The Gong Show"... Fridge not included...
Alan Smithee Esq.
True story or not? That doesn't really matter when you boil it down. It is an endlessly fascinating and entertaining movie. Who knew George Clooney was such a gifted director? This movie is full of amazing performances from acclaimed actors and also some great cameos from their famous Hollywood friends.
p-stepien
From the man who created such revolutionary concepts as "Date Game", "The Gong Show" and "The Newlywed Game", the predecessors to modern-day exploitational reality TV shows, comes "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", the autobiography of Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell). Behind the facade of a the sexually crazed game-show producer / host lies something way more devious: a ruthless CIA contract killer...In his debut George Clooney shows immense promise, a well-trained eye and countless intuition. Due to the gross uncertainty regarding Chuck Barris's self-proclaimed CIA involvement, Clooney uses outtakes from interviews with various people who worked with him in the past in order to instill an atmosphere of uncertainty regarding the autobiographical truth. Using outdated lensing he also manages to transport the cinematographic feel of the times and help viewers immerse into the whacked out reality presented by Barris - an uncertain grainy world. Was he a spy or not? The answer will probably not be known for many years, if ever. The biggest fault however seems to be the overly cheeky, going for slightly over-scaled humour instead of analysis. Also detrimental is the apparent focus on the CIA-life of Barris and less on the mind of a person, who changed game-shows and television forever. Despite some admirable qualities Charlie Kaufman's script jokingly ventures too far into the obscurity of the CIA operative spy-scene (which at the same time underdeveloped and chaotic), leaving the drama hanging. Also a movie for true fans of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" with adorable, albeit superfluous guest appearances from Matt Damon, Kevin Bacon or Maggie Gyllenhaal.
jacob lamson
The story of Chuck Barris is one that I knew little about going into this film. I thought that the movie was going to attempt to be an accurate depiction of his life, and then midway through the movie, I realized that this wasn't based on an actual life, but an autobiography by the real Chuck Barris. Now, although that may sound like the same thing, you must realize that when you are writing a book about yourself (Particularly in the state of mind that Barris was in) you tend to stretch the truth. CIA denies, and the movie implies, that the work Barris did with the CIA was purely born out of the mind of a man who was losing his brain. That was what I enjoyed about the movie (among other things). It was open to the viewers interpretation. It was never officially stated that Barris was or was not a gun for hire. The next enjoyable thing about the movie was Sam Rockwell's outstanding performance. Now, my opinion may be bias, as Sam Rockwell is my favorite actor, but I still imagine that most people would find his performance at least good. His ability to capture the spirit of the former game show host so accurately was almost haunting, and the scenes where he was going insane were beautifully acted. George Clooney's camera work was also fairly impressive, and the scene in the bar was very funny, due in large part to Clooney's directing. Overall, the film was greatly dark, with small doses of humor and romance. It contained mostly top quality acting and good directing from George Clooney (another one of my favorite actors).
AD
