I love this movie so much

Perfect cast and a good story

Crappy film

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Chuck Barris is a successful TV producer and presenter. Behind this façade lurks a secret - he is a CIA assassin.George Clooney's directorial debut, and it's a great one. (Also worth noting that the screenplay was written by Charlie Kaufman, of Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Adaptation fame). Excellent movie, mixing humour and drama. Plot is superb - you're kept guessing at what is real and what is not, and where it all will lead. The movie, however, is made by the acting of Sam Rockwell. His performance is mind-blowingly brilliant.

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.

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 Using outdated lensing he also manages to transport the cinematographic feel of the times and help viewers immerse into the whacked out reality presented by Barris - an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.

Bearded and nude, tight-bodied talk-show producer Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) appears to be having a nervous breakdown. We flashback to his pre-teen efforts to get his lollipop sucked. "It tastes like strawberry," Mr. Barris promises a pubescent girl. While composing Freddy Cannon hit "Palisades Park" and doing more girls, Barris gets a job in television production. He produces twin hit game shows "The Newlywed Game" and "The Dating Game" which give audiences a sexual wink in the late sixties. The shows are titillating but genuinely funny, and Barris is a millionaire wunderkind.But, that is not all we have in store for Barris. As outlined in his "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" autobiography, the songwriter cum game show producer is considered an ideal assassin by the United States "Central Intelligence Agency" (CIA). And, since this film promises to be, like it says on the DVD, "In the cool, witty style of 'Ocean's Eleven'," Barris is recruited by handsome director George Clooney (as Jim Byrd) to kill dozens of people for the CIA. He also meets "true love" Drew Barrymore (as Penny) and plays "spy vs. spy" with comely Julia Roberts (as Patricia "Olivia" Watson).Barris reaches a creative peak with "The Gong Show" but continues to kill people as "an assassination enthusiast." The "TV producer by day, CIA operative by night" is able to coordinate chaperoning contestants' prize-winning trips with his night job (killing people). Finally, the pressure gets to Barris, who is criticized in be media for "lowering the bar" in television entertainment. Which brings us neatly to Barris' present dilemma... This film takes Barris' distraction (the CIA story) too seriously, thus misses a mark; but, Mr. Rockwell is excellent and Mr. Clooney found a directorial "voice" in his next film.******* Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (5/02) George Clooney ~ Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts