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He had the perfect cover: TV producer by day, CIA operative by night. Stranger than fiction, or just plain fiction? It's anybody's guess in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, a sharp adaptation of the unusual memoir of Chuck Barris, creator of The Newlywed Game, The Dating Game, and The Gong Show (which he also hosted). The story covers the life of the TV iconoclast in his own words, from his 1940s childhood through his Hollywood success and subsequent downfall. The kicker here is Barris's claim that throughout his entire career he moonlighted as a CIA assassin. As a result, Confessions plays out as half biographical drama and half spy thriller, also tracking the purported killer from initial recruitment to lethal climax. Sam Rockwell stars as Barris and has the man down to a tee, from physical appearance to goofy persona. In his directing debut, George Clooney offers a stylized yet light touch, keeping the showy theatrics to a minimum and relying more on the natural quirkiness of the narrative, which is scripted with eccentric glee by Charlie Kaufman. In fact, the conceit of the film is so brilliant that it's easy to lose sight of what a deft adaptation Clooney and Kaufman have wrought, with sharp dialogue, inventive staging, and a charming cast that includes Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, and Clooney himself in a mesmerizing turn as Barris's mysterious, mustachioed CIA contact. Those with fond memories of Barris's TV shows will also find this trip down memory lane a delight -- right down to the interview clips with the likes of Gong Show regular Jaye P. Morgan and Dating Game host Jim Lange. But the question remains: Is this a true-life story or a tongue-in-cheek metaphor for the caprices of the human psyche? Actually, it's hard to say which is the more intriguing possibility. Either way, the result is an off-kilter comedy-drama that is by turns amusing and head spinning, a perfect tribute to of one of television's dark geniuses. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

Chuck Barris is best known to most Americans as the guy who used to host The Gong Show. He was also the creator and producer of The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and a handful of other successful game shows in the 1960s and 1970s. But was he also a hired killer working with the CIA? That's the take-it-or-leave-it premise of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, based on the memoir of the same name by Chuck Barris. Barris (Sam Rockwell) grows up dreaming of success in show biz and winning the hearts of beautiful women, but early on, he meets with plenty of resistance from both women and the television industry, despite writing the hit tune "Palisades Park" and scoring a job with Dick Clark on American Bandstand. The 1960s proves more fortunate for Barris; he meets the love of his life, Penny (Drew Barrymore), and sells ABC on the idea of The Dating Game. However, after the show has made him wealthy and successful, Barris is approached by the mysterious Jim Byrd (George Clooney), a CIA agent who wants to recruit Barris as a covert operative. Barris finds the notion of playing spy games intriguing and agrees, but soon discovers what Byrd and his partners really want is for Barris to assassinate uncooperative figures around the world. Soon, Barris finds that his life has been all but taken over by Byrd and another CIA agent, the mysterious and sexy Patricia (Julia Roberts). As he hops the globe, killing people in the name of American security (using his status as a Dating Game chaperone as a cover), Barris learns that the KGB has discovered his not-so-little secret and that his own life is in great danger. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind marked the directorial debut of actor George Clooney, working from a screenplay adapted by Charlie Kaufman from Barris' book. Dick Clark, Dating Game host Jim Lange, frequent Gong Show panelist Jaye P. Morgan, and Gene Gene Patton appear as themselves. Mark Deming

Entertainment Weekly

The fascination of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, the sharp, funny, unreasonably compelling adaptation of Barris' autobiography, is the way it soft-shoes past our skepticism. Owen Gleiberman

Washington Post

A darkly enjoyable roller-coaster ride -- Clooney and Kaufman deftly interweave the macabre with lightheartedness. Desson Howe

New York Post

A head-clearing, mind-blowing blast from the past - one of the year's best. Lou Lumenick

Product Details

• UPC: 786936220933
• Source: MIRAMAX
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English
• Time: 1:54:00
• Sales Rank: 26,915

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