Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) wasn't a successful guy growing up. Girls rejected him. Jobs were going nowhere. It wasn't until television was introduced to his life when things started to get real and interesting. He worked for NBC as a tour guide. He wrote a popular, if terrible, song for television. And finally, he was the producer of a few game shows including The Gong Show, The Dating Game, and the Newlywed Game. During the early part of his career, a CIA agent, played by George Clooney, recruits him and soon he's trekking all over the world to assassinate various communists and revolutionaries, all under the guise of chaperoning kids on their game show winning trips to such location as West Berlin. Soon, once he's in their world, he's forced to balance his delicate home life of his game show, which some say is deteriorating the culture of America, and his smart girlfriend Penny, wonderfully acted by Drew Barrymore, and his secret life consisting of these assassinations, a beautiful girl named Patricia played by Julia Roberts who supplies the information, and the suspicions that someone is after him.

It's not known whether it's a true tale or not. Even though Barris himself wrote it, he calls it an unauthorized autobiography. This movie truly doesn't answer that question clearly. Still, the tale Barris tells is a fascinating one, adapted to the screen by Charlie Kaufman, who released another movie in the form of the film Adaptation. Director George Clooney does a good job directing for the first time, keeping a good pace throughout the film even though nostalgic folks will lament the lack of old clips or re-enactments of Barris' game shows. Also, there's so much to show, some scenes get cut short, sometimes not deservedly so. In fact, we could have seen more of Barrymore's Penny and Roberts' Patricia since they're the most important people in Barris' life, contrary to the screen time they're given. But I'll give Clooney points for fitting in all he did. Rockwell brings energy to his role in one of his best roles to date, both in his portrayal of the game show Barris the public knows and the range he shows in solitude and his secret life. 3 stars