Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

Starring Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Robert, Rutger Hauer.
Directed by George Clooney.
Written by Charlie Kaufman.
Based on the book by Chuck Barris.
Distributed by Miramax Films.
113 minutes.

LVJeff's Rating: 7/10

Absurd Double Life

Did Chuck Barris, host of television's The Gong Show, really have a double-life as a CIA assassin -- and does anyone care? Maybe not, but it's a pretty funny premise for a movie. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Barris's book about balancing his game-show-producer day job with his alleged secret agent night job, has been adapted for the screen by Charlie Kaufman, the gleefully absurdist writer responsible for penning Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.

Kaufman's script forms the basis of an appropriately absurdist movie -- from the onset, we are not asked to accept all the events as reality, but rather as elements of a bizarre world existing only as Barris sees it. Leave it to Kaufman to write yet another story about being inside a guy's head, but credit must also be given to first-time director George Clooney, who takes the idea and daringly formalizes it. The tale focuses squarely on Barris (played by Sam Rockwell), a 3-D character surrounded by 2-D supporters and side players, traversing a landscape of glaring, filtered pastels by day, and dark shadows by night. The viewer is always aware this is a manufactured world.

Clooney's skilled editing and timing maximizes the potential of the film's numerous gags. He creates an overall effect of comedy both surreal and silly, which comfortably fits the characterization of Barris as a cynical yet pathetic sap who seeks fame and respect by trying to come up with tv-show ideas. As a result, the first half of the movie breezes by, fueled by the energy of someone who is glad to let everyone in on creative processes which prey on base human behavior (Barris's take on creating The Newlywed Game: "It's based on the idea that one would sell out one's own spouse for a free washer and dryer").

Ironically, the movie is more watchable when it's about game-show creation than when it delves into Barris's secret life. A man named Byrd (Clooney) recruits Barris as a contractual agent sent to foreign countries to murder "enemies of America." Clooney rightly retains the absurd atmosphere of the situation, but the supposedly inherent drama, created by Barris's moral unease and increasing paranoia, feels forced. Consequently, the foreign-intrigue portions of the movie drag down its pace. Nowhere is this more deadly than in the last half of the movie, which strongly shifts away from Barris's show-producing shenanigans in favor of his adventures in trying to unearth a CIA mole.

Barris is trying to show the audience why he regrets his life. He says he's assured a place in hell for not only having created some of the tackiest tv-shows in entertainment history (harbingers of today's embarassing reality shows) but also for murdering over 30 human beings. But the latter claim has always been dubious, and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind doesn't really make it more intriguing. The story might have fared better concentrating on its strength -- the dreamlike yet frustrating process of a man who spun success out of trash television. Hell would still reserve a seat for someone like that.

©Jeffrey Chen, Jan. 2, 2003

This review also appears at ReelTalk Movie Reviews.

Home | Feedback welcome