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by Frank Wilkins

I had two main interests in seeing Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. One was to see Sam Rockwell. I take personal credit for first discovering his talent in 1996's enchanting indie, Box of Moonlight and then 1997's hauntingly charming Lawn Dogs. He has an indescribable appeal that seems to always transcend his character. My other main curiosity was the train-wreck magnetism of the wild-assed man who America would come to know as Chuck Barris.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is based on Barris' 1982 book, The Unauthorized Autobiography of Chuck Barris. An original American character who changed the face of television at the time, Barris created such shows as The Gong Show, The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game and wrote a few hit pop songs as well. Barris' big claim, and I think what generates the primary appeal for most people, was that while simultaneously working as a television producer in the '60s and '70s, he was circling the globe as a hit man for the CIA.

It is the possibility that his story could be true that director George Clooney and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman choose to bring to the film. The film opens with Barris (Sam Rockwell) holed up in a seedy hotel room, naked and staring at the wall. It's clear that his career has run its course and his current mental state is not that of a happy man. We see that Barris was never proud of who he was. He saw his own life as that of a miserable human being and the television he created, lowest common denominator-type shows that thrived on the humiliation of others, was a projection of that self-image. Television critics of the time accused him of destroying the minds of American TV viewers and the irony of his story is that on the side, he destroyed the lives of undesirables and those who opposed the US government. It is this all too obvious parallel that leads me to not believe his claim. I think the hit-man idea is the paranoid reaction to his detractors. He was not equipped to deal with the disapproval of his critics, so his unbalanced mind created this reparation for the immorality of his television career.

Rockwell takes on Barris' persona with an obvious passion for the role. Not only does he nail the persona and mannerisms, he delves deep into the soul of a man who never set out to hurt anyone yet ended up humiliating everyone around him including himself. This will be the role that puts Rockwell on the map.

The movie then takes us back to the beginnings of his television career as he pitches programming ideas, applies for managerial jobs at the studios and works his way up through the ranks. He uses his status in the industry to lure women and he eventually meets a young hippie named Penny (Drew Barrymore). He takes advantage of her free-spirited attitude and uses her companionship and sexuality for his own selfish satisfaction. Barrymore takes on her role as Penny with a delightful charm that compliments nicely the frazzled paranoia of Barris. I loved her character, especially in one scene where Barris notices that she has painted a yellow dove on his wall in the '60s psychedelic style. She says it was to remind her to tell him that a "gold bird" called for him while he was out. Turns out it was TV executive Larry Goldberg calling to tell him that the studio wanted to produce his idea for The Dating Game. Did you ever wonder who escorted the couples on their trip when they won on The Dating Game? According to Barris it was he who accompanied them to places such as West Berlin and interestingly, these places always coincided with the locations of his next CIA operation.

Barris goes on to later create The Gong Show, a moronic talent contest that might be called the teaser to today's huge reality programming appetite. The game show became a huge success and is probably known as his most successful TV production.

In his directorial debut, Clooney makes a gigantic splash in creating the movie's visual impact. Nearly every scene is presented with a glowing swash of vivid colors and an intimate graininess. Occasionally he uses an interesting technique that calls attention to the actors by desaturating the background and bumping up the color in the foreground. It gives the film a dreamy, surreal quality that enhances the subject matter. He is obviously influenced by Steven Soderbergh but this film has unique qualities that must be attributed to Clooney. Clooney also moves in front of the camera as Jim Byrd, the shadowy CIA recruiter who supposedly first noticed Barris and encouraged him to join the ranks of the agency.

Interspersed throughout the movie, we get cut shots of interviews from Barris' real-life associates such as Jaye P. Morgan, Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, The unknown comic, Dick Clark and others. These interviews serve as a cohesive glue that keeps alive the possibility of the truth of his story yet doesn't reveal any hard evidence.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind works on many levels. My initial intrigue was as a biography of one of TV's strangest celebrities, yet I was surprised at how the film works on a visual and creative level as well. The ironic individuality of Barris' story is wonderfully blended with numerous isolated sarcasms throughout the movie. I could not stop wondering throughout the screening, if this movie would appeal to those who are not familiar with Barris' celebrity. But I think the display of moviemaking skills, the sharp and clever storytelling with its satirical edge and the performances of the actors make for an enjoyable experience by anyone. It would be too mainstream to end the movie with a standard text scroll of what Barris is doing today. Instead, the real Barris makes a brief appearance at the end delivering some disturbing enlightenment into his soul and some insight into how we should examine our own.