Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

George Clooney

Writers (WGA):

Chuck Barris (book)
Charlie Kaufman (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Some things are better left top secret

Plot:

An adaptation of the cult memoir of game show impresario Chuck Barris, in which he purports to have been a CIA hitman.

Plot Keywords:

CIA | Double Life | Television Producer | Pitch Meeting | Scrabble

Awards:

7 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Dick Clark	...	Himself
Sam Rockwell	...	Chuck Barris
Michelle Sweeney	...	J. Sweeney
Drew Barrymore	...	Penny
Chelsea Ceci	...	Tuvia, Age 8
Michael Cera	...	Chuck, Age 8 and 11 (as Michael Céra)
Aimee Rose Ambroziak	...	Chuck's Date #1
Isabelle Blais	...	Chuck's Date #2
Melissa Carter	...	Chuck's Date #3
Jennifer Hall	...	Georgia
Ilona Elkin	...	Georgia's Girlfriend
Sean Tucker	...	Barfly
Jaye P. Morgan	...	Herself
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Debbie
David Julian Hirsh	...	Freddie Cannon (as David Hirsh)

Also Known As:

Geständnisse - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexual content and violence.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #39478) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Hungary:16 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:R(A) | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15 | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Allied Filmmakers

Trivia:

David O. Russell was offered the film to direct but turned it down, deciding "that it was just not about anything but a guy who liked to fuck girls and say that he shot people in the head".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Chuck is pitching "The Gong Show" (1976) in 1977, someone is drinking from a mug with an NBC logo that shows a peacock over a stylized "N". This logo did not exist until the fall of 1979, and was replaced with the current logo in 1986.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dick Clark: I wouldn't want to live his life because he hasn't been happy all of his life. All I think is if you can find work, stay healthy, find somebody to share it with, you're the ultimate success. He's had some of the pieces of the puzzle, but not all of them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Swag

Clooney makes a very nice debut as a director with this movie

Since "ER" George Clooney has been a very popular actor, mainly because so many women find him very attractive. But through the years he has been able to prove that he's more than just a pretty face in the crowd. He has acted in many popular movies and did it pretty well in most of them. But being a good actor doesn't mean that you are automatically a good director as well of course. So before seeing "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", his debut as a director, I had my doubts...

This time we don't get to see Clooney very often in the movie itself. We only get to see him a couple of times as the CIA agent who has hired the game show impresario and producer Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell). During the day Chuck invents game shows like 'The Dating Game', 'The Newlywed Game' and 'The Gong Show'... Shows that are all very successful, because they are easy to understand and fun to watch. But next to his regular day job he is also a CIA assassin. At least, that's what HE claims to be...

I must say that Clooney has done a very nice job in his debut as a director. He has added a nice surreal tone to this movie which makes it even harder to understand whether all this really happened or not. And even though this is a bio-pic, it is never hard to keep watching it or to stay focused. Thanks to the light and satirical feeling in it, this movie stays fun to watch from the beginning until the end. Of course without the interesting story and the good acting by all of his main actors Clooney wouldn't have been able to make this movie. Withouth them this movie wouldn't be the same and might even have been awful to watch. Especially Drew Barrymore was a lot better than I had expected. She never really convinced me in her other movies that I saw, but this time she's really good as Barris Sweetheart. And Clooney himself was interesting to watch as well. Even though he could be found more behind than in front of the camera, he still proves to be a talented actor.

Overall this is an interesting and fun movie. Certainly because it is Clooney's debut as a director. The man sure has a lot of talents and I'm already looking forward to his next movie as a director / actor. I give this one a 7.5/10.