Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

Director:

George Clooney

Writers (WGA):

Chuck Barris (book)
Charlie Kaufman (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance | 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 | Chuck Barris | Hitman | Double Life | Television Producer

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:

The movie tie-in edition of the book credited Johnny Depp as an executive producer.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Chuck and Penny are driving to California, a piece of equipment can be seen next to his head in the left side mirror.

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:

Jumpin' at the Woodside

Clooney Plays a Weird Story Straight Up

What if the creator and host of two of the 1970s biggest and lamest television game shows was also a part-time CIA hitman? That he used The Dating Game and The Gong Show as a cover to stage assassinations in the netherworld of Cold War espionage. Ridiculous you'd say. But that's what exactly what Chuck Barris claims in his autobiography, and Charlie Kaufman accepts carte blanche as the premise for his screenplay. The film plays it straight up as if Barris were telling the truth.

Can Charlie Kaufman, the screenwriter, and George Clooney, the director pull it off? Mostly. It is competently acted by Sam Rockwell as Barris, Julia Roberts as a fellow spy, Drew Barrymore as his love interest, and director George Clooney as his CIA recruiter and handler. The bizarre landscape, a marriage of television and espionage, is presented without a smirk or wink. If Barris is telling the truth, this is what it must have been like. It's an interesting idea, and Clooney and Kaufman have taken it and crafted an enjoyable film.