Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

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

Director:

George Clooney

Writers:

Chuck Barris (book), Charlie Kaufman (screenplay)

Stars:

Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney

7 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

Television made him famous, but his biggest hits happened off screen. "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" is the story of a legendary showman's double life - television producer by day, CIA assassin by night. At the height of his TV career, Chuck Barris was recruited by the CIA and trained to become a covert operative. Or so Barris said.

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Plot Keywords:

secret agent | hitman | broken nose | playboy mansion | kgb | 

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Taglines:

When you lead two different lives, it's easy to forget what side you're on.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax Official Facebook

Country:

USA Germany Canada

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

24 January 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Confesiones de una mente peligrosa

Filming Locations:

White Stallion Ranch, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$87,199, 5 January 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$16,003,576, 31 August 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Mad Chance, Section Eight

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Julia Roberts and Drew Barrymore worked for a scale salary of $250,000 as a favor to their friend, director George Clooney. Brad Pitt and Matt Damon cameoed for free.

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Goofs

When Chuck is pitching The Gong Show in 1977, someone is drinking from a mug with an NBC logo that shows a peacock over a stylized "N". This logo was used only from 1979 until 1986.

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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.

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Connections

Features The Gong Show (1976)

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Soundtracks

The Swag
Written by Link Wray / Milt Grant
Performed by Link Wray & The Raymen
Used Courtesy of Link Wray Music

User Reviews

Where Genius is Born of Insanity, Even when forced.

Let me start by saying my respect for Clooney as a producer and now a director continue to go up. Backing this one was also Steven Soderbergh... and as a result you get stellar (for scale only) performances by Julia Roberts and Drew Barrymore. Also watch for Brad Pitt and Matt Damon in fleeting, non-speaking cameo roles.

The film (and book) explore the double life of Chuck Barris who was once described as lowering the bar on television for ever. The double life however, is the life of a CIA contract assassin.

The premise is hard to buy into. But then again, so was the man. True or not, the film and story raise Barris up to the level of Andy Kauffman. In a Tyler Durdensque manner this Beautiful Mind takes you thru Barris' theoretical hell or coming to terms with his own personality foibles.

Rockwell is spot on in his portrayal both on and off the small screen as Barris. The reproduction of Gong Show Antics are spooky to say the least. The film is inter-cut with appearances from actual colleagues from Barris' past (such as J.P. Morgan, Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, and others) in an almost Harry-Met-Sally style of nostalgic interview.

Clooney's use of live scene cuts to transition fluidly from thought to thought or scene to scene are reminiscent of The Graduate's Poolside swan-dive directly into Mrs. Robinson's bed. This is a film that has a touch of "Fight Club", "Forrest Gump", and "La Femme Nikita"... all tied together by the man that brought up Rip Taylor's $1.98 Beauty Show.

The film presents more questions than it answers. Matter of fact the only question the film really answers is whether or not someone really answered the weirdest place they ever had whoopie.

I saw this on Starz thanks to the marvel that is Tivo. The DVD is now definitely on my wish list.