This movie is an excellent example of absurdity; possibly one of the best movie examples of the genre in many years. I greatly enjoyed Confessions of a Dangerous Mind though in order to be complete I should say that the buddy I went with was bored. Since I was laughing about every third minute I can’t explain his reaction.
Sam Rockwell, to me, is the key to this film. He does an amazing job of filling the skin of a real man, one familiar to most of us from when he hosted The Gong Show, bringing out a constant level of jittery energy. Chuck Barris, the man Rockwell plays, not only hosted that lunatic’s asylum, he also created many other fine examples of 1960s and ’70s game shows including The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. But in his “unauthorized autobiography” and the interviews he gave that form the basis for this film, Barris also claims to have lead a double life as a contract killer for the CIA.
Besides Rockwell, the other really strong performance here is from Drew Barrymore as his longtime girlfriend and eventual wife. Talk about long suffering, Barrymore’s Penny goes frmo an early free love advocate to a love-sick puppy who can barely abide Barris’ inability to commit to a permanent, loving relationship. Though she does look fairly chunky throughout, a definite disappointment though perhaps(?) reflective of the real woman. George Clooney and Julia Roberts have the other two major roles but neither brings sufficent life to their parts; Clooney especially seems to think a cheesy mustache is enough to overcome a perpetual monotone. Roberts has a couple of scenes in which she could have done so much more: after her first encounter with Rockwell, when they make love in West Berlin, and when she meets Barrymore while chastising Rockwell for standing her up (so he can dine with Drew). As for her death scene, forget about it. Puh-lease is the correct response, I believe.
Perhaps, you might say, Clooney’s acting was not all it could be because he was so focused on directing for the first time. How does he do there? Not bad, but not great. The staging and pacing are just okay; I did like the way he put together both scenes Rockwell has with Rutger Hauer. The main credit, though, must go to scriptwriter Charlie Kauffman, who has come out of nowhere (TV shows like Ned & Stacey and Get a Life) to just rock Hollywood with the scripts for Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and now this–watch out for his next effort, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I think even the studio execs are scared of what amazing weirdness would happen if they ever let Kauffman direct!
No one I know of believes that Barris was a hitman for the CIA. My buddy suggested that all the scenes involving that aspect of his life were Beautiful Mind-like hallucinations with Clooney playing the Ed Harris role. My own theory is not so dissimilar but caused more by Barris’ actual childhood troubles such as his mother dressing him as a girl until, after several years later, his sister was born and a feeling of guilt he carried for having caused the death of a stillborn twin from his umbilical cord wrapping around the other’s neck in the womb. Probably some chemical imbalances thrown in for good measure.
All these troubles just bubble along under the surface, hardly seen in his daily life by those near him, until his shows are cancelled at the end of the ’70s. Then he snaps, on air during the taping of the last Gong Show. After nearly drowning in this disease he finds relief (cure?) in writing this autobiography. Not quite cured, though he is able to finally marry Penny and live quietly. Good for him.
Trivia note: Did you know George Clooney is exactly two days younger than me? The only movie star that IMDB shows as sharing my birthday is Mary Beth McDonough, who played the middle daughter on the Waltons.
Definitely recommended
BillSaysThis 