Confessions of a Dangerous Mind poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Rutger Hauer ... see more see more... , Maggie Gyllenhaal , Kristen Wilson , Jennifer Hall , Jim Lange , Gene Gene Patton , Jaye P. Morgan , Dick Clark , Murray Langston , Steve Adams , Robert John Burke , Carlos Carrasco , Pascal Devigne , Michael Ensign , Tommy Hinkley , Richard Kind , Fred Savage , Michelle Sweeney , Jerome Tiberghien , Jerry Weintraub , Christiane Paul , James Urbaniak , Daniel Zacapa , Krista Allen , Artie Lange , Sergei Priselkov , Emilio Rivera , Maria-Eve Bertrand , Bill Corday , Isabelle Blais , David Julian Hirsh , Michael Cera , Suyun Kim , Aimee Rose Ambroziak , John Todd Anderson , Tanya Anthony , Barbara Bacci , Shaun Balbar , Samantha Banton , Richard Beaudet , Carlo Berardinucci , Claudia Besso , Melissa Carter , Chelsea Ceci , Joe Cobden , Leslie Cottle , Ethan Thomas C. Dempster , Ron Di Lauro , Ilona Elkin , Marlida Ferreira , Michael Filipowich , Marlene Fisher , Isabelle Juneau , Martin Kevan , Janet Lane , Jeff Lefebvre , Rachelle Lefevre , Andre Minicozzi , Nathalie Morin , Cheryl Murphy , Shulan Noma , Keshav Patel , Bruce Pepper , Andrée-Anne Quesnel , George Randolph , Norman Roy , Francois St. Pierre , Dino Tosques , Sean Tucker , Peter N. Wilson , Tony Zanca , Frank Fontaine , Brad Pitt , Matt Damon

Chuck Barris is best known to most Americans as the guy who used to host The Gong Show. He was also the creator and producer of The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and a handful of other successful ga... read more read more...me shows in the 1960s and 1970s. But was he also a hired killer working with the CIA? That's the take-it-or-leave-it premise of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, based on the memoir of the same name by Chuck Barris. Barris (Sam Rockwell) grows up dreaming of success in show biz and winning the hearts of beautiful women, but early on, he meets with plenty of resistance from both women and the television industry, despite writing the hit tune "Palisades Park" and scoring a job with Dick Clark on American Bandstand. The 1960s proves more fortunate for Barris; he meets the love of his life, Penny (Drew Barrymore), and sells ABC on the idea of The Dating Game. However, after the show has made him wealthy and successful, Barris is approached by the mysterious Jim Byrd (George Clooney), a CIA agent who wants to recruit Barris as a covert operative. Barris finds the notion of playing spy games intriguing and agrees, but soon discovers what Byrd and his partners really want is for Barris to assassinate uncooperative figures around the world. Soon, Barris finds that his life has been all but taken over by Byrd and another CIA agent, the mysterious and sexy Patricia (Julia Roberts). As he hops the globe, killing people in the name of American security (using his status as a Dating Game chaperone as a cover), Barris learns that the KGB has discovered his not-so-little secret and that his own life is in great danger. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind marked the directorial debut of actor George Clooney, working from a screenplay adapted by Charlie Kaufman from Barris' book. Dick Clark, Dating Game host Jim Lange, frequent Gong Show panelist Jaye P. Morgan, and Gene Gene Patton appear as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

71% liked it

54,358 ratings

Critics

79% liked it

159 critics

R, 1 hr. 53 min.

Directed by: George Clooney

Release Date: August 15, 2003

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: September 9, 2003

Get It:

Stats: 2,156 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Drew Barrymore kissing Sam Rockwell Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Sam Rockwell is Chuck Berris Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Upload a Photo | View All Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (2,156)

  • imrealgod
    November 17, 2011
    imrealgod
    Not as impressive as to what I was looking forward to, but worked as a pastime. Nevertheless, its tagline continues to be among my most favorites.
  • fb1664868775
    October 27, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Either George Clooney is becoming an awesome director or Steven Soderbergh is ghost directing for him.
  • sanjurosamurai
    September 30, 2011
    sanjurosamurai
    regardless of the truth of the story, this is an excellent film. great performances, great screenplay, and gripping story. i love that clooney loves to put himself in these teerrible mustaches all the time.
  • SirPant
    September 24, 2009
    SirPant
    George Clooney proves he?s more than just a good actor, he?s also a brilliant director.
  • ironclad1609
    October 1, 2008
    ironclad1609
    George Clooney's directing debut, based on the autobiography of a 60s and 70s game show host who also killed for the CIA. Although the movie is interrupted by a few comments of real Chuck Barris' contemporaries there has to be doubt about the validity of his story. The film doesn... read more't care much about that and creates a sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic ride through his career in entertainment and killing, with some really bizarre ideas of humor and imaginative scene changes. Some of Clooney's Ocean's group make amusing cameos and the acting is all around great, merely Drew Barrymore just doesn't seem to fit in. While the film is entertaining and far from boring it still left me a bit unsatisfied, although I can't say what was lacking.
  • DrZeek
    September 29, 2008
    DrZeek
    Chuck Barris: I'm not killing people... my future's in television.

    A film based on the autobiography of game-show creator-host Chuck Barris, of The Gong Show and the Dating Game to name a few. In this autobiography he details his life in show business as well as his other life a... read mores a CIA assassin. Game show host by day, Assassin by night. The truth is still not for certain.

    Sam Rockwell stars as Chuck Barris, in a pitch perfect performance, capturing all the nuances and quirks that make the real Barris.

    Simon Oliver: You are a bloody amateur.
    Chuck Barris: You're a faggot.
    Jim Byrd: Chuck.
    Simon Oliver: Tell me, Mr. Barris, are you in possession of my microfilm?
    Chuck Barris: Yeah, I got it.
    Simon Oliver: Let's have it, then.
    Chuck Barris: It's up my ass, Oliver, why don't you reach on up there and get it?

    The book has been turned into a screenplay by Charlie Kaufman of Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine, and Being John Malkkovich fame, and who better to adapt such an offbeat story, filling the film with dark humor and a twisty tone from satire to bleak and philosophical in its own ways.

    Jim Byrd: You're 32 years old, and you've achieved nothing. Jesus Christ was dead and alive again by 33. You better get crackin'.

    Its also a low budget movie from Miramax, directed by George Clooney for his first time in the directors chair, and being low budget, he gives the film a great look using various camera techniques, film saturation, old movie tricks, and long creative takes to get some neatly done scenes.

    [developing his idea for the Gong Show]
    Chuck Barris: We're goin' about this all wrong! We're killing ourselves trying to find good acts. We just book bad ones and kill them! We kill 'em before they're through, as soon as it gets unbearable, we kill them. Dead.

    Also well handled is the incorporation of the actual game show footage into the film and the recreation of certain events as well as the whole look of the various decades portrayed and interviews with various people who know Chuck.

    Patricia: Very good Chuck. I am pleasantly surprised, you're not like the other murderers.

    Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts also star as the two women in Chuck's life that make up a part of him and what he wants to be, and they are both very good in their roles.

    Rutger Hauer and Clooney again show up in small parts as well, and make their scenes and chemistry with Rockwell work very well adding to both the dark tone and dry comedy of the film.

    The way the subject matter of assassin is handled is done so well, putting the viewer in a certain frame of mind that could go either way with if Barris was actually an assassin or not, and how the whole experience was fucking with his mind.

    If there is one gripe, its how dark this film does gets in terms of its dramatic shift after the first hour, but that's a small issue, this is a very entertaining, well written dark comedy, with a great performance form Rockwell and very good directorial effort from Clooney.

    Jim Byrd: He's a bad guy. He's one of the bad guys.
    Chuck Barris: Bad for the US, right, Jim? Not bad in the absolute sense. Just bad for the US.
    Jim Byrd: Don't fuckin' dance with me. Renda's bad for the Tea & Biscuit Company. He's bad for me personally. You work for me. Renda's bad for me... You're now officially a patriotic citizen of the United States of Jim Byrd. There's no backing out now. We let you in on everything. You don't play. You don't leave. You understand that? You don't play... You don't leave.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    August 14, 2008
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    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... read more trained to become a covert operative. Or so Barris said.

    Confessions of a Dangerous Mind marks a stylish and daring foray into direction. Whilst the film is undoubtedly crisp, its strength is also ultimately its downfall - this film is both a black comedy and a thriller but the two don't sit together well and the comedy ultimately undermines the thriller elements. Despite this, the acting is generally of a high quality - Julia Roberts and George Clooney both equally convincing in their roles, Julia in particular being made to look much more sexy and daring than in Ocean's 11. However, it is Sam Rockwell as Chuck Barris who really steals the show. His performance ultimately makes the film what it is and you really believe in his troubled "genius" and root for him on his missions.

    Confessions..., is however, a somewhat difficult film to engage with fully. You may think you've seen Drew Barrymore's performance before and you'd be right (think back to "The Wedding Singer" with Adam Sandler). However, more noticeably, the action is broken up by comments from Barris' real-life contempories just when you want the story to unfold further. In my opinion, these should have been left to the end as a fitting testament to the man who may or may not have worked for the CIA, because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether Barris' did or didn't because Rockwell makes you want to believe that the story is true.

    4/5
  • 76Majikat
    June 25, 2008
    76Majikat
    Sam Rockwell was mildy entertaining, but that really is the only good thing going for this film. I was shocked to see this film was only 109 minutes long, as it seemed as though it had been on for hours. It hasn?t quite made the ?awful? list and I would consider it ?watchable? ... read moreif it hadn?t been so drawn out.
  • garyX
    March 6, 2008
    garyX
    I imagine Chuck Barris sat down to write his autobiography and realised that it would be the same as 99% of every other autobiographies ever written. Really f***ing boring. So he decided to throw in some stuff about spies and assassins to spice it up a bit. This adaptation theref... read moreore is part biography, part romance, part thriller and part comedy but is a serious case of jack of all trades and master of none. The spy scenes come across as a kind of unfunny version of Austin Powers, the romance doesn't work because he is such an unsympathetic twat (even Drew Barrymore comes across as whiny and annoying) and it just isn't very funny. It's a shame because if Clooney had concentrated on just one aspect it could've been much better; the scenes involving himself and Rutger Hauer are great. Unfortunately as it is, more often than not I was just plain bored because Rockwell is so unlikeable I didn't care WHAT happened to him. A disappointment considering the talent involved.
  • puffchunk
    February 10, 2008
    puffchunk
    The music playing as he walks with the cigarette in his mouth needs to accompany me everywhere I go. Pretty neat, but not Kaufman's best.

View All Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Reviews

Critic Reviews

Andrew O'Hehir
February 7, 2003
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

The American film of the season -- and maybe of the year, or the last couple of years... Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 24, 2003
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

A darkly enjoyable roller-coaster ride.

Stephen Hunter
January 24, 2003
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

A picture that is surely one of the oddest ever made. Full Review

Glenn Lovell
January 24, 2003
Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News

Clooney, who on the basis of this movie has a big career ahead of him behind the camera, demonstrates a real flair for visual comedy.

Mick LaSalle
January 24, 2003
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The movie makes a case for itself through sheer oddness and perversity. Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 24, 2003
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

[Clooney] and Kaufman have crafted a truly bizarro masterpiece -- the kind made for instant cult status and midnight runs. Full Review

Steven Rea
January 24, 2003
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Maybe the title should have been Confusions of a Dangerous Mind, though the confusion, in this case, can be pretty sublime.

Eric Harrison
January 24, 2003
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

Who would've thought a movie about Chuck Barris could be so rich and entertaining? Full Review

Tom Long
January 24, 2003
Tom Long, Detroit News

A blast from beginning to end and shows first-time director George Clooney is equal parts fearless, brilliant and perhaps daft. But an intriguing daftness it is. Full Review

Ty Burr
January 24, 2003
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Rockwell lets us see all the joy, lust, self-pity, and rage with which Barris gonged himself. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • In Bruges
    In Bruges (98%)
  • The Ides of March
    The Ides of March (91%)
  • Duplicity
    Duplicity (90%)
  • The Osterman Weekend
    The Osterman Weekend (0%)

More Movies like Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Facts

Submit a Fact | View All
    • Chuck Barris: Whatever your hand finds to do, do it gladly, because there is no work, love, knowledge or wisdom in the grave.
Submit a Fact | View All

Confessions of a ... : Watch Free on TV

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Trivia

  • This actor directed Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck.  Answer »
  • George Clooney was a Director in ...  Answer »
  • Which famous actor appeared in these movies? -Oceans Twelve -Troy -Confessions of a dangerous mind -"Friends" -The Mexican  Answer »
  • Johnny Depp was considered for the role of Chuck Barris in the film Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind?  Answer »
More Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Confessions of a Dangerous Mind to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?