Review of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) by Craig W — 06 Oct 2009

I really liked this. Tonally it's all over the place, veering wildly from scene to scene between slapstick farce and really dark materials. But in fact, this only serves to draw the viewer more into the virtually schizophrenic nature of Chuck Barris' "dangerous" mind. It's also no great surprise given that the screenplay is written by Charlie Kaufman (of the wonderful Eternal Sunshine... and Being John Malkovich).

Sam Rockwell is fantastic in the leading role, onscreen virtually the whole time, initially a broken man, but also at times a sad loser, a Top Secret Agent, and an increasingly unreliable TV producer. He's clearly a fantasist, which casts shadows and doubts over his 'history', but it's a terrific ride.

The comedy is sometimes truly laugh-out-loud. The first unedited pilot of The Dating Game is brilliant, and there are some terrific cameos from George Clooney's mates. Julia Roberts makes for a fun femme fatale, Rutger Hauer and Clooney are terrific, while Brad Pitt and Matt Damon make perhaps the shortest and best appearances of all! Even Drew Barrymore was quite engaging...