Having recently watched a couple movies involving Sam Rockwell (Conviction in 2010 and Moon in2009), and with the hype of Hobo with a Shotgun (2011) featuring Rutger Hauer, I just had to break this one out of the movie bin. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) is absolutely amazing with the story telling of Charlie Koffman, who is also known for Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004). The film was the directorial debut for George Clooney, and has several cameo appearances that have come to be a signature of anything that George Clooney is involved with. The cameo appearances are almost the same as Ocean's Eleven (2001) including Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. There are a couple other cameos that you might not recognize right away including a young Michael Cera and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Charlie Koffman probably deserved a nomination for his screenplay but with Adaptation coming in the same year the Academy probably played it safe by not nominating him twice. Additionally, Sam Rockwell continues to be one of the most under rated actors as he did a terrific job as the CIA operative that grows nervous of those around him to the point that he even pulls a gun on a comedian behind the curtain during a taping of one of his game shows. A suprise performance comes from Drew Barrymore as the girlfriend to Chuck Barris. So often she takes a roll that has no depth or quality. It was refreshing to see that she can act as well as everyone wants her to. The random appearances from George Clooney in front of the camera was also interesting as it makes you wonder if he was real or just the imagination of Chuck Barris. This certainly helped to contribute to the questioned sanity of Chuck Barris and whether or not he really was working for the CIA.
Overall this is an absolute 4 Quack movie and would be more if it didn't run a bit long for my taste. I suppose that is typical with biographical films trying to tell a full life story, but a couple scenese could have been pulled I figure. Perhaps it was because it was George Clooney's first time directing that this could happen. Regardless I fully recommend this one to everyone that missed it nearly a decade ago.
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