Intermission: Twisted tale makes Clooney's directorial debut successful

Jim Wunderle is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.

Anyone who watched TV in the halcyon days of the 1970s is already familiar with the work of Chuck Barris. At least some of his work.

Besides being the creator of such high-water entertainment marks such as "The Dating Game," "The Newlywed Game" and "The Gong Show," Barris, in his unauthorized autobiography, also claims to have killed 33 people. He claims to have done this for his job. No, these 33 people didn't die from shame from being on one of Barris' TV shows; they were killed while he was working his other job. Barris claims to have been a hit man for no less than the CIA.

George Clooney, in his directorial debut, brings this twisted (and dubious) tale to the screen, ably assisted by Hollywood's current wunderkind screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman is the writer who gave us "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation," two of the most wildly inventive screenplays in recent memory.

Clooney also gets help from his buddy Steven Soderberg, here acting as producer. Soderberg directed Clooney in the remake of "Ocean's 11" and many of the co-stars in that film pop by in "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind." Some Brad Pitt, Matt Damon just sneak in and out in cameos. Others, like Julia Roberts, are main players. These folks obviously enjoy working with Clooney and for his part, one gets the feeling that Clooney really enjoys directing. This project seems suited nicely to Clooney, too, as his father used to direct game shows for TV.

While "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" hits a few bumps here and there, it's a fun, interesting film.

As the tale opens, it's 1981 and a paranoid Chuck Barris (played by Sam Rockwell) is holed up in a hotel room. He begins telling his tale and we flash back to the late 1950s when Barris got his start in TV as a page at NBC and went from there to being a production assistant on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand." Barris, always a hustling sort of guy with one scheme after another, even manages to cash in on the rock music craze by writing "Palisades Park," a hit for Freddie Cannon.

Barris also constantly had ideas for new TV shows. He gets a chance to pitch one to ABC, but executives there turn it down, initially. A few months later, they give him the green light, and soon America is treated to "The Dating Game." Barris could be said to have been well ahead of his time when one considers the recent rash of shows such as "Who Wants To Marry a Millionaire?," "The Bachelor" and the countless other variations on "The Dating Game" formula.

After the show becomes a success, a suspicious-looking guy with a serious offer approaches Barris. The man is Jim Byrd (ever so dryly played by Clooney) and he wants Chuck to go to work for the CIA. Byrd tells him he's got the perfect cover and when winning contestants on "The Dating Game" get fabulous trips, they'll need a chaperone. Voila! Barris has an excuse to go to such "exotic" locales as Helsinki and West Berlin and can get his government work in while there.

The film also deals with Barris' seemingly voracious sexual appetite and coinciding fear of romantic commitment. Things change when he meets the quintessential flower child hippie chick, Penny. Penny is played wonderfully by Drew Barrymore who finds this a role that allows her to use her acting chops, as opposed to just running around looking cute as she's done in the "Charlie's Angels" movies (a new one is on its way).

The other prominent female in Barris' life is his CIA contact, Patricia. Kaufman has written this part seeming based on Natasha from "The Rocky and Bullwinkle" cartoon series and Julia Roberts seems to have a great time in the role.

No Barris tale would be complete without some examination of his crowning TV achievement, "The Gong Show." Contestants here were bizarre at best, and the trio of celebrity judges, as well as Barris himself, always seemed to be inebriated.

Is the hit-man story true? Probably not. Does it matter? Not in the least. "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" is a fun trip, and Clooney proves he's got a career as a director ahead of him. Kaufman's screenplay and the sheer fun had by all the actors add to the overall impression.