Chuck Barris was the television producer who created “The Gong Show,” “The Newlywed Game,” and “The Dating Game.” From the mid-1960s until the end of the 1970s, Chuck Barris was the king of game shows – and widely derided for the “schlock” he created. Article after article accused him of being a destructive force in American society, making TV dumber and catering to the American public’s lowest instincts. He was a fascinating character in his own right for his odd contributions to TV. But the most unique, controversial, and unexpected part of the Chuck Barris legacy centers around his claim that he served as a CIA assassin while hosting “The Dating Game.” That claim, made in a little-noticed 1984 “unauthorized biography,” led to a terrific 2002 film directed by George Clooney: “Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind.

I’ll admit to being a Barris fan. I thought The Gong Show, a hilarious parody of talent shows, was tremendously funny. From self-mocking schtick like Barris’s inept, bumbling hosting and whacky banter with The Unknown Comic to the presentation of semi-talented wannabe stars, The Gong Show was a boisterous, deeply subversive attack on the pretentiousness of television. Although I watched neither “The Dating Game” nor “The Newlywed Game, I was well aware of how the double entendre questions and ribald answers were either shocking or disturbing audiences.

Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind – The Book

When the autobiography of Chuck Barris came out, I couldn’t wait to read it. Although the book sold poorly, those of us who read it were unsure what to make of it!

In all seriousness, Chuck Barris claimed that the CIA had recruited him to carry out political assassinations worldwide. His cover, Chuck Barris proclaimed, would be chaperoning the couples from “The Dating Game” on their first dates. Thus, Barris explained that sometimes the winning couple would have a date in “romantic” West Germany. The book was either harrowing or ridiculous. Or both.

It was never clear if Chuck Barris was telling the truth about his past or just putting us on. That confusion was precisely the point. A man, few Americans, took seriously, Barris dared us to believe him.

Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind – The Movie

A preliminary script for the film began circulating in the late 1980s. Directors came and went, screenwriters, reworked the script, and a parade of stars were anxious to play Chuck Barris. Among the actors attached at one time or another include Robert Downey, Jr., Mike Myers, Edward Norton, Richard Dreyfus, Kevin Spacey, and Russell Crowe.

The brilliant screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, famed for scripts that involved bizarre sequences of fantasy set against the backdrop of the real world, crafted a script that brilliantly toyed with the question of whether or not Barris was telling the truth. George Clooney, who had initially been signed on to play a supporting role, decided to direct. He cast the then little-known Sam Rockwell in the critical role of Chuck Barris. The combination of Clooney, Kaufman, and Rockwell is integral to creating a strange, delightful, challenging, and unique movie that deserves to be considered a classic. (I should note that Kaufman ultimately disliked Clooney’s direction of his script

Clooney was so convinced of the potential of “Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind” that he convinced his friends, Julia Roberts and Drew Barrymore, to play critical roles for a nominal fee. Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Richard Kind, and Clooney also appear. George Clooney’s well-known intelligence and sense of humor are on full display in the film. The film’s tone shifts hypnotically from a biography to a spy film to a parody to a romantic comedy. It is a challenging film because it so steadfastly refuses to settle into a predictable tone. Much like Barris himself, the film is quirky, deceptively intelligent, and hard to read.

Charlie Kaufman’s script and George Clooney’s artful direction leave open the central question: did Chuck Barris actually assassinate 33 people for the CIA? At points, the film seems to be saying that Barris invented the story as a bizarre answer to the blistering criticism he received for his game shows. At other moments “Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind” plays as an honest biography and true spy story. There is simply no point in the film where it becomes predictable. Viewers who prefer consistent and routine narrative structure are sure to be frustrated. But those who are up for an exhilarating challenge will be fascinated by the unique script, offbeat direction, and Rockwell’s mesmerizing performance.

Among the unconventional aspects of the film is one of Clooney’s most distinctive touches. Amid the traditional narrative, he drops in brief interviews with people who knew Barris during the period covered in the film. At least as edited, none of them denies the possibility that Barris was telling the truth about working for the CIA.

Reporters continually asked director George Clooney if he believed Barris (who was involved in making the film) was telling the truth.

Ultimately, Clooney decided it didn’t matter if he was telling a true or fantasy story. He was telling the story of Chuck Barris.

Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind is beautifully shot, brilliantly acted, and endlessly intriguing. I challenge you to give it a shot.