Viewed on 22 May 03   The book CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND is now a 'biopic'.   It is presented as an autobiographical work of Chuck Barris, and as a sad commentary on the baseline intelligence of mankind, there are many out there who believe it still.   Barris is occasionally and fatuously called the 'Father Of Reality TV', and for "changing the face of American TV", if only because he was singly responsible for cheapening it and dumbing it down.  If you want real reality, he was called 'the Ayatollah of Trasherola'.  Really.
        Which begs the question:  Why make a film of this uncommonly tasteless man and his totally common fantasies?   The short and long answer is Barris' fantasies were about the CIA.   If you say, "CIA" to Hollywood, it is exactly equivalent to saying, "Shave and a haircut.." to Roger Rabbit, because Hollywood will jump out and holler "..six-bits !"  They can't pass up a chance to run with the fantasy that any Joe Doakes can be James Bond.
        The second question that comes begging is why would Director George Clooney give a no-name second-stringer like Sam Rockwell the lead, and then support him with enormous star-power like Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts -- and then cameo with the likes of Brad Pitt and Matt Damon?    Occam's Razor says the easiest answer is usually correct: this was a 'Buddy Pic': - as CONFESSIONS was Clooney's directing debut, all his pals on the studio lot came to the party to lend support.  How nice.   You've never heard of Bruno Rosato, either.  He was responsible for casting.  He will never work in Tinseltown again.
        CONFESSIONS was originally released in January 2002 amid large dollops of Hollywood flimflam, and fell immediately on its backside.   Convinced of the film's 'intrinsic greatness' and enamored of their own infallibility, Hollywood re-marketed it and re-released it in August, whereupon it unceremoniously bombed again.  Sometimes, life is fair.  
        LEAST Enduring Line or Phrase:  "I'm the lesser person, Trish."

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