Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

I'm sure as hell not confessing what I'm thinking about that silhouette babe right now...

Genre: Comedy Crime Drama Thriller

Starring: Sam Rockwell (The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy; Matchstick Men), Drew Barrymore (50 First Dates; Riding In Cars With Boys)

Directed By: George Clooney (Good Night And Good Luck)

Overview: An exploration of the secret CIA hitman life of Chuck Barris, host of the Gong Show, drawn from memoirs and interviews.

Acting: The cast is all star, and all the players play their roles to the Nth degree, a touch overboard, but not too much. When contrasted with the truer, realer everyday life of Chuck, we see his pain and doubt and self-loathing. Everyone does an amazing job.
Rating: 8

Cinematography: The filters showing us near-sepia washed out images to represent the past was a real nice touch, and they didn't go overboard with it. The way a couple of scenes drifted into each other as thought they were on the set improved the mood. Good stuff.
Rating: 7

Script: This was really well written. Clooney's dialogue was my favorite, very surreal in his delivery. This isn't one of those life lesson teachers, but that ending, wow. This entire movie is like a little comedy that hits us hard with dome deep drama here and there, and leaves us enough time to recover before coming back for more.
Rating: 7

Plot: The plot is pretty cool. We learn about this T.V. exec who invented the Newlywed Game, the Dating Game and the Gong Show, and along the way we are shown the secret life of a CIA hitman. Nice flow.
Rating: 7

Mood: There were scenes here and there in which scenes blended into one another, like on a studio set. This was a nice little touch, that added the surreal element of this man's mind. And the shots back to the old show hosts talking about whether or not they think Chuck actually was a hitman... Those together presented a subtle questioning to the audience that I picked up on. That ending cinches it all. A much deeper film than you would ever have expected.
Rating: 8

Confessions of a dangerous wardrobe, more like...

Overall Rating: 74% (Nice Little Surprise)

Aftertaste: I expected a happy little comedy with a hint of drama to it, one of those run of the mill movies that entertains you on a cold rainy early spring day. Holy Jumpin was I ever impressed. A really nice surprise, a hidden gem really. You'll like this.