Review: 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'

In general, my family's got a pretty weird sense of humour. It seems normal for awhile and then you find that subject that sets us off and, boom!, weird. Don't get me wrong, every family has its own set of inside jokes or comments just like every set of friends has but my family is oft been referred to as weird. Admittedly, I draw a lot of those comments to myself but the rest of my immediate family is not immune.

I think most of this comes from my Dad as we kinda had to train my Mom to be weird and, as is right, she's done so in her own unique way. When I was little, she used to be the more protective one of my parents, more concerned with what was going to warp me. Not that she wasn't fun or that Dad wasn't concerned but this seemed to be more Mom's job. She was the one that wasn't comfortable with me having 'Star Wars' stuff as a kid because 'War' was in the title and that was bad. I remember having to politely talk her into letting me get the Marvel 'Secret Wars' action figures for the same reason.

With all that in mind, why did I get to see so much of Chuck Barris' work as a kid? We watched 'The $1.98 Beauty Pageant' every week. I vividly remember 'The Gong Show' and 'The Newlywed Game'. Some of his other shows are vaguely familiar.

I've got one of Chuck's autobiographies. It was a fun read, mixing stories from his past in television with fun stories from his present in France. I don't remember it having any talk of him being a hitman for the CIA in it.

That's one of the main threads of the autobiographical movie, that Barris spent time working for the CIA. It's an interesting idea only because it's not clear where the truth lies. If it's true, it's great cover because I don't think most people would believe it. The best lie is a truth that no one believes. It could be that Chuck's doing this for the fun of it, that it's a gag and he's messing with us. It could also be that he's crazy. I'm not sure it makes a difference but trying to figure out that truth was the most engaging part of the movie to me.

The movie does weave moments of actual television history into its tale, expertly blurring the lines of the recreation of events with the actual moments replayed on monitors. Long time friends of Chuck comment on him and as to whether or not they believe he worked for the CIA. Chuck himself pops up at the end for a comment. The bulk of the film is a dramatization of events.

While never bad, it's the dramatizations I didn't care for. I never felt that engaged with the characters despite my familiarity with the people they were portraying. In my opinion, the movie is unclear with what it wants to be. Is it a comedy? Is it a look at a tortured soul? Is it truly a Confession of deeds done? All the pieces are there but they never really gelled for me. I didn't hate it, I didn't wish I'd just gotten the last two hours of my life back, but I never felt excited, like I got into the film. I reacted to it once or twice but never 'stepped into it' and felt part of its universe as it unfolded around me.

I purchased it second hand and inexpensively so I don't feel ripped off in any way.

Mild recommendation to avoid.