Confessions of a Dangerous Mind poses an irresistible question: What would happen if a wildly successful TV producer was also a top-secret CIA assassin? While a maverick creator of America's favorite game shows gains notoriety for his smash television hits, he is also drawn into a shadowy world of danger as a covert government operative. But soon his life begins to spiral out of control both of them.
Most of the scenes were done in one take. The NBC lobby scene, and The Dating Game montage are done completely in one take; the actors ran around to get into position.
The clip from the The Newlywed Game is a real clip. It was long thought to be an urban legend and at one time even the host came to believe it was not real.
Patricia: You're kind of cute... in a homely sort of way.
Jim Byrd: You're 32 years old, and you've achieved nothing. Jesus Christ was dead and alive again by 33. You better get crackin'.
Chuck Barris: When you're in a relationship it means you are obligated to give a shit.
Chuck Barris: When you are young, your potential is infinite. You might do anything, really. You might be Einstein. You might be DiMaggio. Then you get to an age where what you might be gives way to what you have been. You weren't Einstein. You weren't anything. That's a bad moment.
As for myself, I think he made it all up and never killed anybody. Having been involved in a weekly television show myself, I know for a melancholy fact that there is just not enough time between tapings to fly off to Helsinki and kill for my government. Reviewed by: Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times.
Clooney fashions a style all his own: visceral, vital and churning with off-the-wall ideas. That's what makes you want to see Clooney direct again. You can feel his joy in it. Reviewed by: Peter Travers of Rolling Stone.
Confessions keeps its cards close, and Kaufman is perfectly capable of starving his screenplay to save it, and perfectly happy with being misunderstood. Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson of The Village Voice.
It's nice to see Clooney choosing something offbeat (as opposed to "safe") for his first outing behind the camera. If he continues to develop, he has the potential to become a good director -- he's just not there yet. Reviewed by: James Berardinelli of Reel Views.
A good piece of work more often than not, and this is one of the few times an actor turned director has chosen to subvert the feel-good genre for his maiden voyage. Reviewed by: A. O. Scott of The New York Times.
Well-acted and well-written, for mature teens+. Parents need to know that this movie is about a seemingly "ordinary guy" becoming a government-hired murderer. The main character painstakingly lies to loved ones in order to cover up his participation in brutal crimes. There are many instances of strong language, and crimes are depicted graphically. Furthermore, parents should know that the film features many popular actors (George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Drew Barrymore), thus increasing the chance that children are going to know about the film and want to see it. Reviewed by: Hollis Griffin of Common Sense Media.
