There
are more than a handful of high-profile films in theaters right now, and they’re
all vying for both Oscar attention and your hard-earned money. Two of them
happen to be the directorial debut of even higher-profile, larger-than-life
movie stars, and, coincidentally, both focus on real people and actual events.
But that’s where the similarities end.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Fortunately, George Clooney had the
balls to make a dark, interesting debut behind the camera. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind seems even darker and more interesting when you hold it up next to the
saccharine crap of Denzel Washington’s boring-but-uplifting Antwone Fisher.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “Dark” and
“interesting.” Are there any words more fitting to describe a film,
penned by ridiculously hot screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation), that features every member of the 21st Century Rat
Pack, yet finds Brad, Matt, Julia, and George all playing support to the
relatively unknown Sam Rockwell?
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Rockwell portrays television game
show instigator Chuck Barris, the author of the “unauthorized”
biography on which Confessions is
based. Most people remember Barris as the host of that train wreck called The Gong Show, but he also created a
bunch of other popular programming, most notably The Newlywed Game and The
Dating Game. Benchmark moments of western civilization these events were
not, but one can hardly deny Barris’s importance in the grand scheme of things,
especially when you consider the Nielsen ratings The Bachelorette and Joe
Millionaire have been posting lately.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย In the film, as in real life, Barris
wonders, “Who could imagine that there were so many Americans willing to
make an ass out of themselves just to get on TV?,” making him both the
grandson of P.T. Barnum and the grandfather of today’s reality television
craze.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Interestingly enough, Confessions doesn’t devote any more than
half of its running time to the shocking rise and disgusting fall of Barris.
Sure, we see the typical scenes of him struggling to break into the business
before hitting it big. We watch him falling in love with the slightly off-kilter
Penny (Drew Barrymore; Rockwell’s Charlie’s
Angels co-star), along with flashbacks of Barris’s perverted youth
(Strawberry Dick is my new favorite nickname for people who bug me). We also
get more of the VH-1-style crash-and-burn than we’re used to seeing in the
typical Hollywood biopic, but it’s still only part of the story.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The other portion involves Barris
being secretly recruited and trained as a hitman by the CIA (Clooney plays his
mysterious contact). Yeah, it turns out when Barris accompanied winners of The Dating Game to various
“exotic” locales, like West Berlin and Helsinki, he was really there
as a covert government operative with orders to execute certain dangerous
individuals who posed a threat to this great land of ours.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Now, I know what you’re thinking:
This must be one of Kaufman’s weird little mind trips, because there’s no way
Barris led that kind of exciting double life while running several successful
game shows. It’s just something the screenwriter cooked up to make the picture
more entertaining, right? After all, Kaufman clearly has a thing for inventing
characters with split-personality problems.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย He does, but the CIA stuff (which,
admittedly, is the weakest aspect of Confessions)
was all taken directly from Barris’s biography. If you believe his murderous
claims, Confessions probably becomes
a more intriguing film. If you don’t, it makes Barris an even more tragic
figure, a la a different television star from the ’70s whose life was recently
immortalized on the silver screen: Bob Crane in Auto Focus, another unruly flick that wasn’t afraid to cast an
unfavorable light upon its lead. In this case, instead of videotaping orgies,
Barris executed international bad guys.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Rockwell is stunning in his first
lead performance, and in any other year, this would be a showy enough turn to
be a lock for an Oscar nomination. It’s fascinating to watch him become
consumed by the role (in a Jim Carrey/Man
on the Moon kind of way). It reminded me a lot of Russell Crowe’s work in A Beautiful Mind, in that Barris deals
with people we’re not sure are actually there.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Direction-wise, it’s obvious Clooney
took notes while working with Steven Soderbergh (their Section Eight company
produced Confessions) and the Coen
brothers. But for me, his first effort harkens back to the debut of another
actor-turned-director: Saul Rubinek’s long-forgotten Jerry & Tom, which also happened to star Rockwell. Clooney’s
only major misstep is the interviews with actual participants from The Gong Show, like Gene the Dancing
Machine, The Unknown Comic, and Jaye P. Morgan.
Bikes,
asphalt, rednecks, Dixie beer, filthy wife-beaters, leather, and a girl in
capri pants so tight you can see the outline of her organ: Seven memorable
things I was able to cull from The Loveless. This 1982 film marked
the directorial debut of Kathryn Bigelow, who went on to direct both Schindler
(K-19: The Widowmaker) and his evil
Nazi counterpart, played by Ralph Fiennes (Strange
Days). It was also the first major screen appearance of two-time Oscar
nominee Willem Dafoe, who went on to be interviewed by City Newspaper (see page 11).
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The
Loveless (which will be presented by Dafoe at the Dryden Theatre on
Saturday, January 25) plays like a slightly hallucinatory homage to The Wild Ones, with Dafoe’s lone biker
Vance hooking up with a motley crew of leather-clad weirdoes — including
rockabilly legend Robert Gordon, whose song inspired this film’s title (he’s
also responsible for the majority of the scorching soundtrack). They decide to
head down to Florida to catch some hot racing action, but end up getting caught
in that sticky trap known as rural Georgia. When Vance puts the moves on the
ridiculously young-looking Telena (played by the ridiculously young-looking
Marin Kanter), the locals mistake the bikers for a pack of wild Commies. Hell,
as one would imagine, breaks loose.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย It’s a blast to witness the genesis
of two careers that have gone on to bigger and (mostly) better things. Bigelow,
whose second film (Near Dark) played
at last year’s High Falls Film Festival along with her most recent (The Weight of Water), displays early
forms of many of the techniques she’s using on a much larger scale these days.
The highlight here is the overall sense of ominous danger she’s able to create.
And Dafoe is, as always, an unnerving treat to watch.
Interested
in unsanitized movie ramblings from Jon? Visit his site, Planet Sick-Boy, at
www.sick-boy.com, or listen to him on WBER’s Friday Morning Show.
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2003.
