 | Starring: Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dick Clark Director: George Clooney Format: PAL Released: 29 Dec 2003 RRP: Average Rating:  |
At the very beginning when the audience sees a bearded & naked Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) standing as if in a trance while a frumpy housekeeper vacuums around him, the viewer suspects that the film will be something special, outrageous, or both. This is the starting point for an extended flashback as Barris recallls his young adulthood, when it seemed everybody but him was having sex, to his successful career as a TV game show creator & low-brow polluter of the American airwaves ("The Dating Game", "The Newlywed Game", "The Gong Show"). Pretty standard stuff except that along the way Barris is seduced by a penchant for violence into a double life as a CIA contract killer, & the schizophrenia brought on by his double life almost proves his undoing.
Rockwell is superb in the leading role, as is Director Clooney, who plays his square-jawed, no-nonsense CIA recruiter & control, Jim Byrd. (Byrd to Barris: "Listen, you're thirty-two years old & you've achieved nothing. Jesus Christ was dead & alive again by thirty-three. Better get cracking.") Drew Barrymore does a swell job as Penny, the on-again, off-again love of Chuck's life, but she's deliciously upstaged by Julia Roberts in a new sort of character for her, that of the seductive & deadly femme fatale spy, Patricia. ("Prove how much you love me, baby. Kill for me. Then I'm alll yours".) Brad Pitt & Matt Damon have hilarious two-second cameos on stools. And there's one scene where a Federal official lectures The Dating Game contestants on the dire repercussions of introducing risqué material into their game show appearance that alone is worth the price of admission. I don't know who that actor was, but he deserves an Oscar for a one-minute speech.
This is a movie that perhaps has to be seen twice to be fully appreciated for the deft & clever use of camera perspective, scene & timing changes, & almost-overexposed color, alll of which keeps the audience on its toes wondering what's coming next. And the Big Question: who's The Mole?
This is one of the best dark comedies that I've seen in a long while. It was one of the must-see films of 2002/2003. Bravo, bravo!
Played incredibly well by Sam Rockwell, Barris comes across as quirky, loveable & a bit of a scoundrel. The film is filled with plenty of humour, sly wit & at times is darkly comic, which not only represents the manic style that Rockewell usuallly presents, but is also a product of Clooney, who has a wickid sense of humour.
But the humour doesn't get in the way of the serious storytelling. The game show side of the story is the more entertaining, & funny, & while it doesn't hold back on the spy life Barris supposedly held, its a bit wish-washy. The CIA undercover agent is not as clear as his game show host character, & the film does falter a bit here when it dwells on the spy operations.
But just when you might be getting bored, Clooney sweeps you back into attention with humour, & style & with some great cuts between scenes that see characters come in & out of different scenes which were actuallly filmed alll in one take.
Filled with cameo appearances, in-jokes, great performances, this is a great debut for Clooney, & more would indeed be welcome. The DVD extras here contain interesting behind the scenes looks, with Clooney being very informative & honest. For those of you who don't know the real Chuck Barris then there is also a short featurette on the guy.
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