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OOO! Another Charlie Kaufman script! Can Charlie live up to the expectations of those who have seen Adaptation or Being John Malkovich? Just about. Charlie spit out an enjoyable adaptation of the Unauthorized Autobiography of Chuck Barris. Yeah, that guy who invented all those game shows in the 70s like the Gong Show and stuff. Great performances from Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymoore and George Clooney combined with a reasonably good directorialy debut from Clooney combines to form a somewhat dark, artistic, yet entertaining romp through the bizarre life of Chuck Barris.

PS: That's a gun in my hand in the picture.

The host of the Gong Show is a CIA spy by night... if it weren't based on the life of Chuck Barris, I'd have thought it were something out of Charlie Kaufman's twisted mind (yeah, he wrote this too). Not much to say, because there's not much to criticize. Another fantasticly random script by Kaufman, surprisngly (very surprisingly) decent direction by George Clooney, some hilarious cameos for those who catch them... a good time. Sam Rockwell simply exudes Barris, if you've ever seen (or remember) Gong Show footage. For one reason or another, it's not going to go down as one of my favorite movies of all-time, but there's nothing wrong with it, and it's definitely worth seeing while you can. Before long, we'll be caught in the middle of springtime's sappy romance and summer's mindless explosions, wondering what happened to films like this that entertain without a complete disregard for reality. -M