As the coarse, ambitious nebbish behind TV gameshows The Gong Show and The Dating Game, Chuck Barris probably deserved his own Auto Focus-style tragicomedy. Throw in his post-fame claims that he was a CIA hitman, and you have all the ingredients for a pop-culture treat.
George Clooney certainly thinks so, his good-looking directorial debut displaying a kid-in-sweetshop glee and a savvy way with Adaptation scripter Charlie Kaufman's narrative. Add in Sam Rockwell's hyperactive turn as Barris, Drew Barrymore's sweet girlfriend and Clooney's own poker-faced spymaster, and you end up with that rarest of postmodern films: as wise as it is clever.
DVD Extras:
Deleted scenes, stills, Gong Show outtakes and a telling interview with Barris. Best of all, there's a droll commentary from Clooney and his DoP, packed with pointers to the film's in-jokes (CIA trainees wearing nametags that say 'Oswald' and 'Ruby'.). Often, watching a film with two guys kibbitzing on top can be dull: here, it's a treat.
