Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
by Chuck Barris
book review by: Josh
Bozeman
written on: September 11, 2003 at 3:45 A.M. CT.
Confessions starts out good, but it starts to drag on the middle. It's the "unauthorized biography" of Chuck Barris, known by most as the host of the Gong Show. I'm not really sure what unauthorized means, since he wrote it. I could look it up, but I won't take the time.
I got this book for free for placing banner ads for the movie on my site a while back. They sent me the paperback edition of the book and the CD soundtrack to the movie. I started reading the book a few months ago, but never got past page 10...or somewhere near there. I started reading it again a couple of weeks ago, and really got into it.
Like I said, I like the beginning of the book. It was interesting to hear about Barris and his lifestyle...and to go back with him to his past to learn about how he got to his place in life. The stuff about the start of his career in television is entertaining, and there are a number of laughs when he talks about the dirty language people would use on the dating game, and even some of the outrageous things that happened on the newlywed game- both are shows he created.
Barris clearly doesn't know how to treat women, and that bugged me more and more as the book went on. At first, he seemed like your average jerk in his 20's who slept around. I don't approve of such a lifestyle, but Barris makes himself very likeable for a while. It's all good, even after he brings up the stuff about him joining the CIA, which is total baloney- I'll discuss this more later. The CIA stuff is never really exciting, which was a surprise. He makes it sound almost boring...even when he's speaking about it as tho it's the most exciting thing in the world. Going overseas to new countries, plotting to kill enemies of the USA. I didn't find much of the CIA stuff the least bit entertaining. Maybe some find it appealing, but the way Barris described it...it sounded almost depressing.
His tv show personality is much more entertaining, and you get some small insights into how stuff happened behind the scenes. The only problem is, you know he's full of it with the CIA stuff, so you can never be sure how much of any of the stuff in the book really took place, and which stuff is purely fiction. Sometimes the CIA stories mix with the tv stories, so you're really confused as to what's real and what's not. I think he still sticks to saying he was really in the CIA today, but- as mentioned, it's baloney, and only a fool would buy it.
Near the middle of the book...and especially towards the end, he gets too repetitive. It feels like it's all stuff we've already read, and it starts to drag heavily. The writing style is consistent, but the stories about killing this guy and that guy and being depressed all the time start to grate at your nerves. I was glad to be finished with the book, which is never a good sign.
Now, about the CIA stuff- there is a picture of Paul Picard in the book. Paul is supposedly a CIA man in France that helped Barris escape by driving thru Paris at high speeds to a small rundown airport, while trying to outrun Russian KGB agents with lots of guns, out to kill Barris. Problem is- if he only spent a short time with Picard, being chased by the KGB...you really think he would have had a camera with him? You really think he would have taken a picture of the guy? "Hey, Paul...we might get killed, and you're driving thru narrow streets like a bat out of hell- let me get a picture of you for the scrapbook!" Not quite.
There is also a picture of Barris leaning against a wall outside of some building, and it says it was taken on assignment in Paris. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that the CIA guys don't go overseas and take pictures of each other. I mean, they ARE supposed to be secretive, right? And, while planning operations, I doubt they have the time to make photo journals and pose for the camera! That alone lets us know that Barris is either a liar or an insane man who really thinks he worked for the CIA.
So, in the end, the CIA stuff is bogus...so is some of the tv stuff bogus? How much of anything in this supposed biography is really biographical? My guess is- not much at all. But, we'll probably never know.
Barris is a decent writer, and he starts out as an okay guy...but his obvious hatred of women turns all of that niceness on its side, and the story that is told isn't all that exciting overall.