Genre

I’m still trying to figure out why no one wanted anything to do with this project. Among some of the names I read that were attached to this in some fashion or another were Sean Penn, Mike Myers, Johnny Depp and Nicole Kidman. After what seemed like an eternity, George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven) decided to tackle the film as a first time director. The project seemed to roll from there, casting Sam Rockwell (Heist) as the lead, along with marquee names Drew Barrymore (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle... and Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) in supporting roles. Rockwell plays Gong Show host and television producer Chuck Barris, in writer Charlie Kaufman’s (Being John Malkovich) adaptation of the book of the same name. The story poses the question; What if the man who created The Newlywed Game was actually a CIA hitman?

The story focuses on Barris’ life, but first starts with him, naked in a hotel room in the early 1980’s. By this time, he’s a shadow of what he used to be, and he believes that writing his memoirs will be a cathartic process. He recounts his stories as a youngster obsessed by success, and the women that come with it. He remains a dreamer while working on the set of American Bandstand in the early 60’s, and meets Penny (Barrymore). Chuck and Penny have a friendship that grows more intimate with time. And despite Chuck’s ups and downs in his life, Penny is usually there to pick him up.