Chuck Barris knows what sells, and he gives it to you. I don't for one second buy that he was a CIA agent recruited by the CIA. But, it does make for a much better story than his real life story.
The "spy" sequences of this movie resemble every cheesy spy novel or movie that was ever put out. And it looks like Barris has seen and read all of these cheezy movies in order to form his "memories". If you pay attention, you'll notice that the cameo by the real unknown comic actually serves to lay down the premise that this was all a Barris fantasy. After all, if someone had pulled a gun on you and pointed it straight at your head, you'd figure that your ONE big memory of that person would be that event. But the best they could get out of the unknown comic for this film was "I never saw that side, but a lot of the crew thought that he could turn on them". That doesn't sound exactly like the declaration one would make in a film that purports to reveal the "truth". Putting all this aside, as a movie, I thought it was alright. Lots of twists and turns, not on the dark side at all, as some have commented. It's a look inside the ramblings of a sick delusional mind, which I found entertaining and different.
The "spy" sequences of this movie resemble every cheesy spy novel or movie that was ever put out. And it looks like Barris has seen and read all of these cheezy movies in order to form his "memories". If you pay attention, you'll notice that the cameo by the real unknown comic actually serves to lay down the premise that this was all a Barris fantasy. After all, if someone had pulled a gun on you and pointed it straight at your head, you'd figure that your ONE big memory of that person would be that event. But the best they could get out of the unknown comic for this film was "I never saw that side, but a lot of the crew thought that he could turn on them". That doesn't sound exactly like the declaration one would make in a film that purports to reveal the "truth". Putting all this aside, as a movie, I thought it was alright. Lots of twists and turns, not on the dark side at all, as some have commented. It's a look inside the ramblings of a sick delusional mind, which I found entertaining and different.