Joe Exotic, the gun-toting showman and operator of an Oklahoma big cat park, is accused of hiring someone to murder his nemesis, Carole Baskin.
Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, Bhagavan Antle, Howard Baskin, John Finlay, Eric Goode, Rick Kirkham, John Reinke, Kelci Saffery, Erik Cowie, Sylvia Corkill, Jeff Lowe, Tim Stark, James Garretson, Allen Glover.
Tiger King launches by showing us Joe and Carole's respective big cat parks and telling us a bit about their mission statements. From there, Joe's personality takes over and his feud with Carole Baskin is revealed which is the focus of most of the series. Along the way we get to see Joe in all his showman glory, dig into his relationships, and generally get a sense of the chaos he calls life. If this sounds like a train wreck, that's because it is. The film really has little point other than gawking at both Joe and Carole and their convoluted lives.
As this was reality based there doesn't seem to be much acting from most involved. That said, Joe is without a doubt an actor and seems to be playing a part most of the time. Carole was slightly better only because she is able to appear sane. Antle, Finlay, Lowe and the remainder are a bunch of interesting characters though I wouldn't call what they did acting.
Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are managed fairly well and give a good picture of the big cat parks settings. Dialogue was generally a mess. Sound is okay.
Overall Tiger King feels like tabloid drama brought to the big screen rather than a documentary as billed. Without the media hype, there is little here that is entertaining. Those who enjoy overly dramatic reality TV should enjoy this one.
With some sexuality and nudity, violence, foul language, and drug use, save this one for teens and above.
Released: 2020
Reviewed: 4.8.20
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Crime, Documentary, Drama, Reality TV
copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel
Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, Bhagavan Antle, Howard Baskin, John Finlay, Eric Goode, Rick Kirkham, John Reinke, Kelci Saffery, Erik Cowie, Sylvia Corkill, Jeff Lowe, Tim Stark, James Garretson, Allen Glover.
Tiger King launches by showing us Joe and Carole's respective big cat parks and telling us a bit about their mission statements. From there, Joe's personality takes over and his feud with Carole Baskin is revealed which is the focus of most of the series. Along the way we get to see Joe in all his showman glory, dig into his relationships, and generally get a sense of the chaos he calls life. If this sounds like a train wreck, that's because it is. The film really has little point other than gawking at both Joe and Carole and their convoluted lives.
As this was reality based there doesn't seem to be much acting from most involved. That said, Joe is without a doubt an actor and seems to be playing a part most of the time. Carole was slightly better only because she is able to appear sane. Antle, Finlay, Lowe and the remainder are a bunch of interesting characters though I wouldn't call what they did acting.
Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are managed fairly well and give a good picture of the big cat parks settings. Dialogue was generally a mess. Sound is okay.
Overall Tiger King feels like tabloid drama brought to the big screen rather than a documentary as billed. Without the media hype, there is little here that is entertaining. Those who enjoy overly dramatic reality TV should enjoy this one.
With some sexuality and nudity, violence, foul language, and drug use, save this one for teens and above.
Released: 2020
Reviewed: 4.8.20
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Crime, Documentary, Drama, Reality TV
copyright ©2020 Dave Riedel
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