Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness (2020)

Under normal circumstances, would I have watched something like Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness? It don’t generally go for reality TV. Granted, this is a multi-part documentary, but most reality TV seems to be set up to make the audience feel morally or intellectually superior to the people on the show. Is it possible to watch something like Tiger King and not feel superior to the subjects?

Well, these aren’t normal circumstances. I’m stuck inside, this is a big hit, it’s only seven episodes that run no more than 48 minutes, why not?

The opening minutes of Tiger King set out what we may need to know about Joe Passage, AKA Joe Exotic: there are a lot of people who collect and maybe even horde wild animals, but the ones who collect large cats are…different. That more or less explains the subjects of this documentary. Focusing mostly on Joe Exotic, I suspect the filmmakers started off just looking to learn what made these admittedly eccentric people tick and falling into, well, that.

“That” is potential attempted murder, and that comes after the excessive feuding, polygamy, misogyny, and wild animals in what may or may not be cruel. Oh, and one woman who may or may not have murdered her long-missing husband.

Essentially, the series follows people who are obsessed with owning wild animals. They treat them like pets while cramming dozens into cages, sometimes in tight fits, but people like Joe Exotic or Bhagavan “Doc” Antle are so odd on top of all that, it’s easy to see why they might attract a documentary film crew. The third park owner that gets the most screentime, Carole Baskin, actually comes across as almost normal until episode three. Her thing is big animals like tigers and lions shouldn’t be bred for profit or held by private owners. Meanwhile, people like Antle and Joe take tiger cubs to parties for people to treat like pets for a price.

As such, much of the conflict comes between Carole and Joe having an extended pissing match. Joe, who never misses an opportunity to accuse Carole of murder, has a thing for “animal rights” types while Carole just doesn’t think people like Joe should have private zoos. The series, as it progresses, goes further and further into this war between two people who each think they’re saving an endangered species. Are either of them actually doing so? I don’t know. I don’t think so in Joe’s case at least.

Then again, Joe’s life goes downhill as the cameras roll, and the thing that’s going to grab any audience is how much an individual viewer finds Joe Exotic interesting. He’s a colorful guy with a large personality. Whether you sympathize with him or not, it’s easy to see why someone like Joe could be as popular as he is. This may not be the finest or most educational documentary I’ve ever seen, but it certainly is a compelling one with an admittedly odd man at the middle of it all.

Grade: B