Christ, I have no idea how many days into this quarantine/social distancing/stay the fuck home thing we are. Mine has been extended due to not feeling well so I haven’t seen a familiar face in over two weeks. In any case, take these ramblings however you must, I’ve got some rust to shake off. Obviously, I mean it took a Pandemic to get me to review something for the site. With little else to do but stream, I’ve been taking suggestions and catching up on a lot. My curiosity was peaked when everyone started chatting and memeing about this new doc series on Netflix, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.
Now I’ve never been one to get overly excited about a true crime series but by the end of episode one, I admit it, I was hooked. Joe Exotic is a gay, gun-toting, polygamous, mullet sporting owner of a private exotic zoo in Oklahoma. He has been breeding and collecting big cats since he was a teenager. He also tends to surround himself with a ragtag cast of strays who live on his property and help run his trailer park strewn zoo. He literally picks up homeless people and ex-cons to join his little cult of personality. The main drive of the story here is Joe’s adversarial relationship with a Big Cat Rescue animal rights activist, Carole Baskin. A woman who inherited millions and a Big Cat “Preserve” that she turned into a big money rescue facility and in turn wants to take down the party-loving King of the Cats, Joe Exotic. And he isn’t shy about the fact that he would like to return the favor. The set up to Tiger King really gives you no true indication of where this plot takes you. Right when you think you see what is coming, something completely unexpected steers the show in ever branching new directions.
To be honest, the show boasts a completely unlikable cast of some of the seriously lowest common denominator type personas you could even attempt to imagine. From chain-smoking reality TV producers to marriage cults to possible murder. From con men, multiple amputees, and meth addicts to tiger attacks and monkey birthday parties. It’s part true crime, part low rent reality TV and one hell of a slow-motion train wreck. This really is the Docu-Series of 2020. It’s a Dumpster Fire in the truest sense and it will keep your eyes glued to the wreckage of all of its unpredictable characters. Tiger King’s entertainment value is high, with a plot that keeps you guessing even when you know where poor Joe Exotic lands from the opening shot. A series where nearly everyone has an ulterior motive and no one has teeth! It’s an intriguing shit show, to say the least. It will take your mind off of the real-life dumpster fire in Washington and the danger of the wreckage it is causing around us, at least for about seven hours. Then, well then, it’s back to our doomed reality!
Summary
An entertaining and unpredictable dumpster fire that will keep you guessing despite knowing the outcome.