It’s fitting that Tabloid should be released in the wake of a British tabloid scandal, Anthony Weiner, and Mitt Romney’s run for presidency. Needless to say, legendary documentarian Errol Morris’ vintage tale hasn’t lost any of its rel- evance, or tabloid appeal.
Here is the stranger–than–fiction story of Joyce McKinney, a former beauty queen who allegedly kidnapped a Mormon man she was in love with to have kinky sex with him in a cottage she dubbed her “honeymoon.” Years later, she made the front pages again by cloning her departed dog, Booger. McKinney herself is there to deliver her testimony, and by doing so she proves unequivocally that she isn’t one of those “ordinary people caught in an extraordinary circumstance.”
Morris’ greatest accomplishment in Tabloid is the subject he uncovered, along with a complementary col- orful cast. McKinney stacks on crass jokes and outlandish remarks, sprinkled with insight. She is apt to say things like, “I loved him so much that I would ski na- ked down Mount Everest in the nude with a carnation up my nose if he asked me to.” There is also Kent Gavin, ex–photographer for The Mirror, and dictionary creepy voyeurist. He almost drools when recounting the salacious story.
But the director’s hand in Tabloid stops short, even for a documentary. With the exception of the sarcastic illustrations Morris places here and there as the characters narrate the tale, this documentary is merely a collection of testimonies. There is no coherent order to the plot, and no unitive statement to be made. This isn’t a documentary; it’s the movie version of a tabloid.
If you like gossip and gaping at celebrities’ hubris, you will leave satisfied. And if you are a Debbie–downer who loves to tut–tut depravity, you can bask in holier–than–thou distaste for the words and deeds of Joyce McKinney. But for those looking for perspective and insight, you won’t find it beyond McKinney’s quips.
2/5 stars
Tabloid Directed by: Errol Morris Starring: Joyce McKinney, Kent Gavin Rated R, 87 min.
