Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic

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source: Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic

As always, Louis Theroux brings out another amazing documentary showing the insights of certain industries and lifestyles. Here he shows the other side of the Tiger King documentary with unseen footage from a 2011 with Joe himself. This just might change your view on Joe Exotic or make your opinion even stronger. I definitely recommend you watch this if you haven't already.

I watched this because Theroux's documentaries are usually pretty classy and interesting, and I've watched a lot and enjoyed almost all of them. But it's very disappointing by Louis Theroux's standards. I was looking forward to this because he'd covered this subject before, and the 90-minute runtime as opposed to his usual 60 minutes made me hopeful he'd have even more to say about his subject than usual. He kind of just recounts lots of information half heartedly without being as insightful or critical as he usually is. The interview segments fare a little better at least, but there's not much of that in the first half- lots of reused/unused footage that was shot back in 2011. Some slack may be able to be cut because of the difficult nature of making this follow up (the obstacles are even explicitly outlined), but this might've been a bit of a cash-grab? Theroux's heart didn't really seem in it as much as usual, so maybe the BBC insisted and/or paid him a lot of money do it, owing to how popular the Netflix series was.

Over half of this documentary is a review of both Theroux's first interview with Joe Exotic and the series that catapulted him to international fame, Tiger King. It's revealed why this time filler is necessary during the programme however it still feels as if they could better have filled an hour slot instead of the 90 minutes. Nevertheless, the new content reveals interesting legal issues ongoing and the fate of Exotic's infamous zoo. Overall, an apt review of the first COVID-19 lockdown phenomenon of 2020 but feels a little tiresome at times.

I am biased because I think everything Louie does is an instant classic and this doesn't disappoint! Wonderful reflection on his earlier documentary and what's happened in this case.

This isn't Theroux's best work ever, but I think it's still a must watch for many people (especially those who've only seen Tiger King), and here's why. Like so many people, I watched Tiger King last year and came away from it thinking that a) Joe has a lot of fans but I don't know why, and b) Carole is nuts and probably a murderess. Theroux sets the record straight here. First of all, Carole Baskin came across as a lot more normal than she did in Tiger King. When I watched Tiger King I felt that there must have been at least some truth to the insane stories about her, but all I saw in the interview with Theroux was a tired Carole who still answered all of the questions, while her husband was very guarded after the debacle that was Tiger King. For all those who hate Carole, it's a good eye-opener about framing people. There's also Louis and his soul searching. He was genuinely caught by Joe's personality and found himself wanting to be liked by him. If nothing else, it's a testament to how a narcissist charlatan can wrap even the best of us around his finger. This combined with the unaired footage and explanations of ongoing legal issues make Shooting Joe Exotic a worthwhile view to me. I got a way better sense of the real history, which is intensely sad and has no winners.

Even though Joe's relationship is unconventional, the way that Louis Theroux asked questions about their relationship sounded condescending and in disbelief. He wouldn't think to ask such question in the ways he formed those questions to straight people. He was devaluing the marriage like it's not real. And adding the moment where he asked for a hug from Joe, and "explaining what it meant" it was a clear manipulation tactic to someone he perceived as less intelligent and more emotional, to keep the interview going.

Netflix shut him down from talking to pretty much everyone except Carole, so it just a culmination of unaired footage. But it's unaired for a reason.

'Tiger King', a trashy documentary about decidedly trashy people, was one of the hit television series of last year. It's star, who ended up convicted of attempted murder by the time shooting was finished, called himself Joe Exotic, and had in fact been chasing fame through outrageousness for many years. Louis Theroux, who often makes films about apparent weirdos, had featured him in one of his own efforts way back in 2011 - this was not someone who was ever camera shy. In this film, Theroux revisits his old material, when Joe was crazy but not that crazy, and reflects on the subsequent story. Theroux's style is the opposite of the makers of the later series; he tries to allow people to show themselves in their best light, even though that was never really Joe's brand. Whereas 'Tiger King' never felt fair, this film feels much less exploitative. Ultimately, Exotic was a wild guy, and the rest of the world is probably a better place for his incarceration. But he was a very human sort of monster, and one who can still command the small screen.