Last year, I read an article about Joe Exotic in Esquire Magazine. I thought it was a rather bizarre story, but had no idea how insane it truly was, until I watched the documentary series on Netflix. He was also known as the Tiger King, because he lauded over a zoo with hundreds of big cats and other animals. It was open to the public for gawking, and more importantly, to sell the opportunity to pet cubs. Joe is an outspoken, trash-talking, openly-gay, gun-toting redneck with a mullet. An astoundingly assured and completely irrational character. Each episode in the 8-part series sets up a different aspect of his ongoing conflicts with the owner of another animal park and the leader of Big Cat Rescue that specializes in saving tigers who have been raised in captivity. Each episode also reveals new aspects of the story that seem more incredible than the last. The parade of unusual characters and the timeline of outrageous events is highly entertaining (although the episodes could have been shorter). This is an mind-blowing example that truth is truly stranger than anyone could have written.
(4.5 / 5)