Joe vs. Carole

I know that it's adapted from the original podcast, and not from Netflix's all conquering "Tiger King" documentary, but it's still unfortunate that the documentary exists rendering this series, despite its good performances, largely unnecessary.

Carole Baskin (Kate McKinnon) owner and operator of Big Cat Rescue is campaigning against the ownership of Big cats by private owners. She targets the operations of Joe Exotic (John Cameron Mitchell) a hot tempered and charismatic zoo operator. As the feud extends to personal insults, accusations and lawsuits, Joe eventually decides on a desperate plan to rid himself of Carole once and for all.

As a person that has seen the documentary, what I can immediately say is that everyone is doing a decent impression of the real-world nutcase that they are playing. Both Carole and Joe are both such big characters impressions of them are, I'd imagine, relatively easy for skilled performers like McKinnon and Cameron Mitchell. My favourite performance then was Kyle MacLachlan, who plays Carole's husband, Howard and who receives a more prominent role than Howard has in the documentary.

The trouble is the obvious one though, I know this story as I watched it not that long ago. So, I knew when the horrible moments were coming, and conversely, what wasn't going to happen, as the show ran on. There was no genuine drama, because I know where everyone is right now. Though I do think that the "Tiger King" series has flaws, mostly to do with keeping a decent handle on the timeline, it's much more thorough than this, and, if anything the real Joe is even more extreme than his portrayal here. The CGI work on the animals, whilst an understandable choice, isn't very good.

I watched it all, it was entertaining enough - but there is a better version of this story readily available.

To get us excited about a story we already know, a production has to bring something really unique to the table - a new dimension, a brilliant characterisation, an evocative rendering.

The problem with Joe vs Carole is that the version already told had all those elements dialled up to 12 already and there was nowhere new, or at least different enough to transport us, for a dramatisation to go.

The clunky CGI (mind you, props to them for avoiding any real animal use), the slightly surreal use of Queensland, Australia as a Florida substitute, and the fact that every main character is already basically a live-action cartoon, push the whole production into 1990s family adventure territory. If Brendan Fraser had jumped out of a tree I wouldn't have been surprised. But none of this imparts a charming quality; more one of cheapness.

John Cameron Mitchell and Kate McKinnon are fiercely into their characters, but a good impersonation doesn't necessarily make for compelling viewing. Some of the peripheral characters hold up well, particularly Nat Wolf and Sam Keely as two thirds of the tragic throuple, and Brian Van Holt as Joe Exotic's loyal ballast. Kyle McLachlan is consistent as Carole's long-suffering husband.

At the end of it all though, this is a story where truth IS stranger than fiction, and the dramatisation is left with nowhere to go and, frankly, not enough appetite to satisfy given what was served up in Tiger King.

Disappointingly for me, it was, like the documentary, a missed opportunity to promote the unnecessary horror of exotic animals being bred and kept for pedestrian purposes. Yet again, the selfish narcissism of humans overshadows a nasty, cruel industry that could so easily be ended if we chose to put the needs of these animals first for once.

Kept watching and binged the season to see what "dramatic effect" whey would add. Did like the back stories on Joe and Carole but the Netflix documentary is unmatched to this. Yeah, it might have been peak Covid and puzzle season, but the real thing documentary trumps this show big time.

Overall the series mostly just recapped the reality TV show/was visual pablum ... and didn't really add much to the overall Joe Exotic drama ... but I have to say it! John Cameron Mitchell really stands out in the title role! I couldn't see Kate McKinnon as Carole. I just saw Kate playing Carole. But JCM literally BECAME Joe. We had to keep reminding ourselves that he wasn't Joe ... so kudos to him for the role! He smoked it!

I think a lot of people will agree that Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell nailed Carole Baskin & Joe Exotic. They got the look and voices down to a T. As far as the show goes. Don't go into it expecting it to be as good as the docu-series. If you do, you're going to be disappointed. The documentary was pure gold, the show, not so much. Dont get me wrong, it's still a decent show. It just doesn't compare to the docu-series. 6 stars.