Joe vs. Carole

It seems pretty obvious that a fictional series based on the whole Joe Exotic/Carole Baskin saga would draw directly from the 2020 netflix "Tiger King" documentary series. But the main difference here is that this show is almost a dramatization of the documentary series itself, rather than the actual events.

The show goes about showing almost every event that was covered in the documentary. Almost every story that someone told, it's presented here in some form. Carole off-handedly mentions in the docuseries her throwing a potato at her first husband, here it is in the series depicting her throwing a potato at her first husband. Carole off-handedly mentions in the docuseries buying a big cat at an auction to save it from being killed and stuffed by a taxidermist, here it is in the series her in a bidding war with the taxidermist.

On the positive side, the show goes beyond just the documentary series in many cases, largely in the form of flashbacks of both Joe and Carole, depicting some events the documentary didn't cover, mostly character moments, and Joe's time with his first husband. But the way the film seems to dedicate itself to covering pretty much every event spot for spot that the documentary series does is in some ways fascinating, but probably off-putting for some viewers.

The casting and acting is phenomenal; beyond just having the people look like the people they are depicting, it's very clear that the actors involved put special effort into fully encompassing the people they are playing. Kyle MacLaughlin, playing Howard Baskin, perfectly captures the timbre of Howard's voice, as well as his accent and speaking style. John Cameron Mitchell and Kate McKinnon are almost indistinguishable from Joe and Carole in terms of speaking style.

If you went about watching episodes of this series then alternated with episodes of the documentary series, it's uncanny just how flawless the actors are in capturing everything they can about the people they play.

One of the biggest things that stands out in this series as well is a heavy usage of CG. Literally every animal seen on screen is CG, not just the "dangerous" animals like big cats and alligators, but even sheep are all CG. The CG is not very good, though CG effects are used on John Cameron Mitchell to de-age him for the Joe flashback scenes, and these look much better.

As a whole, this isn't really a necessary series in any real way. It helps for those who are more "visual" learners in terms of establishing the relationships and sequence of events depicted in the documentary series in a more linear fashion (as the documentary had occasional episodes that went off-topic to more deeply cover related subjects, like Don Lewis's disappearance, Doc Antle's zoo, and so on). It's more a fun diversion to see a group of actors perfectly capture the look and sound of the people they are depicting.

I'm a massive fan of the original Tiger King Series. I was worried this series would be corny but I was surprised how quickly became immersed in this new Tiger King world. Its quirky but nuanced. The acting was really great. Especially the Joe Exotic character. It has a uniquely American aesthetic. The editing is on point. I really enjoyed it.

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.

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.