Alistair Harkness

24 May 2012

Morris gets to have his cake and eat it.

Donald J. Levit

24 May 2012

'Tabloid' never rises above -- in fact, it becomes -- the absurdity it depicts.

Bill Goodykoontz

23 May 2012

Errol Morris is a genius, a gifted documentarian who has made better movies than "Tabloid," but none so entertaining.

William Goss

22 May 2012

Operates as both an examination of the dominating media mentality at the time and an embodiment of it, no less keen on delving into the juicy details now as tabloid rags were then.

Sean Gandert

19 May 2012

Morris' most flat-out enjoyable picture

Peter Debruge

19 May 2012

Errol Morris' Tabloid is bonkers in all the best possible ways -- a welcome return to perverse portraiture after a lengthy sojourn in the realm of more serious-minded subjects.

scarletheels

16 May 2012

Joyce is a breed of crazy you have to witness for yourself

Some stories are so preposterous and delightfully astonishing that theyhave to be exposed to the masses. Such is the true tale of JoyceMcKinney, the former beauty queen who hired a pilot to fly her and anaccomplice, Keith May, to England to rescue her boyfriend, KirkAnderson, from the clutches of the Mormon church. After bringing him toa rented cottage in Devon, where the refrigerator was stocked full ofhis favorite foods, she bound and seduced him. What ensued was threedays of sex, food, and fun, to be forever known as "The Case of theManacled Mormon". It sounds like every man's fantasy - a beautiful pageant princesswaiting on you hand and foot, satisfying your every whim and fancy.However, Kirk, after reading about his own abduction in the newspaper,fled from his captors and alleged to the police a much differentaccount of what happened. The all-American, charismatic blonde wasarrested for kidnapping and raping the Mormon missionary and thrown inthe slammer to await trial. The British tabloids had a field day withthe bizarre incident.The Daily Express printed Joyce's side of the story while their rival,The Daily Mirror, delved deep into Joyce's past and uncovered luriddetails of her moonlighting as an S&M model and dominatrix for hire,painting her as a manipulative Jezebel that cast a spell over all ofthe men she met. The accusation did ring true. She often referred toKeith May as her slave and she had another admirer willing to doanything she asked. Even Peter Tory, a reporter for The Daily Express,seems to have fallen for Joyce's delusion that she was simply a girl soprofoundly in love with her boyfriend, she risked life and limb inorder to save and deprogram him from a cult of polygamists.Unfortunately, Kirk Anderson declined to participate in Morris'sdocumentary and Keith May passed away in 2004, but there is enoughmaterial to fill his absence, like Joyce's decision to travel to Seoul,South Korea to have her beloved rescue dog, Booger, cloned.The interviews with Joyce, Jackson Shaw (the pilot), Troy Williams (aformer Mormon missionary), Peter Tory, Kent Gavin (photographer for TheDaily Mirror), and Dr. Hong flow smoothly, with barely any interruptionby Mr. Morris. The montage of animated newspaper clippings was a visualtreat and the background music fit brilliantly, which normally goesunnoticed in a documentary. The star of the show is Joyce with heranimated voice and emphasized gestures. She's a breed of crazy that issometimes unsettling, sometimes funny, and always entertaining.

Stephanie Zacharek

15 May 2012

Compared with Morris' best and most provocative documentaries, like The Fog of War, Tabloid is just a trifle. It's a silly little thing that goes down easy and is forgotten almost instantly.

Colin Covert

15 May 2012

McKinney, a born performer, is in her glory as she spins her version of the affair.

Steven Rea

14 May 2012

A tale of obsession and abduction, self-delusion and sexual confusion, Errol Morris' Tabloid stands as an almost giddy affirmation of the old cliche: Truth is stranger than fiction.

David Denby

11 May 2012

Morris's subject is sexual fantasy and a particular kind of American stupidity-the ability to substitute self-justification for self-knowledge. His tone is merry.

Kam Williams

10 May 2012

A thought-provoking picture raising the question: Can a woman rape a man, or is it merely assault with intent to please? You be the judge.

A.O. Scott

07 May 2012

The sheer heterogeneity of human experience is one of [Morris'] enduring preoccupations, and he has found, once again, an impossible and perfect embodiment of just how curious our species can be.

Matt Bochenski

06 May 2012

McKinney is no Robert McNamara, but there are lessons to be learned from this fog of sleaze.

bob_bear

03 May 2012

1hr 35mins in the company of a looney

By the last quarter of this turgid, unremitting virtual-monologue, Iwas in fear of losing my own marbles -- Joyce having clearly lost herslong ago. Pointing a camera at someone and letting them damn themselveswith their own deluded waffle is not my idea of effective film making.Completely lacking in visual impact, this "film" might as well havebeen done on radio.The supporting cast of tabloid creeps interviewed herein are enough tomake one's skin crawl. Exploiting a crazy lady is neither funny norclever so quite why the guy from The Daily Mirror appeared to be soproud of his machinations is beyond me.I'd hoped for some deeper insight. I didn't get any. Only denial andmadness. On this showing the woman needed to be sectioned. Too late nowthough. Far too late.

James Berardinelli

02 May 2012

The viewer is left with no clear indication of what really happened, but with a vibrant portrait of a compelling character. That's what Morris is after.

Edward Douglas

30 April 2012

A far more light-hearted approach than some of Morris' other recent work but just as layered and thorough in terms of getting to the heart of a story and leaving you thinking afterwards.

Anton Bitel

30 April 2012

Morris traces this perfect tabloid tale in all its hilarious, sad and bizarre particulars... while suggesting that the truth is both hostage to media interests and hidden in a Fog of Love.

Chris Bumbray

21 April 2012

Errol Morris is one of the true masters of the documentary form.

Robin Clifford

21 April 2012

What is real and what is fiction, in this reality show that preceded all others by over 20 years, is a matter of conjecture.