Loved Tiger King? Watch Johnny Knoxville’s Insane Documentary
So you, like the rest of America, watched all 7 episodes of Netflix's Tiger King. You likely watched the follow-up "episode" with Joel McHale. But now you're feeling empty. Nothing has quite captured your imagination and horror like the Odyssey of Joe Exotic.
Tigers are fantastic, but I don't think that's what made the show so special. No, it was the people. The gun-toting, messier than melted ice cream on top of spaghetti, toothless, Southern hospitality of Florida and Oklahoma's finest specimens are what put the hook in your cheek. Take out the wild animals and you still have a show worth watching just for the looming disaster of poorly-made decisions made by people who live like it's their last day and nobody's watching.
Well, I have a recommendation that will scratch your morbid itch.
Johnny Knoxville, known for putting his body through unspeakable pain and idiocy for your pleasure, doesn't get enough credit for his skills as a filmmaker. Knoxville produced a show about a legendary family in West Virginia. They're like the modern-day Hatfields and McCoys. A group of people so far removed from culture and society, they still operate like it's the wild west. Trade in the horses and wagons for beat-up minivans and lifted trucks, and you have The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. Oh, and one of the ladies in the family is named Sue Bob. What more needs to be said?
Knoxville produced this documentary that followed the White family for a year. What the filmmakers got was some of the rawest footage you could imagine. You thought Tiger King had some unbelievable twists? They didn't have a couple renew their vows in the pharmaceutical aisle of their local grocery store. Why the pharmaceutical aisle? They needed pills, duh. They were getting a divorce because the husband had gotten his girlfriend pregnant while the wife was in prison. She was set on murdering him and they decided to stay together. The only "normal" family member is the son who carries on his father's tap-dancing legacy. But he's not sure exactly which brain cell he's killed from years of sniffing paint thinner.
The Whites' family tree is long and extensive. It's also been marred by so many tragedies, you may believe they're cursed. Oh, and Hank Williams III is really good friends with these folks. They're so beloved in West Virginia, the whole county knows who they are.
To put it gently, if you gave these people tigers, you will have spelled the beginning of armageddon. Stream it now for free on Amazon Prime Video!