It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

"Tabloid" is a very well done, entertaining documentary by Earl Morris, who profiles Joyce McKinney, a woman accused of kidnapping a Mormon, Kirk Anderson. Yes, you read that right. I've got another one for you. She also had her dog cloned in Korea.Joyce McKinney's story in the late '70s was the talk of the UK. She was on television, the cover of magazines, and the queen of the tabloids. Her side of it is that she, a Miss Wyoming, fell in love with Mormon student Anderson whom she planned to marry. One day, he disappeared, and Joyce worked three jobs in order to hire a private detective. Must have been some jobs (and, as we learned later, they were) because the detective found her beloved in England, so Joyce hired a pilot, two bodyguards, and brought a friend along, and headed for England.The rest is a little murky. She did find Anderson and according to her, kidnapped him from what she discerned was a cult, and the two spent some idyllic time in a cottage. I'll leave it to you to decide if it was by mutual consent.This story has to be experienced to be believed. I don't want to give too much away, but there are lots of surprises in store for the viewer of this DVD. Enjoy it.

Back in 1977 the British press had great fun with a story concerning Joyce McKinney. A former Miss Wyoming, Miss McKinney pursued her boyfriend to the UK, kidnapped him, and proceeded to try to de-programme him for the Mormon Church by way of chaining him to a bed and inflicting a week of sex on him. He turned out to take exception to this, and Miss McKinney went to court.This film revisits the story, principally by way of giving over centre stage to Miss McKinney to tell her story, interposed with contributions from other participants (though not the victim, who declined to participate), contemporary clips and images etc. Miss McKinney is an engaging and intelligent speaker, though effusive to the point of verbal incontinence. She gives every impression of believing every word of her incredible narrative.I found her story much more difficult to credit, however, and when I use the word "incredible" I use it in its literal sense - "not believable." Every viewer is, of course, going to form their own conclusion, but I am inclined towards the newspaper man who regards her as barking mad - at the very least, she seems unable to recognise the contradictions inherent in her own story.This unusual documentary is entertaining though somewhat worrying, and with an underlying sadness to it.

It's thoroughly enjoyable, it's funny, it induces gasps and a couple of burst-out-loud guffaws, it's mildly shocking (or may induce apoplexy if one lives in puritanical solitude), it's definitely eye-opening and undeniably enthralling, but the overall madness of the subject is tinted with sadness and a little horror of the human, rather than the Richard Laymon fantasy, variety.So what is it about? It's a story of love, kidnapping, sex, dogs, fake guns and Mormons through the eyes of the tabloids and the players involved, the principal player being Joyce McKinney, a woman who enjoys her own brand of reality.In 1977, Mckinney hit the British headlines when she allegedly kidnapped a Mormon priest in England, chained him to a bed in a Cornish cottage and raped him repeatedly over the next three days. Her story is rather different and involves liberating her brainwashed fiancée from the clutches of the evil Mormons and helping him through his guilt with cinnamon backrubs and passionate lovemaking. There's sufficient ambiguity to suggest that neither story is entirely true but after about thirty minutes, I knew what I hoped the truth was.And then came The Daily Mirror's 'revelations' about McKinney's history… Oscar winning director, Errol Morris, delivers a documentary filled with bizarre revelations, a quagmire of lies and half-truths and a sprinkling of harsh realities to amuse and bemuse. As the story unfolds he stitches scenes together with crudely animated montages using photos and news clippings to emphasize the ludicrous nature of the saga. And just when you think you've got a handle on it, up pops another nugget of lunacy.Tabloid digs deep to expose a corner of the mesmerising world inhabited by a woman described by contributor Peter Tory as "barking mad." Go on, you know you want to.For more reviews, subscribe to my blog: www.thesquiss.co.uk

By the last quarter of this turgid, unremitting virtual-monologue, I was in fear of losing my own marbles -- Joyce having clearly lost hers long ago. Pointing a camera at someone and letting them damn themselves with their own deluded waffle is not my idea of effective film making. Completely lacking in visual impact, this "film" might as well have been done on radio.The supporting cast of tabloid creeps interviewed herein are enough to make one's skin crawl. Exploiting a crazy lady is neither funny nor clever so quite why the guy from The Daily Mirror appeared to be so proud of his machinations is beyond me.I'd hoped for some deeper insight. I didn't get any. Only denial and madness. On this showing the woman needed to be sectioned. Too late now though. Far too late.