Tabloid

This documentary from Errol Morris tells the story of a former Miss Wyoming (Joyce McKinney) who was accused of abducting, and raping, a Mormon missionary in England back in the late 1970's, and then being constantly hounded by the press with allegations of actually being a high class prostitute. Eventually she jumped bail and eventually the case went away, with McKinney resurfacing a few years ago having cloned her deceased bull dog. Most of the film is devoted to Mckinney telling her story, and while she may not be guilty of everything's she's accused of, she is clearly nuts (and incredibly narcissistic). The film works hard to try and imply that being constantly hounded by the press may have driven her there, but its pretty obvious that even before the case happened she had issues.

The film is a little more interesting as a reflection of how the media consumes a sensational story, but it doesn't cover anything that new. Don't get me wrong, this is a well made documentary (though Morris does go a little crazy with the wacky animations over the voiceovers) but the story ultimately doesn't feel like it justifies feature treatment. Maybe a slot on the history channel, but not much more.