Tabloid

When was the last time you watched a movie and the story — not the acting, not the special effects, not the usual bells and whistles Hollywood uses to fill the gaping void of their stories — but the actual story made your jaw drop in astonishment? If you can’t remember when, or worse can’t remember it ever happening, the prepare to be astonished. Directed by Errol Morris, Tabloid is a documentary about a former beauty queen who rescues her fiancé from a dangerous religious cult. It’s also the story of a Mormon missionary who is kidnapped by a deranged woman and forced into being her sex slave. It’s the story of a virginal girl who gave up everything in her life for her one true love. It’s also the story of a prostitute who specialized in playing bondage and discipline games with any man who could afford her price. And just when you think you have a handle on what the story is all about, it quickly turns into the tale of a determined (or is that demented?) dog owner who pays a South Korean scientist a lot of money to clone her dog.