Tabloid

R

Released Jul 15, 2011

1h 28m

Documentary

List

92%

Tomatometer

121 Reviews

72%

Audience Score

10,000+ Ratings

One of America's top documentary filmmakers, Errol Morris, turns his attention to the outrageous and nearly unbelievable story of Joyce McKinney. She's a former Miss Wyoming beauty queen who gained a great deal of notoriety after being accused of kidnapping a young Mormon missionary, restraining him in chains and raping him in England in 1977. The unbalanced McKinney is interviewed extensively, particularly about her ambition to write a memoir telling her side of the tale.

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Critics Consensus

It's far from his most thought-provoking work, but Tabloid finds Errol Morris as smart, spirited, and engaging as ever.

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William Goss

Film.com

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.

Nov 18, 2011

Full Review

Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

Morris suggests that you can sometimes find profundity in triviality - and though Joyce condemns herself out of her own mouth, it is always possible to feel sorry for a woman whose obsession has so totally ruled her life.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 11, 2011

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Nov 11, 2011

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

While the film contains elements that prove sleazy, at times incredibly funny, but also carry an unquestionable sadness, Morris' camera remains trained on his interview subjects, and he does not judge.

Rated: 4/4

Apr 4, 2022

Full Review

Graeme Tuckett

Stuff.co.nz

Lays out one of the most bizarre, compelling and jaw-dropping true crime stories you will ever run into.

Mar 22, 2021

Full Review

Dustin Chang

Floating World

In the age of Newscorp scandal and sensationalized murder trials, Joyce McKinney story seems fun and innocent. Morris is on top of his game and has never been any more entertaining than this.

Mar 21, 2021

Full Review

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Shael

Actions have consequences and what the media writes about your actions have further consequences, that's the way it snowballs with this disaster, sad that our antagonist does not join the dots, perhaps too caught up about her own fantasy of herself.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/26/23

Full Review

David F

A very nice documentary that fits into the true crime slot, the tabloid sensation recollected in tranquility slot, or just the weird and wild confessional slot. This is an unbelievable story about a beauty queen trying to rescue her lover from the Mormon church and achieving tabloid immortality in the process. A riveting story.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/25/23

Full Review

jorge g

Not the best documentary Mr. Morris has ever created, as frankly the topic of the film is quite limiting in itself. Despite this, the story is fully explored and presented in a way that makes the film quite entertaining, albeit it could never really be super interesting. In the end, it's just talking heads that tell a story about a ultra eccentric, self-centered, obsessive, half-mad former beauty queen.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Rich S

In Joyce McKinney's own words about her love interest, Kirk, she says "You know, you can tell a lie long enough until you believe it." Pot, meet kettle. By the end of this journey through her endeavors to capture the man of her dreams, I think the audience will be left between two signposts that read: "Who cares?" and "WTF??" As we have learned, there's a third signpost not too far up ahead and that one is "The Twilight Zone."

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/30/20

Full Review

joe m

"Tabloid" is a fascinating documentary in the way it reveals how a person can create their own mythos, no matter how off-the-wall their obsession may be. I won't go in to details since the filmmaker does a great job un-peeling the layers that are Joyce McKinney.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Watching Tabloid is almost as good as getting drunk while watching Intervention. I would recommend this to any woman who feels like an outcast or just plain mentally imbalanced at times, because this lady is so bat shoot bananas that it's made me feel well adjusted in a way that years of therapy could never have accomplish. I put Tabloid on because I was doing a paint-by-number & I needed something dumb to listen to. My paint by numbers are rather awesome, btw, but this train wreck eventually pulled me away. A good watch while making dinner, if that's something you're into.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

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Errol Morris

Director

Joyce McKinney

Self

Troy Williams

Self

Peter Tory

Self

Kent Gavin

Self

Jackson Shaw

Self

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Synopsis

One of America's top documentary filmmakers, Errol Morris, turns his attention to the outrageous and nearly unbelievable story of Joyce McKinney. She's a former Miss Wyoming beauty queen who gained a great deal of notoriety after being accused of kidnapping a young Mormon missionary, restraining him in chains and raping him in England in 1977. The unbalanced McKinney is interviewed extensively, particularly about her ambition to write a memoir telling her side of the tale.

Director: Errol Morris
Producer: Robert Fernandez
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Huber Bros. Productions
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Nudity)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 15, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $640.5K
Runtime: 1h 28m

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