“The Bear,” “Only Murders,” and more of this summer’s hottest TV series
USA TODAY TV critic Kelly Lawler lists this summer’s must-see TV shows, including the return of “The Bear” and “Only Murders in the Building.”
No, this is not the new “Tiger King”.
Let’s start here, because HBO’s new documentary series “Chimp Crazy” is being touted as a spiritual sequel to the 2020 Netflix documentary that became a sensation during the pandemic. “Tiger” had twists, big characters and real puzzles to solve. It was deeply compelling. But in many cases, viewers may have also felt, well, disgusting as we watched the feud between animal collector Joe Exotic and conservationist Carole Baskin escalate and ultimately lead to a murder-for-hire charge. Were we complicit in the sensationalism by tuning in? Probably.
“Chimp Crazy” (Sundays, 10 EDT/PDT, ★ out of four) once again asks us to be voyeurs and stare at the owners of other exotic animals, now chimpanzees. Produced and directed by Eric Goode, who also directed “Tiger,” the film focuses on chimp owner Tonia Haddix, another larger-than-life personality. From the marketing world, it is clear that HBO is trying to make “Chimp” another “Tiger”-like phenomenon. The film is just as sensationalist as its predecessor, even though it is being broadcast on a high-profile premium channel like HBO. And this timeit goes too far.
“Chimp” follows Haddix’s story over four episodes, and it’s a deeply sad one. Haddix, a longtime animal lover from Florida, meets some chimpanzees at a chimpanzee ranch in Missouri and becomes obsessed with them. She eventually gives up her life to work in the chimpanzee enclosure. She develops a special bond with Tonka, a former Hollywood ape who starred in several films, including 1997’s “Buddy” with Alan Cumming (the actor and activist is featured prominently).
Haddix considers Tonka her son, but when another employee at the complex contacts the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals with concerns about the chimps’ living conditions, the notoriously litigious organization takes immediate action to have the monkeys removed. This begins a years-long legal battle between Haddix and PETA, in which she is clearly defeated.
Interview with the director: ‘Tiger King’ Director Unveils New ‘Chimp Crazy’ Docuseries That Are Really Crazy
Looking at the overall synopsis of “Chimp,” it seems typical of recent true crime documentaries, which each year are on the hunt for wilder and more outlandish narratives. But this story is not just scary; it is deeply tragic. And it doesn’t really have need to be told, at least not in this way.
Haddix and the other people (almost always women) who play the chimpanzee owners come across as deeply sick, obsessed and possibly delusional. As experts explain, chimpanzees are small and easily handled until about five years old, at which point they become 200-pound wild animals kept in cramped quarters among people who aren’t trained to handle them. They’re all cute monkeys in strollers doing tricks for treats until the animals grow up and maim someone. Goode and the filmmakers seem to delight in telling stories of notorious chimp attacks, revisiting the gruesome 2009 incident in which Connecticut chimp Travis mauled Charla Nash, his owner’s friend.
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The story keeps turning to Haddix, who ends up doing some very bad things (though none of them involve contract killing) in her fight to keep Tonka. The camera’s piercing lens leaves no eccentricity untouched: her lip injections and eyelash extensions, her professed preference for chimpanzees over her own children, her perjury, or the rawness of her emotions. Does she need to be famous?
Haddix’s conflict with PETA has already made local and national headlines, including a Rolling Stone investigation that is particularly scathing. Her actions have consequences, in part because the documentarians feel compelled to report some of the things they observe to PETA. But once “Chimp” premieres, she’ll likely be the subject of ridicule and scorn. The series points out that there are limited regulations to monitor or prevent private ownership of chimpanzees. But is the way to encourage new laws about chimpanzees (which seems to be Goode’s goal) by pointing the finger at vulnerable humans and laughing at them?
It’s telling and ethically highly questionable that Goode couldn’t approach people like Haddix himself, not after “Tiger” brought a once-hidden subculture into the mainstream and turned its subjects into punch lines. Goode explains in the documentary that he hired a “stand-in director” to interact with Haddix and the other subjects. One could argue that he made them reveal their lives for the entertainment of others. Haddix may have been more relaxed on camera than many in her position, but whose camera exactly did she think she was talking to?
It’s hard to classify Chimp as “good” or “bad” when the show is, above all, deeply disturbing and upsetting. Yes, the show has a narrative flow and a pace that will keep you watching an episode of it every week. Yes, it’s fascinating.
But it’s not worth it.
