At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of us watched the, "Tiger King," documentary made by Eric Goode. It featured a variety of wild folks with none more strange than Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage AKA Joe Exotic, the titular Tiger King. We've now got a four-party documentary on domestic ownership of chimpanzees titled, "Chimp Crazy," and it is engrossing and at times somewhat tabloidy viewing just as Goode's previous work was.
The reason, "Tiger King," caught everyone's attention was because of how bizarre and interesting the, "Cast," was. "Chimp Crazy," isn't quite as loaded with characters but if you had to pick a, "Face," for it you would need to use Tonia Haddix. Many people interviewed discuss their love of chimps and why they adore them despite how dangerous they can become when older, but Tonia is obsessed. At one point it is discussed by the production crew how in some ways this documentary is a love story about Tonia and chimps--particularly one named Tonka. That's quite accurate, but it also should be pointed out that sometimes love stories have tragic endings.
Besides Tonia, several incidents where people had pet chimps and it ended badly are discussed in, "Chimp Crazy." When they're young chimps are relatively easy to handle as if they were young children, but after they turn five or six they get bigger, stronger, and don't always follow directions. These are highly intelligent--but still wild--animals. Much of, "Chimp Crazy," follows Tonia Haddix as she tries to figure out how to keep a chimp named Tonka, "Safe," from the efforts of PETA to get him put in a sanctuary.
The docuseries takes multiple bizarre twists thanks to Tonia and her numerous questionable choices. Without Tonia, we would have an interesting documentary about the dangers of private chimpanzee ownership. that said, with Tonia, we get a wild ride of a series that keeps you glued to your seat. "Chimp Crazy," raises a lot of questions about chimpanzee ownership that still haven't been answered (there are still no Federal laws regarding chimp ownership, just certain states). If you were into, "Tiger King," however, then you should find that, "Chimp Crazy," scratches a similar itch. All four episodes have aired on HBO and it can now be streamed/binged on MAX. Give it a viewing!
5 out of 5 Stars.
