Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
When we talk about streaming culture, we’re usually enthusing about what’s new, but one of the best things about streaming is how it’s made old and obscure cult hits available to a new generation. Presenting Cult Corner: your weekly look into hidden gems and long-lost curiosities that you can find on streaming.
The best way I can discuss the mounting insanity that is Tickled is through my personal experience with the movie. I first agreed to go to a screening because a documentary about tickling is the sort of bizarre, real-world oddity I live for. How can there possibly be a 90 minute film about competitive endurance tickling? That’s the question I needed answered. Tickled did not sate my curiosity; it increased it. By minute 15, I was audibly reacting to the whirlwind of lies, deception, and oddly sexual undertones that is Tickled’s driving narrative, and I loved every minute of this odd journey.
Tickled works so well is because it allows the viewer to re-enact David Farrier’s increasingly odd investigation. Farrier, a New Zealand entertainment journalist, starts off the documentary by explaining he wanted to do light entertainment piece on the world of competitive tickling. There are a surprising amount of online videos that feature mostly clothed young men getting tickled. That is and of itself is just south of normal — the perfect subject for an entertainment writer. You see these sorts of bloggy, slightly silly stories all the time, from Gizmodo’s investigation into the world of Sims teenage pregnancy to the internet’s fascination with that “incestual” Folgers Coffee ad. It’s a weird thing that’s interesting primarily because it’s weird. However, Farrier’s polite request to interview a member of this competitive tickling ring is met with scathing hostility, homophobia, and direct attacks against Farrier himself. That’s the odd note Tickled starts on, and it doesn’t let up from there. In his pursuit of this increasingly disturbing story, Farrier was met with slammed doors, harassing lawyers, and an increasingly insane-sounding conspiracy theory that quickly became reality. Tickled combines the sinister intrigue of Chinatown with the silliness of tickling. It’s a combination that makes for a strangely addicting watch.
Tickled combines the sinister intrigue of Chinatown with the silliness of tickling.
Through the film’s investigation, Farrier and Dylan Reeve slowly begin to pull back the layers of this crazytown subject, finding trails of deceptive Craigslist ads, footage that was leaked for revenge, fake media companies and law agencies, and one wealthy, powerful, and secretive figure at the top of all this craziness — David D’Amato. It’s a story that would feel too ridiculous for one of 30 Rock’s background shows, but it’s all real. This is a real story that has really happened in our real world. I can’t decide exactly how disturbing this fact is, but it’s certainly something to think about.
If you remove Tickled’s surprising subject matter and the Scientology-level extremes D’Amato takes to stop this documentary, the film still stands as a great investigative watch. Early on, the documentary abandons joking about its subject matter and those involved, choosing instead to completely focus on the subject’s weird mystery and forbidding silence. Tickled takes great care to paint D’Amato’s victims in a sympathetic light. It helps that Farrier is a naturally funny performer and storyteller, allowing the humor of the film to hinge off of his genuine confusion. Over the course of the documentary’s 90 minutes, Tickled transforms from a silly watch about a silly subject to an in-depth and dark exploration of a real problem.
Let’s all be honest with ourselves for a second: This has been a stressful and confusing year. We’re all exhausted from fighting against the insanity of 2016, figuring out why this year played out like it did. Tickled will give you a break from all that turmoil. For an hour and a half, you can hold Farrier’s hand as he confidently guides you to the center of one of the maddest things you will ever watch. I can think of no better way to end the year.
