Exotic pets: A Hollywood ape is resurrected in ‘Chimp Crazy’
BY SARAH PASSINGHAM
In March 2020, a captive global audience of Netflix subscribers was introduced to Joe Exotic and his rival Carole Baskin thraough the seven-episode docuseries “Tiger King,” detailing the life of eccentric zookeeper Joseph Allen Maldonado. Now, the director and executive producer of that series, Eric Goode, has turned his lens to yet another case of animal exploitation in America with “Chimp Crazy,” a four-part documentary series premiering Sunday, Aug. 18, on HBO and the Max streaming service.
“Chimp Crazy” follows Tonia Haddix, a Missouri-based exotic animal broker who calls herself the “Dolly Parton of chimps,” as she became the subject of news headlines when her ability to care for animals in captivity was called into question.
As described by HBO, the story is “at turns hilarious and tragic, while unfolding with the pace and suspense of a thriller.
“’Chimp Crazy’ explores the captivating, often unfathomable, and secretive world of raising chimpanzees and also examines the colorful and complicated cast of characters that inhabit it,” the synopsis continues.
In an official trailer for the series, Haddix speaks to the camera in an almost surreal-looking, monochromatic baby pink children’s room between two bunk beds with matching stuffed bears seated on them.
“Tonka loved me as much as I loved Tonka.” Tonka being
her favorite “kid,” as she calls the chimpanzees in her care. She had a special connection to the 32-year-old retired Hollywood chimp who can be seen in two 1997 feature films: “George of the Jungle” and “Buddy.”
Haddix’s misplaced enthusiasm for exotic animals twisted into serious criminal behavior when her home conditions were declared unfit for keeping chimps in captivity. A desperate desire to keep Tonka no matter the personal cost resulted in more legal battles.
“Chimp Crazy” details not just Haddix’s case of animal endangerment but similar past events in the United States that have proved how damaging exotic pet ownership in general, and keeping chimpanzees in inadequate home enclosures specifically, can be.
In June 2021, seven chimpanzees in Haddix’s care were ordered by a judge to be removed from her home and sent to the Center for Great Apes, a sanctuary several states away in Florida. However, shortly after the ruling, Haddix claimed that Tonka had died of heart failure the previous month. The six other chimps made themselves at home in the Sunshine State, but the animal rights organization PETA wasn’t buying Haddix’s claim about Tonka.
In truth, Tonka was healthy, alive and hidden. Haddix had stolen Tonka away to a friend’s house for months while the
other chimps were seized, coming back for him once the coast was clear. She kept him in her basement, where he interacted with Haddix and some of her trusted friends but was mostly entertained by screens in his brightly colored indoor enclosure.
PETA worked through the legal system to try to prove its case that Tonka was well but unaccounted for and even put up a cash reward for information about the chimp, making a public statement with Tonka’s “Buddy” co-star Alan Cumming, who personally doubled the reward. The cash was never claimed, but PETA’s suspicions were confirmed with a tip that led to the discovery of Tonka in Haddix’s home in July 2022.
Like Goode’s last documentary subject, Haddix possesses some self-awareness regarding her unusual and all-encompassing hobby, telling Rolling Stone in a feature following Tonka’s relocation that, “Anybody that has an exotic has to have some kind of screw loose.”
Goode is an invested storyteller whose film and TV projects, though sensational to an extreme, highlight the necessary work of conservationists. A founder of the Turtle Conservancy, an organization dedicated to protecting turtles and their habitats all over the world, Goode has a clear interest in exposing abusive exotic animal ownership.
Horoscopes
The luckiest signs this week:
ARIES, TAURUS AND GEMINI
ARIES
If you closely examine your budget, you’ll discover you can turn your dreams into reality. The funds you need to achieve one of your greatest dreams will be within your reach.
TAURUS Although your responsibilities may seem overwhelming, your steady progress will give you confidence in your abilities. From now on, nothing will be able to stop you. You’ll have the courage to act.
GEMINI
Sometimes, you must take a step back to gain clarity. At work, achieving your ambitious aspirations will require incremental progress.
CANCER
Although you’re barely back from your summer holidays, you’ll already start planning the next one with your friends. You’ll organize a large meeting at work, bringing together the entire company.
LEO You desire intellectual and spiritual growth. You may be contemplating a career change or taking an enriching personal journey. Don’t be afraid of change! It’s good for you.
VIRGO
You must take some time to reflect before making an important decision about your personal or professional future. Negotiations are necessary. You must weigh the pros and cons before finalizing anything.
LIBRA
Compromise isn’t always possible, especially when there are conflicting opinions. You’ll need to use your imagination to keep the peace with those around you and resolve conflicts.
SCORPIO
A few small wins will help restore your self-confidence, giving you the boost you need to move forward with a project near and dear to your heart.
SAGITTARIUS
Creating a functional home office will be a top priority this week. After careful planning, your leadership skills will emerge, allowing you to start your own business.
CAPRICORN
Love will take a prominent place in your thoughts this week. Subtle gestures, small tokens of appreciation and words of love will help you deepen your feelings for your partner.
AQUARIUS
The idea of selling or buying a property will cross your mind. You could find more affordable housing to improve your family’s quality of life and get your hands on a large sum of money.
PISCES
Some individuals may repeatedly request your assistance, requiring you to travel frequently. This could allow you to treat yourself and even consider buying a new car.
New Streaming Movies & Shows
“The White Princess” (Aug. 20) Available via BritBox, this miniseries, adapted from Philippa Gregory’s best-selling novel and part of The Cousins’ War book series, sees England ostensibly united by the marriage of Elizabeth of York (Jodie Comer) and King Henry VII (Jacob Collins-Levy). But, their personal and political rift runs deep and the war that rages between them threatens to tear the kingdom apart once again.
Word Search
“The Supremes at Earl’s All-YouCan-Eat” (Aug. 23)
This film follows lifelong best friends Odette (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), Barbara Jean (Sanaa Lathan), and Clarice (Uzo Aduba), known as “The Supremes,” who share the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood from decades of weathering life’s storms. Through the joys and sorrows of life, marriage and children, happiness and blues, love and loss, new shades of heartbreak and illness threaten to stir up the past when the trio sees their bond put to the test as they face their most challenging times yet.
Where all the top choices can be found in one place!
“Langston Kerman: Bad Poetry” (Aug. 20)
Comedian Langston Kerman talks parenting a top-tier baby, teaching mean teens and managing his mother-in-law’s dating apps in this hilarious special.
“OceanXplorers” (Aug. 19)
National Geographic presents this six-part underwater discovery series from director James Cameron. It takes audiences aboard an advanced scientific research vessel, OceanXplorer, to investigate the farthest frontiers of the world’s oceans, 80% of which are entirely unexplored. Combining a high-end, science-driven documentary with breathtaking sequences to capture the drama and thrill of exploration, the series is a high-stakes adventure.
BY JAY BOBBIN
Q: I understand that one of Jamie Lee Curtis’s first jobs was on a TV series called “Operation Petticoat.” Was that based on the movie of the same name that her father Tony starred in?
A: It was. She was a regular cast member in the first season of the show, which aired in 1977 and 1978 on ABC, and she played one of the Army nurses rescued by a submarine crew in the South Pacific during World War II … and the women then stayed on board, giving the sitcom its premise.
That was very much the same plot as the 1959 film, directed by Blake Edwards, that starred Tony Curtis and Cary Grant (the latter also a producer of the picture through his own company). In the TV version, John Astin assumed the role of the ship’s commander, first played by Grant, with Richard Gilliland in Curtis’s earlier part. It’s interesting to note that one of the movie’s supporting players was Gavin MacLeod, who would become a “skipper” himself years later as Captain Merrill Stubing on the popular series “The Love Boat.”
Tom Cruise faces danger at ‘The Firm’
BY JAY BOBBIN
Novelist John Grisham’s law thrillers have been rich resources for moviemakers, and “The Firm” is one of the most entertaining results to date.
The 1993 drama – which MGM+ Marquee presents Friday, Aug. 23 – runs a bit shy of three hours, but it’s to the credit of veteran director Sydney Pollack and his team that its pace rarely if ever flags, and it remains thoroughly watchable throughout. While Tom Cruise is the nominal star, he gets strong support from a top-notch cast, with some members getting roles that rank among their best.
Cruise plays earnest Mitch McDeere, the newest recruit to a Memphis firm that entices him with all sorts of perks, including a salary that stuns his schoolteacher wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Soon after they relocate from Boston, the firm is hit with a tragedy involving two of its lawyers, launching McDeere’s suspicions that all is not right.
That hunch is advanced by an insistent FBI agent (Ed Harris) who intends to use McDeere as an informant, though the firm’s security chief (Wilford Brimley) is just as determined not to let the Feds get any such information from the newbie. A private detective (Gary Busey) and his secretary (Holly Hunter, who was an Oscar nominee for best supporting actress here, and won the best actress honor for “The Piano” the same year) also become involved in the situation.
Also registering very strongly is Gene Hackman as McDeere’s appointed mentor in the firm, the smugly self-assured Avery Tolar, who plays fast and loose with rules ... extending to his clear interest in Abby, something that offends her at first, but ultimately works in her favor when she eventually takes an active role in trying to extricate her husband and herself from the dangerous intrigue that has enveloped them. Put off a bit by Mitch’s wiser-than-his-years knowledge, Tolar says to him about being a supposed protege, “I’ve never had one. You ever been one?”
A standout element of “The Firm” is the acoustic piano score by frequent Pollack collaborator Dave Grusin, which works phenomenally well whatever the mood of a given scene calls for, be it the tender early nature of the McDeeres’ marriage or Mitch’s desperate efforts to evade pursuers. Hal Holbrook, David Straithairn, Steven Hill ( “Law & Order”) and an uncredited Paul Sorvino (who says a lot by saying nothing) are among other notable cast members.
“The Firm” got a do-over of sorts about 20 years later in an NBC series that built upon the original story, with Josh Lucas as McDeere, but Pollack’s movie services the tale just fine — particularly with its long but appropriate running time. It really takes care of its business, and it’s a firm judgment that no viewer is likely to be left wanting at the end.
Best TV POLITICIANS MOVIES
BY JAY BOBBIN
Congressman Thomas Bell (William Katt, “Top of the Hill,” CBS, 1989): Taking over his ill father’s seat in Washington, D.C., Bell was an idealist who often ran up against those much more skilled at the political game.
President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen, “The West Wing,” NBC, 1999-2006): Originally designed to stay in the background of the series, Bartlet was the ideal of what many want a president to be.
President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell, “Battlestar Galactica,” Syfy, 2004-09): Even the future will have a president, as indicated by this leader who dealt with illness while handling political concerns of the galaxy.
President Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis, “Commander in Chief,” ABC, 2005-06): Not alluding to other characters who had filled the slot before, Allen was the first female president in this drama.
Governor Peter Florrick (Chris Noth, “The Good Wife,” CBS, 2009-16): More than for his political moves, this State’s Attorney turned later governor had more notoriety for the personal actions that saw him sent to prison for a scandal that involved prostitution … and all but eradicated the trust of his attorney wife Alicia (Julianna Margulies), who eventually entered politics herself.
Vice President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep,” HBO, 2012-19): This “veep” always says what many other politicians likely only think, which makes her consistently engaging and amusing.
President Fitzgerald Grant III (Tony Goldwyn, “Scandal,” ABC, 2012-18): Even if his decisions in the Oval Office were questionable sometimes, this chief executive certainly was good for drama, primarily through his involvement with crisis manager Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington).
Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord (Téa Leoni, “Madam Secretary,” CBS, 2014-19): There’s something quite appealing about a political power who admits that he or she doesn’t have all the answers - while putting up a necessary front that suggests he or she does - and this relative novice to the field surely had that trait.
President Thomas Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland, “Designated Survivor,” ABC/Netflix, 201619): When a disaster killed other senior Cabinet members, this former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development quickly found himself on a much bigger playing field – and had to grow into the presidency rapidly.
Sunja’s saga: ‘Pachinko’ returns for Season 2
BY SARAH PASSINGHAM
Pachinko is a game of chance. Commonly played in cacophonous, neon halls that hum with the farrago of machine clangor and player anticipation, pachinko is a popular Japanese pastime whose closest American counterpart is the slot machine. First created (in its recognized form) in the 1920s, pachinko culture in Japan all but shut down during World War II, only to reemerge with gusto in the late 1940s as the country rebuilt and immigrants from nearby countries, such as 1950s’ war-torn Korea, arrived in droves and began to play.
Named for this iconic game, “Pachinko” begins its second season Friday, Aug. 23, on Apple TV+.
A sweeping epic that begins in 1915, “Pachinko” is based on the 2017 National Book Award finalist of the same name by Korean American author Min Jin Lee. It follows leading lady Kim Sunja and her family as she ages and seeks out a better life amid the chaos and confusion of a world dominated by war, loss and prejudice. Despite the wide scale of the story, Apple promotes the series as being “intimate in tone” and describes it as “a sweeping saga that journeys between Korea, Japan and America to tell an unforgettable story of war and peace, love and loss, triumph and reckoning.”
In the Apple TV+ series, created by Soo Hugh
View from the Couch
“CAN’T HARDLY WAIT”
A high-school graduation party provides the backdrop for this iconic 1998 teen comedy, now making its 4K Ultra HD debut. The subplots are as diverse as the characters that fuel them, a main one revolving around a popular student (played by Jennifer Love Hewitt) grappling with her identity after her athlete boyfriend (Peter Facinelli) breaks up with her. She finds a letter written to her by a mystery admirer, then makes it her mission to locate the author. Meanwhile, the jock is targeted by a nerd (Charlie Korsmo) who has been tormented by him pretty constantly. For two
An orangutan’s odyssey: New documentary follows a multigenerational family of primates
(“The Whispers”), Sunja is played by three separate actresses — Yu-Na (“Good Partner”) in childhood, Minha Kim (“Investigation Partners”) as a teen-turned-young adult and by Academy Award-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung (“Minari,” 2020) in elder adulthood. The latter two actresses are both confirmed as returning for the non-linear series’ second season.
Since the series spans 80 years of Sunja’s life, it is hard to say whether Season 2 of the series will begin exactly where the first season ended. Rather, according to the official Apple description of the season, “the parallel stories pick up in Osaka in 1945, where Sunja is forced to make dangerous decisions for her family’s survival during World War II, and in Tokyo in 1989, which finds Solomon exploring new, humble beginnings.”
Based on this description, however, we know that Sunja’s grandson, Solomon, played by “Love Life” actor Jin Ha, will return for another installment. Joining him are Lee Min-ho (“Boys Over Flowers”) as Hansu, Anna Sawai (“Shogun”) as Naomi, Eunchae Jung (“Return”) as Kyunghee, Soji Arai (“The Ramen Girl,” 2008) as Mozasu and Han Joon-Woo (“Sense8”) as Yoseb. Kim Sungkyu (“Kingdom”) also joins the cast as Changho, a character from the novel who has yet to appear on screen.
The generational drama, which is told in Korean, Japanese and English (with subtitles), was released to high acclaim from critics and audiences alike. To boot, “Pachinko” won the 2023 Peabody Award for Entertainment and was nominated for both a Primetime Emmy and a BAFTA in its first season, among other honors.
At the end of the day, creator Hugh is delighted to be back for what she hopes is the second of four seasons in total, although further renewals remain unconfirmed at this time.
“This show is fiction ... but it’s built on the backs of people like these incredible women who lived,” Hugh explained to IndieWire following the Season 1 release, going on to explain the intricacies of working with a near-century-long plot.
“There’s just so much story to tell,” Hugh noted, somewhat bemused. “I think about Sunja and where we left her. And ... Kyunghee just has this amazing story in Season 2.”
BY JAY BOBBIN
other partygoers (Lauren Ambrose, Seth Green), being locked in a bathroom together proves quite revelatory. Etham Embry, Jason Segel, Clea DuVall, Jamie Pressly, Donald Faison and Selma Blair also are in the large and energetic ensemble cast. *** (PG-13: AS, P, V) (Also on DVD and Blu-ray)
“THE CHINA SYNDROME”
Director and co-writer James Bridges’s 1979 melodrama gets a relaunch on Blu-ray, teaming several Hollywood icons that proved to be even more timely than its makers expected, since it was released in the proximity of the Three Mile Island nuclear-plant crisis. Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas, the latter also the film’s producer, play members of a television-news crew who are doing a feature story on such a plant when an “accident” occurs there. After their bootleg footage of the incident is confiscated, one of the plant’s managers (Jack Lemmon) weighs his conscience and debates going rogue to warn the public of the potential danger. Wilford Brimley, Scott Brady, Peter Donat, Richard Herd and James Hampton also are in the excellent cast of the story that also gives insight into the news business and what some journalists face in trying to get certain reports on the air. **** (Also on DVD)
“RED EYE” Rachel McAdams has done a lot
BY CAROLINE COLLACUTT
Directed by Huw Cordey (“A Perfect Planet”) and narrated by legendary biologist, natural historian and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough (“Planet Earth”), the enthralling new docuseries “Secret Lives of Orangutans” welcomes viewers into the world of our primate relatives when it premieres Thursday, Aug. 22, on Netflix.
“Orangutans are not just one of our closest relatives, they’re perhaps more relatable to us than any other great ape,” Netflix describes. “Narrated by David Attenborough, this film follows a remarkable group of orangutans in the pristine jungles of Sumatra. At the center of this story is [eight-year-old] Eden, who’s about to embark on the most challenging moment of her life.”
From Silverback Films, “Secret Lives of Orangutans” compiles two years of footage gathered by teams that followed a family of orangutans living in the rainforests of western Indonesia — one of the few places the primates can still be found living freely in the wild.
These intelligent creatures — who share 97% of their genomes with human beings, coming in third behind chimpanzees and bonobos, who share 99% of their DNA with
of lighter fare, but she’s terrific in the suspense vein in iconic horror director Wes Craven’s 2005 thriller, making its 4K Ultra HD debut and set largely aboard an airborne plane. She plays a hotel manager who becomes the hostage of a fellow passenger (“Oppenheimer” Oscar winner Cillian Murphy), a terrorist who intends to use her job privileges to stage the assassination of a government official (Jack Scalia). The villain threatens to kill her father (“Succession’s” Brian Cox) if she doesn’t cooperate. Jayma Mays (“Glee”) also appears in the picture, which is notable for how much plot it packs into a relatively short running time … 85 minutes. *** (PG-13: AS, P, V) (Also on DVD and Blu-ray)
“PRIME CUT”
Making its premiere in the 4K Ultra HD format, director Michael Ritchie’s rugged 1972 drama pits Lee Marvin against Gene Hackman, with the former playing a troubleshooter hired to collect a debt from a Kansas City slaughterhouse operator (Hackman) who also oversees a white-slavery ring. In one of her earliest movie roles, Sissy Spacek plays a young woman caught up in the villain’s plans, appealing to Marvin’s character to help free her. This was very gritty material for a major-studio movie at the time, and though its box-office
returns were modest then, the film has gained a cult status since. Angel Tompkins and Gregory Walcott also are in the cast. *** (R: AS. N, P, V) (Also on DVD and Blu-ray)
“HALLMARK 3-MOVIE COLLECTION”
Hallmark Channel got on a Jane Austen-inspired kick earlier this year, and one of the films that resulted from that – “An American in Austen” – is included in this set.
Eliza Bennett plays a contemporary woman who has high regard for the Mr. Darcy character in author Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice,” and she suddenly finds herself magically transported into that tale to discover whether her idol (portrayed by Nicholas Bishop) is all she thinks he is. Also offered here:
“Rip in Time,” with “Chicago Med” alum Torrey DeVitto as a farmer who meets a man (Niall Matter) claiming to be from the 18th century; and “Love Strikes Twice,” yet another time-travel story with Katie Findlay as a maritally troubled lawyer who gets a chance for a personal do-over during a trip to celebrate her parents’ 40th anniversary. *** (Not rated AS)
“FROGS”
An interesting human cast works opposite the title creatures in this Florida-filmed, American International-produced 1972 horror tale
humans — are known to follow routines that may be familiar to you and me, as they build comfortable nests to live in, use tools to complete tasks and even learn their most important skills from their mothers as young — one of the many reasons why infant survival is higher among orangutans than most other apes (according to Attenborough, in a trailer shared for the documentary).
This is where we join Eden and Ellie, two orangutans we first met in 2019’s “Our Planet.” As Eden embarks on an exciting journey of her own, her mother, Ellie, has her hands full with newborn Emen, the family’s latest addition, who will need her care and supervision for years to come. The documentary follows this multigenerational family as its members scale through the jungle, facing the trials and tribulations that come with a dwindling population.
Viewers will also be introduced to several new members of the local orangutan community. According to Silverback Films, “We also meet several new characters including Rakus, a Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia who hit global news headlines recently for being the first wild animal to be seen treating a wound with a medicinal herb.”
that has enough of a cult following to get a Blu-ray release now. Sam Elliott plays a photographer who visits a Southern swamp and comes to fear that pesticide use has affected the local animals, which ultimately could impact a wealthy family residing in the area. Ray Milland portrays the patriarch, who’s determined to keep the impending crisis quiet – automatically not a good sign of what’s to come. Later “Knots Landing” regular Joan Van Ark also stars, as do two performers who would be in “Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry” several years afterward, Adam Roarke and Lynn Borden. *** (PG: AS, P, V) (Also on DVD)
Coming Home Soon
“KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES” (AUG. 27)
“PEE-WEE’S PLAYHOUSE: THE COMPLETE SERIES” (4K ULTRA HD) (AUG. 27)
“REAL LIFE” (CRITERION COLLECTION)
