With Tickled (Magnolia), gay New Zealand pop culture reporter turned filmmaker David Farrier (along with co-director Dylan Reeve) has created a doc reminiscent of 2010's Catfish in the way that it brings to light how the internet can be a place of pleasure and pain, and how imaginary identities are created as easily are actual identities are destroyed.
Farrier, who has "made a career out of looking at the weird and bizarre side of life," became intrigued with a website featuring "Competitive Endurance Tickling," in which 18-25 year old athletes are recruited for large sums of money to be in videos in which they tickle each other. After inquiring about coverage, Farrier is shocked and dismayed by the homophobic reply he received from the company, Jane O'Brien Media. The response is all the more strange response since the sport itself seemed "gay"
Following an onslaught of negative and insulting email correspondence, Farrier digs into the mysterious company and the woman for which it is named. As the tickling wormhole deepens, he decides to make a doc on the subject. Of course he's met with resistance, alerted that legal action will be taken against him if he doesn't cease.
For a doc on a subject that inspires laughter (both in participants and viewers), there aren't many laughs to be found. Hostility, humiliation and hate-filled interactions become a daily ritual for Farrier. Undeterred, he conducts interviews with former participants (including TJ, who was also relentlessly hassled by Jane O'Brien's staff and lawyers), journalists Hal Karp and Deborah Scoblionkov, casting recruiters Dave Starr and Jason Schillaci, and myfriendsfeet.com founder Richard Ivey.
Multiple mysteries begin to unfold and Farrier tackles them with determination. When he finally comes face-to-face with David D'Amato, the mysterious bully behind the tickling fetish world's heavy curtain, it's one of the film's most heart-stopping moments. D'Amato, whose own stepmother hasn't had anything to do with him in years, is one of the scariest figures on film, all the more so because he's real and has really deep pockets.
Ultimately, Farrier realizes that the story is not about tickling, but about "power, control and harassment." If tickling is your fetish, and you don't want to have your bubble burst, you might want to skip this one. Otherwise, prepare for an eye-opening experience.