Tickled

It’s safe to assume that most people have never heard of “competitive endurance tickling,” so when David Farrier, a New Zealand-based television reporter and actor, was sent a link to a bizarre video of young men tickling other men for “sport,” it was only natural that it piqued his curiosity. So, he did what any other reporter would have done: He sent a Facebook message to Jane O’Brien Media, the U.S.-based company that produced the aforementioned videos. While his inquiry was routine, the response he received from company representative Debbie Kuhn was anything but. In fact, it was jaw-droppingly hostile. She wrote, “To be brutally frank, association with a homosexual journalist is not something that we will embrace,” and then continued, assuring Farrier that Jane O’Brien Media would pursue legal action should he take his inquiry any further.

So begins the fascinating documentary Tickled, directed by Farrier and Dylan Reeve, the latter largely remaining off-camera. What might have been a tongue-in-cheek examination of a subculture—a fluff piece of the kind on which Farrier’s built his career—quickly becomes a trek down the fetish rabbit hole, the filmmakers uncovering a larger, more nefarious operation. With hidden cameras, ambush interviews and Dateline-esque segments, the film segues into a bona fide thriller as they explore the dark, seamy corners of the internet, hunting for the Keyser Söze of the competitive tickling world.

The threats escalate, but so does Farrier’s deadpan, echoing the work of mockumentary master Christopher Guest. Farrier’s inherent comic tendencies elevate the natural absurdity of each situation, such as a scene in which the filmmakers, clearly out of their elements, stake out an L.A. facility where the videos are taped—or even when Kuhn and the company insist that there’s nothing homoerotic about having attractive, virile young men tie each other down and half-wrestle, half-tickle each other for viewing pleasure. What’s not a laughing matter, however, is how the mysterious corporation has attempted to ruin the lives of those who cross them.

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Farrier conducts a straightforward and serious interview with TJ, one of the few ticklees/ticklers willing to talk on camera. TJ explains that Jane O’Brien Media isn’t afraid to use intimidation, litigation and public humiliation to keep its models/athletes in check. In need of cash, TJ auditioned for the league, but when the company began to disseminate his likeness and videos beyond the scope of what he had originally agreed, he asked YouTube to take down the video. The move unleashed the wrath of Jane O’Brien, who essentially ruined any chance TJ might have had at a football career, from pro tryouts or even to coaching kids. Refreshingly, the filmmakers are both compassionate and nonjudgmental when capturing TJ’s story—which ostensibly is primed for ridicule.

A similar Jane O’Brien smear campaign befell David Starr, who was casting “models” for another tickling operation, led by Terri DeSisto—also known in certain web circles as “Terri Tickle.” We won’t divulge too many of the mystery’s details, but “Terri Tickle” becomes a key piece to a puzzle—one that assists Farrier and Reeve in uncovering hidden identities and criminal activities. Tickled peaks as it hurtles towards its exciting end, evolving into an exposé on internet bullying and showing how much damage a single person can cause behind a wall of attorneys, privilege and piles of money.

Similar to veteran documentarian Michael Moore, Farrier inevitably becomes part of the story, but instead of inserting himself and his opinions throughout the film simply because he can, Farrier is inadvertently drawn in when a mysterious company halfway around the world assails his sexuality. Farrier and Reeve set limits to the participatory nature of their roles, and focus on the film’s exposition of the drama behind the tickling competitions. Impressive in their first feature, the Tickled directors wisely understand when to wait a beat to let talking heads finish, or simply let the folly of the situation play itself out on screen for maximum impact. Their odyssey and resultant film is unnerving, but all the more entertaining for it.

Director: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve
Starring: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve, David Starr, Richard Ivey
Release Date: June 17, 2016

Christine N. Ziemba is a Los Angeles-based freelance pop culture writer and regular contributor to Paste. You can follow her on Twitter.