Tickled is a crazy ride that is currently available to watch on HBO. The best part about watching it on HBO is the 20 minute extra called The Tickle King that offers a bit more closure than the film does. This film is an investigative piece of journalism that shines light on a world that most viewers probably didn’t even know existed.
Tickled is a documentary that shines a light into the dark world…of competitive endurance tickling.
New Zealand Journalist David Farrier and his friend Dylan Reeve set out to explore the underground world of competitive endurance tickling. Farrier came across these videos online of young men tickling each other, fully clothed but strapped down, and that led him to send an email to the production company. His hope was to do an expose on it and bring light to this odd “sport” on a segment for his news show. However, it’s wasn’t long before he receives some threatening emails that attack his sexuality and attempt to push him away from the subject matter.
The rest of the film has Farrier and Reeve going deeper into the rabbit hole. Who is hosting these tickle fights? Why don’t they want Farrier investigating them? What happens to the guys in the video? These questions drive the film and some find answers, but often lead to new questions. It’s likely you’ll watch this film with a look of shock on your face as it seems so unlikely such an underground world could exist without it ever being brought up before this documentary.
Final Thoughts
The documentary isn’t about sexuality so it’s not inappropriate for younger audiences. It’s even possible that this film could be used to show young people to be wary of deals that seem too good to be true. Tickled is a well-made documentary that showcases a story that needs to be heard to prevent others from falling into a world like this. That’s why Tickled earns the Not Quite Golden, Ponyboy rating.
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