The infamous Joe Arpaio may not be a household name (yet), but after watching director Randy Murray‘s telling documentary The Joe Show, Arpaio’s name will be hard to forget. Making headline news from controversial political antics to his self-professed “media-hound” actions, Arpaio is quite the character. You either love him or hate him- there is really no in-between here. What starts out as an homage to the Maricopa County Sheriff quickly turns into an unabashed look into the Sheriff’s reign as a political figure that is sure to leave audiences speechless in this documentary.
The Joe Show profiles Arpaio’s 20-year career, with a slightly biased approach in which he is seen in a negative light. We are first introduced to Arpaio, the now 82-year-old staunch Republican, as he is singing the Frank Sinatra hit, “My Way.” Standing in front of a plain backdrop and staring into the camera, he belts out the lyrics, “But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out, I faced it all and I stood tall, And did it my way.” To those who know Arpaio, or know of him, these lyrics hit close to home. Dubbed “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” Arpaio has become a globally recognized name for his strict reign as Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona.
I can’t help but feel like we’re feeding the monster with the release of The Joe Show; yes it is an insightful look behind the curtain of the infamous Sheriff, but this attention is most gratifying to Arpaio himself, not the audience.
Enforcing such unorthodox punishments like making prisoners in the jail system to wear pink underwear and decidedly ignoring reported sex crimes to focus excessively on immigration are just a few of the polarizing actions Arpaio has made while Sheriff. The film interviews his friends, family members, and staff to get a semi-balanced portrayal of a man so publicly perceived as controversial. His statements have made him quite a few enemies, he is a man with no filter, which does make for an enjoyable film. Yes, this is the same man who brought up the conspiracy theory that President Obama’s Hawaiian birth certificate was fake, with the hopes to disqualify him from the Presidential election. The Joe Show does make one thing extremely clear: politics is a dirty, dirty game.
Overall, there is no denying that Joe Arpaio is an entertaining character. I may be singing a different tune if he was Sheriff of my town, but being removed from the situation through this documentary, we are given the chance to laugh with, and at, him. His publicity stunts are purely to gain attention, and the fact that this film has been made at all is a testament to Arpaio’s conscious and even subconscious control of the media. However, I can’t help but feel like we’re feeding the monster with the release of The Joe Show; yes it is an insightful look behind the curtain of the infamous Sheriff, but this attention is most gratifying to Arpaio himself, not the audience.
The Joe Show is now available on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, GooglePlay, Xbox, Playstation, and Vudu.
