Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini
By Melissa Camacho,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Bizarre kidnapping hoax docu has violence, sex, swearing.
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Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini
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What's the Story?
PERFECT WIFE: THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF SHERRI PAPINI is a docuseries that examines a mysterious case of kidnapping that never was. When 34-year-old Sherri Papini disappeared on November 2, 2016 while jogging in Redding, Calif., her husband Keith, their family, and local and federal law enforcement did everything they could to find her. Twenty-two days later, on Thanksgiving Day, the missing wife and mother was found on a highway several hours from her home partially chained and covered in injuries. Despite efforts to find the kidnappers, which included attempts to get crucial details from Sherri and finding a match for recovered DNA evidence, her abductors remained at large. But investigators noted some red flags during Sherri's interview, and after five years, with the help of genetic genealogy, the evidence eventually revealed that the whole ordeal was a hoax.
Is It Any Good?
The disturbing three-part docuseries demystifies the strange story of Sherri Papini's fake kidnapping and the aftermath from the point of view of those who were most affected by her actions. Perfect Wife's interviews with Keith Papini, Sherri's family and friends, and investigators offer details about what it was like searching for Sherri, and later, the sometimes extreme ways she manipulated them so that they would believe her story. She orchestrated painful (but consensual) assaults and claimed that her abductors were Latina, which capitalized on the anti-immigration politics of the time. Meanwhile, investigators explain how they were slowly able to pull together evidence of the hoax, including following up on leads unknowingly provided by Keith, who was committed to finding the people his wife claimed abducted her. It's an entertainingly bizarre narrative, which makes it difficult to remember that Perfect Wife does not tell Sherri Papini's side of the story. As a result, it limits the audience's ability to truly understand what happened and why.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about true crime documentaries. Is their purpose to tell stories objectively, like the news? Or are they intended to accomplish something else?
How different would Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini be if Sherri Papini had participated in it? Would it make it easier to understand all the details associated with this case?
TV Details
- Premiere date: June 20, 2024
- Cast: Keith Papini
- Network: Hulu
- Genre: Reality TV
- TV rating: TV-MA
- Last updated: June 23, 2024
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