A Tiger’s Tale, released in theaters on February 12, 1988, is an oddball romantic dramedy about breaking taboos, personal reinvention, and the messy nature of family ties in quirky rural Texas. With Ann-Margret and C. Thomas Howell as its unconventional leads, the film finds comedy and pathos in a love affair that shouldn’t exist, but can’t be denied.
Howell plays Bubber Drumm, an aimless Houston high school senior with a pet tiger and a longing for something more than dating his moody girlfriend Shirley (Kelly Preston). The real object of Bubber’s desire turns out to be Shirley’s mother, Rose Butts (Ann-Margret), a fiery, troubled alcoholic who’s more than twice his age.
When Bubber helps Shirley pair off with his friend Ransom, he and Rose begin a clandestine romance, sneaking around until everything explodes in public at a local drive-in theater.
The discovery sets off a spiral of reprisals: an irate Shirley retaliates by sabotaging her mother’s birth control, causing Rose to later discover she’s pregnant with Bubber’s child.
As Shirley splits to live with her estranged father, Bubber moves in with Rose, pet tiger in tow, and the couple holes up in the tiny town of Fairchilds, Texas.
The story follows their efforts to carve out a new life amid swirling gossip, generational judgment, and the constant threat posed by Bubber’s unpredictable tiger.
The pair must reckon with the realities of their relationship and the looming question of whether to keep their unexpected baby.
Ann-Margret delivers charm and world-weariness in equal measure, grounding Rose’s vulnerability beneath her free spirit and Howell brings awkward sincerity to Bubber, making an initially implausible relationship oddly relatable.
Charles Durning, William Zabka, Ann Wedgeworth, Tim Thomerson, Traci Lind, James Noble and Sean Patrick Flannery round out the cast.
Howell and Preston reunited after starring together in Secret Admirer in 1984.
Though marketed as a comedy-drama, A Tiger’s Tale never quite finds a stable tone—flitting between farce, melodrama, and ribald coming-of-age story.
Ann-Margaret and C. Thomas Howell (Photo/Atlantic Releasing Corporation)
Reception for A Tiger’s Tale
A Tiger’s Tale grossed $208,152 in its theatrical run in limited release.
Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars in his review.
Legacy
A Tiger’s Tale has emerged as a cult curiosity, notable for its willingness to push boundaries in both subject matter and style.
The film’s legacy endures as a testament to the unpredictable ways love (and tigers) can turn life upside down—and how, sometimes, unconventional stories find their own small corner in American cinema’s menagerie.
