American Crime Story: The People vs Ryan Murphy

Black and White Juice
"I want to tell you somethin' about the law. Please, take a seat. Separate from all the bribes we put up, I paid 5000 dollars to avoid being the object of fireside ditties about a man that fled a murder warrant then worked very hard to get his camp annexed by the territory, only to have them serve the warrant of him and to face the six-foot drop. Into the magistrate's pocket the money goes, after which he sends a message. The 5,000'll need company if I'm to be off the hook. I give you the law." - Al Swearengen, Deadwood, S01E11




This week, we were treated to the first episode of Ryan Murphy, creator of American Horror Story, Glee and Scream Queens's first real drama: American Crime Story, a miniseries which will ostensibly follow a new true crime arc each year. Of course, this is not the same as ABC's American Crime, a very similar miniseries premise with a laughably similar title.

The premiere of the show was actually very good, exceeding all expectations I had for a Ryan Murphy program. However, when one takes a step closer to American Crime Story, we suddenly realize that Murphy only directed the premiere episode and, in fact, is not actually a creator of the show, merely a man who helped get it on the air. The real creators are writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski who also wrote the first episode of the series. Perhaps this begins to explain the good quality of my new Tuesday night commitment!

We start off the series with a rather adventurous introduction, featuring a montage of hate crimes having to do with race before any of the plot or characters are introduced. Though it could be confusing in any other type of show, American Crime Story immediately realizes what and where it is going. We all know the story of O.J. Simpson and his trial, even if not in depth, we know that he inevitably is acquitted of a crime which, by all normal means, should be been a no-brain guilty charge. However, deeper than just the dream team of lawyers and friends that O.J. drew together to get himself a miracle "not guilty," is the race relation drama that surrounds the infamous court case. And, as we see in the opening minute of the series, this race relation drama has never been more present than in contemporary society. By kicking off with this brutal series of clips, viewers immediately draw lines between the O.J. trial and current events like the "Black Lives Matter" movement, the Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin shootings, and other racially charged controversies.

After this, we are introduced to the main cast of characters. Heading the team is Cuba Gooding Jr. as the man himself, O.J. Simpson (The Juice!) Gooding is one of the main reasons this show works so well. In the opening scene with him, we immediately see the lovable O.J. that America thought so highly of before all of this went down. He's personable, he's handsome, and of course, he's an all-star. However, as we see very soon after the nice O.J, there's also the nasty O.J. The O.J. that almost certainly murdered his ex wife and beat her mercilessly before. Gooding is able to turn this around at the drop of a hat, in one scene yelling at his lawyers and friends to get him off of this charge, suddenly showing flashes of murderous rage. In a way, it reminds me of a toned down Michael Emerson in Lost. In one scene he's a tiny bespectacled blue eyed man incapable of harming anyone, and the next his eyes are terrifying and he's ordering people to be shot.

However, a good deal of the cast comes from 90's nostalgia, most namely David Schwimmer and John Travolta, both of whom do their job, but perhaps not all-star performances. Travolta was an odd casting choice in any situation, due to controversy, and also due to the fact that he's not a great actor. Portraying Robert Shapiro, Travolta kind of seems like he watched a bunch of Kevin Spacey movies and converted them into a weird Spacey-lite lawyer. Not to say that Shapiro was not cold and calculating in real life, but Travolta is so ridiculously over the top, that it's hard to take the character seriously. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Schwimmer's Robert Kardashian, who really just reminds me of every other Schwimmer character, most namely Ross from Friends. He's so offish and awkward all the time, even as an ostensibly high powered lawyer. Once again, it takes away a bit from the realism of the show.

On the other hand, however, are actors like Courtney B. Vance, portraying Johnnie Cochran in an almost creepily realistic fashion. Along those same lines are actors like Bruce Greenwood and Sterling K. Brown. In the premiere, we have yet to see Nathan Lane or Kenneth Choi, though I cannot wait to see what they have in store.

Then, there's Sarah Paulson. Ugh. Every season of American Horror Story I wondered why she continued to be cast, especially in such lead roles. In American Crime Story, she's better than I've seen her in anything else, more reminiscent of her work in 12 Years a Slave than in AHS, but even so, I have to imagine they could have cast someone else. Perhaps I'm just biased against her at this point, but seeing Paulson in the credits immediately makes me less excited for any show. As Marcia Clark, she's decent, but still just mediocre.

In an overall sense, American Crime Story is very well done. The storytelling is well paced, and despite the fact that we all know what will happen, it's still interesting. There isn't an inherent bias in the writing, and for the most part, the themes of race relations and the flawed justice system are followed through well, even if occasionally the show can slip into Ryan Murphy-esq ridiculousness. However, with a grounded plot and good performances, I'm very excited to see where ACS goes in the next nine episodes.

And, to top it all off, let's just be thankful it's finally February! FINALLY, it's time for the TV season to truly begin! American Crime Story, Vinyl, Survivor, 11.22.63., Better Call Saul, the Walking Dead, and so many others!

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