On June 13 1994, Nicole Brown & Ron Goldman were tragically murdered by OJ Simpson. A once beloved football player/actor now forever labeled as a murderer. His trial was an extensive case. District Attorney/Prosecutor Marcia Clark & fellow prosecutor Christopher Darden attempted to convince the jury OJ was guilty for his horrendous crime while OJ’s close friend/lawyer Robert Kardashian alongside lawyers Robert Shapiro & Johnnie Cochran defend OJ using various ploys to prevent him from going in bars. After numerous weeks, OJwas acquitted. This caused a major uproar letting somebody get away with murder.
Two Decades Later, showrunner Ryan Murphy and screenwriting duo Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski collaborate together penning a ten-part series based on The OJ Simpson Trial. Ryan recruits Sarah Paulson, (one of my favorite actresses) Sterling K. Brown, Courtney B. Vance, John Travolta, David Schwimmer, Nathan Lane & Cuba Gooding Jr. to portray individuals who were involved in the trial.
The People VS. OJ officially aired in 2016 on FX. (same year La La Land came out) It earned critical acclaim from critics and viewers alike. The first season eventually earned numerous awards at “The Primetime Emmys” & “Golden Globe Awards” for “Best Supporting Actress” (Sarah Paulson) & “Best Mini-Series Or Television Film.” American Crime Story later spawned a second titled, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace” which also earned critical acclaim and won many awards.
Before American Crime Story’s upcoming third season titled, “Impeachment” will air in fall 2020 retelling The Monica Lewinsky Scandal, I’ve decide to view the first season.
The following review doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are present. We all know what happened at the end of the trial. I won’t breakdown all ten episodes. Again, we all know O.J. got away scot free.
Innocent & Guilty Qualities
Innocent: Sarah Paulson, Sterling K. Brown, Courtney B. Vance, John Travolta, Nathan Lane, David Schwimmer & Cuba Gooding Jr. all did an excellent job for their respective performances.
In addition to co-starring, John Travolta served as a co-producer. This was his last good role prior “Gotti,” “The Fanatic” & god knows how many stinkers he’s been. Oh how the mighty have fallen!
Ryan Murphy did his homework to recreate the infamous OJ Simpson Trial. Besides the trial, the infamous Bronco Chase is also recreated. OJ’s infamous mugshot is redone, this time Cuba Gooding Jr. fills in.
Screenwriting duo Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski (Ed Wood, The People VS. Larry Flynt, Dolemite Is My Name) wrote teleplays for certain episodes. They both did a great job researching notable events using the book “The Run For His Life: The People VS. OJ Simpson” as a guide.
Music from The 90s are played to match the accuracy of the time period.
Racism plays a huge role. This was back when The L.A. Riots & Rodney King were brought up constantly.
As you may know, Johnnie Cochran said his infamous phrase, “If it fits you must’ve quit.”
The last episode ends with a “where are they now” montage reminding us what the participants are doing right now.
In one of the episodes, Robert Kardashian warns his daughters the consequences of fame. He defiantly has a point. If you choose the wrong path to become a somebody. It’ll haunt you for the rest of your life. If Robert were alive to today, he would’ve been appalled to see his daughters as filthy rich sluts alongside Kylie & Kendall Jenner.
Guilty: Some scenes suffered a bad case of Shaky Cam. Whoever’s shaking the camera, needs to lay off Rockstar Energy drinks.
Kris Jenner (before her ex chopped her hairy pecker off) and her daughters don’t serve a purpose. Look, I understand this is before they became prostitutes, but do we really need to have them? They never played a pivotal role. Bruce Wayne as a kid in Joaquin Phoenix’s “Joker” served a purpose than Kris, Kim, Kourtney & Khloe!
The Final Verdict: A-
The People VS. OJ is a fantastic start for American Crime Story’s run. Ryan Murphy did a superb job retelling the biggest trial (if not the biggest) of The 20th Century. Sarah Paulson definitely deserved numerous awards for her performance as Marcia Clark. Much of the cast all did an excellent job, the recreation of specific events linked to the trial are accurate. If you’re gearing up for the third season, I highly recommend The People VS. OJ.
R.I.P. Nicole Brown & Ron Goldman
Nickthemoviecritic.com 