Standard Of Review: 'The People v. O.J. Simpson' Is Immensely Entertaining, With A Tad Too Much Kardashian

Very early on, it became very clear just how well-made and downright entertaining this series is.

O.J. Simpson (Photo by Steve Marcus-Pool/Getty)

O.J. Simpson (Photo by Steve Marcus-Pool/Getty)

More than most historical events, it is almost impossible to write about the O.J. Simpson murder trial without mentioning one’s personal relationship with it. Virtually every article I have read about the new FX anthology series American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson includes the author’s own recollection of the trial. For me, though, the O.J. Simpson trial occurred much too early in my life to make much of an imprint. I was finishing up second grade at the time of the infamous O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase and I was in fourth grade when the jury’s verdict was finally announced. As an elementary school student — and, as a white elementary school student in a predominantly white town — I only had a vague understanding of what was going on. As an avid sports fan, I knew who O.J. Simpson was, and I knew that he was on trial for murder. I was also aware that his main defense attorney was the flamboyant Johnnie Cochran. But I was not following the trial on a day-to-day basis and I did not know who Marcia Clark or Judge Lance Ito were. And I certainly did not understand the racial aspect to the trial.

As I got older, I learned more about what happened. I watched (and loved) the Naked Gun trilogy and saw how charismatic Simpson could be. I learned who that Clark was the prosecuting attorney, but only through post hoc depictions that portrayed Clark as a moron (for example, Tina Fey’s performance as Clark in last year’s Netflix comedy The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). I learned that Simpson got the best defense money could buy, including legal stalwarts such as Alan Dershowitz. Through the excellent ESPN 30 for 30 documentary June 17th, 1994, I learned about Robert Kardashian’s role in the saga. And I learned how important the trial was to the history of race in America, particularly coming on the heels of the Rodney King verdict a few years earlier. Nevertheless, going into The People v. O.J. Simpson, most of the details of the story are unknown to me (this review will contain spoilers — to the extent one can spoil a historical drama — up through the second episode, which aired this Tuesday).

The People v. O.J. Simpson is the first season in the FX anthology series American Crime Story from prolific producer Ryan Murphy (best known for Glee and American Horror Story) and developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (the screenwriting team best known for Ed Wood and The People vs. Larry Flynt) from the book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin. I have only watched one Glee episode (which aired after the 2011 Super Bowl), which was one of the worst episodes of television I have ever seen. And I have never watched American Horror Story. Based on this limited viewing I was prepared to hate this miniseries. But very early on, it became very clear to me just how well-made and downright entertaining it is. Alexander and Karaszewski do not waste any time, immediately diving into the discovery of the bodies of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. We immediately see how Clark (Sarah Paulson) – appalled at the fact that Simpson (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) had never gone to jail for physically assaulting Brown — takes a personal interest in the case and pushes for an arrest. There are virtually no wasted moments in these two first episodes. Even the less important scenes — such as Clark meeting with her attorney to discuss her impending divorce — are substantial enough to provide character depth but short enough to not detract from the main story.

Murphy directed the first two episodes, and his kinetic camera work becomes its own character. As police officers search Brown’s house, the camera moves with them into and out of every room as they conduct their sweep, without cutting once. When multiple people are in a room talking, the camera moves with the flow of the conversation to the speaker. While I mostly enjoyed these flourishes, they are occasionally distracting, such as Murphy’s tendency to zoom from a wide shot to an extreme closeup when someone is intensely talking. I also thought it was odd to play “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys as Simpson flees from the police in his white Bronco while threatening to kill himself; “Sabatoge” is a great song, but its connotation of silly 1970s police procedurals trivializes a fairly serious moment.

My other issue with the show’s production is the depiction of the Kardashians. Robert Kardashian (David Schwimmer) was one of Simpson’s closest friends, and is justifiably an integral part of the story. But, at least so far, there is no real reason to include Robert’s ex-wife Kris Jenner (Selma Blair, admittedly a dead ringer for Kris). And there is certainly no real reason to include their children. For example, there is: 1) a scene in which Kris admonishes the young Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian for running around during Brown’s funeral; 2) a scene in which Robert urges Simpson not to commit suicide in Robert’s “daughter Kimmie’s” bedroom (which amusingly contains a Joey Lawrence poster – woah!); and 3) a scene in which the Kardashian kids – while watching their father speak on television – grow frustrated with the reporters’ pronunciation of their last name and begin to repeatedly chant “Kardashian.” If the Kardashians did not eventually become The Kardashians, would these scenes have been included? They are too much of a wink at the audience and thus detract from the story.

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of The People v. O.J. Simpson is the formidable cast. Although Cochran has not joined the defense team so far, actor Courtney B. Vance has already stood out. Primarily due to the character Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld, I have always considered Cochran to be a rhyming buffoon, but Vance takes him seriously, playing him as an extremely intelligent performance artist. For example, in one scene he watches Simpson’s exasperated attorney Robert Shapiro (John Travolta) defend himself on television and calmly explains to his staff that no matter what the situation, an attorney’s first priority is to his client, not himself.

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Paulson also avoids playing Clark as the caricatured idiot that she would eventually become, instead portraying her as a dogged prosecutor who is often the smartest person in the room. In one great scene, Clark listens to a tape of two fawning police officers that perform a less-than-stellar interrogation of Simpson, and repeatedly yells into the tape, chastising the officers for not asking questions that would pin Simpson to one story. Even though Paulson has little idea who Simpson actually is (in a recurring gag, Clark’s co-workers praise Simpson’s accomplishments while Clark repeatedly says that she does not know what they are talking about), the case has become a personal crusade for her, as she is appalled that the system did not protect Brown from Simpson.

Although Gooding looks nothing like Simpson, he does a good job portraying Simpson’s anguish at Brown’s death and his impending arrest. In particular, Gooding nails the his scenes in the back of the white Bronco as he breaks down crying and repeatedly threatening suicide. On the other hand, although numerous characters have lauded Simpson’s charisma and friendliness, Gooding has yet to portray this aspect of Simpson’s personality (one idea: show a clip from the hilarious 1988 film The Naked Gun with Gooding instead of Simpson).

Frankly, I am not sure what to think of Travolta’s performance as Simpson’s criminal defense attorney Robert Shapiro. Given my young age during these events, I actually do not know what Shapiro sounds or acts like. Nevertheless, instead of embodying a real person, Travolta seems to be playing a caricature of a celebrity lawyer who, in exaggerated fashion, prefers swapping stories about Marlon Brando and Johnny Carson than actually practicing law. Because one of the show’s greatest strength is providing depth to figures like Clark and Cochran who have become caricatured by the media, I hope that the show provides some characterization of Shapiro going forward.

The secondary cast is extremely deep, including, among others, Bruce Greenwood, Schwimmer, Blair, Connie Britton, Jordana Brewster, and Cheryl Ladd (with Nathan Lane still to come). The standout so far is Sterling K. Brown as Clark’s fellow prosecutor Christopher Darden, another person who I only know from less than flattering post hoc depictions of him (such as Jerry Minor’s portrayal on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). So far, Darden is a very relatable character, a young assistant district attorney unhappy with his job but nevertheless torn between loyalty to his co-workers and to his family and friends. For example, in one scene Darden is incredulous when one of his parents’ neighbors suggests that the police had framed Simpson. In another scene, Darden criticizes the neighbors for supporting Simpson, arguing that Jim Brown had done more for the black community.

As this is a very prominent and extremely entertaining show about arguably the most famous legal defense of all time, I plan to write about this show a few more times this season, particularly as Simpson’s legal defense team comes together. In the meantime, you should definitely read two Above the Law Redline articles about The People v. O.J. Simpson. And hopefully your dreams will not be haunted by four children repeatedly chanting “Kardashian.”

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Harry Graff is a litigation associate at a firm, but he spends days wishing that he was writing about film, television, literature, and pop culture instead of writing briefs. If there is a law-related movie, television show, book, or any other form of media that you would like Harry Graff to discuss, he can be reached at harrygraff19@gmail.com. Be sure to follow Harry Graff on Twitter at @harrygraff19.