American Crime Story

When I read the critic's reviews of this fascinating portrayal of the trial of OJ Simpson, the most common complaint was John Travolta's performance. So I was expecting to find it a bad, cheesy performance and everyone else to be great.

Instead, I thought Travolta did an excellent job as a supercilious attorney who finds himself increasingly outside his own case. True, Travolta has had so much plastic surgery that he looks like he was sewn together by a dollmaker, but his performance is, while not as notable as the really terrific performances by Nathan Lane and, more surprisingly, David Schwimmer, it's a solid performance.

The truly awful performance is by Cuba Gooding as O.J.

When I watched the movie, I thought Gooding seemed wrong based on my vague memories of O.J. I'm not a sports fan, I didn't follow the trial, which at the time I thought of as just another lurid celebrity crime, and I'd only seen Simpson in a small part in a movie years ago. I thought Gooding's whiny, unpleasant, crybaby performance seemed untrue to that memory, but I couldn't be sure.

Then I watched the terrific documentary series. O.J., Made in America, and I realized that Gooding was really horrible. He lacked O.J.'s famous charm, and instead came across as ineffectual where the documentary portrays O.J. as a strong force in his own defense.

If you've never seen Simpson at all, perhaps the performance would seem fine, but it's an absolutely wretched performance from the point of view of verisimilitude. It's easily the biggest flaw in an otherwise gripping portrayal.

Why the critics didn't notice that I can't say.

American Crime Story is such an amazing show. The acting and writing are some of the best that's been on TV in years! The storytelling is so good that it just sucks you in and won't let go till the end! If you really want to know how good this show is all you have to do is read through the reviews! It's one of the best shows based off of true stories that I've ever seen! It's an anthology series where each season tells some of the most incredible true stories that have taken place. Season 1: The People vs. O. J. Simpson, Season 2: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Season 3: Impeachment (the Bill Clinton/Monika Lewinsky scandal) and the upcoming Season 4 which will be based off Studio 54. Obviously some seasons are better than others but they're all really good, the best seasons are pretty much in order 1, 2 and then 3.

Telling the story of the murder of Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramírez) at the hands of Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss), what's especially interesting about this season of American Crime Story is the narrative structure. The opening scene of the first episode sees the murder, and the show then goes backwards, with each episode set earlier than the previous one, an achronological structure that unifies form and content; this isn't about a murder, it's about how Cunanan became a serial killer.

Within this, the show deals with two interrelated issues; 1) the concept that one must work hard to be successful, and 2) the desire to be remembered. Cunanan is obsessed with the second, but unwilling to acknowledge the first, despite his conviction of his own greatness. His attitude is nicely critiqued by Versace himself ("Life isn't about convincing people you can do great things. It's about doing them"), and the last shot masterfully encapsulates much of Cunanan's deepest existential fears. For all that, however, the season is good, but not great. The last two episodes are far and away the strongest, especially Jon Jon Briones's appearance as Modesto, Cunanan's detestable father, but, overall, it isn't a patch on 'The People v. O.J. Simpson'.

I enjoyed the first series revolving around the OJ Simpson murder trial, the second series is all about the assassination of fashion designer Gianni Versace.

The emphasis throughout the series on the serial killer Andrew Cunanan rather than Versace himself, although we do get to see a good amount of backstory on Versace also.

We get a real raw insight into Cunanan's psychotic mind, background and his shocking killing spree. It is a very gripping series and Darren Criss played the role of murderer Cunanan absolutely outstandingly and in my opinion deserves an award for his portrayal of this complex character.

My only criticism is the timeline jumps were confusing at times, when there's a week between episodes and each episode centering on a different year and back and forth rather than chronologically, I did get confused at times of what took place when. It did all come together though in the final episode.

This series is riveting, well directed, fast-paced and informative. The casting is marvelous with one little exception: OJ Simpson!! Cuba Gooding is a fantastic actor, but he completely fails to portray OJ Simpsons incredible charm and charisma that actually enabled him to sliver through years of abusive behavior and the cold-blooded double murder. Gooding is reactive and unsophisticated, while the cocksure Simpson is just missing. This is an incredible failure of casting where the remaining characters are spot on and compelling. Why not Dwayne Johnson or someone with the physical charisma and cool? Travolta deserves great kudos for taking this on, but one has to wonder why he allowed the utter miscasting of the major role. At any rate, this is a worthwhile series to watch and it surely is award-rich.