The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016)

“Who the hell signs a suicide note with a happy face?” – Robert Shapiro

Number of Times Seen – 1 (24 Jan 2021)

Brief Synopsis – After famous football player, OJ Simpson is accused and arrested for murdering his wife, the lawyers on both sides of the court do their best to prove their side of the case.

My Take on it – After having recently watched OJ: Made in America (2016), I was intrigued to try and get a look at how this miniseries dealt with the trial of the Century.

I recall when this miniseries debited a few years back and had very little desire to watch it.

They do a wonderful job showing how things payed out in the Simpson case in 1994.

They are able to put together a “dream team” of actors to portray the real “Dream Team of lawyers” and the story plays out on such an engaging way.

John Travolta, Cuba Gooding Jr., Sterling K. Brown, Sarah Paulson, Brice Greenwood, Nathan Lane, Kenneth Choi, David Schwimmer and Courtney B. Vance are just some of the very famous actors that are part of this miniseries.

Each of these actors and actresses are able to give us a new interpretation of their characters while also giving us a great imitation of some of the key figures in this trial.

The mini-series has enough run time to help explore things in more depth and we get to see how smart and devious both sides were during this trial.

Each side is able to present the crime in a very different light, so we get to see a more balanced look at how things progressed.

Having recently refreshed my memory about the chain of events, it was great seeing it all play out in a very dramatic fashion.

They do an amazing job here mixing together both real footage of the trial with those filmed for this miniseries.

They choice to use this case and story as the very first part of this crime anthology series is great because the story is so complex, is very controversial and is filled with so many surprises along the way that helps show both the ups and the downs of both sides of the story.

Bottom Line – Fascinating look at how things played out during the whole episode for OJ in 1994. The cast is spectacular and they do a wonderful job giving us not just imitations, but also re-imaginings of these very famous figures who were part of the trial. The film does a wonderful job showing us both sides of the story and how each side tried their hardest to present the story in a very different light. Knowing the chain of events after recently rewatching OJ: Made in America (2016), things are quite interesting to watch unfold. The film does a great job mixing together real footage from the televised trial with new footage created for this miniseries. The choice of making this miniseries as the first of this anthology series was quite wise because of the way that the story has so many ups and downs and entertaining surprises along the way. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Sarah Paulson refused to watch the first season in which she played Marcia Clark. During her acceptance after winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, Paulson publicly apologized to Clark for judging her based on the media’s portrayal of her and had Clark’s name engraved on the Emmy. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)