Is no one watching The People vs. O.J. Simpson?

Not a huge Travolta fan but he's blowing me away as Robert Shapiro. The cast is stellar. 

I gave it a half hour.... to many commercials. I will wait until it hits dvd.

I must say that I have no desire to re-live that story. 

mjh said:

I must say that I have no desire to re-live that story. 

I feel the same way, I remember it like it was yesterday.

I'll bet you forgot more than you think. I forgot about it this week but watched the first one and it was very good. Great acting. And I definitely forgot just how much evidence there was against him. Interesting to see it from prosecution side as well. And, boy, did Shapiro know what he was doing. Talk about $ getting you the best defense.

what conandrob240 said

once was enough

It's one of those things that's even crazier the 2nd time

emmie said:

mjh said:

I must say that I have no desire to re-live that story. 

I feel the same way, I remember it like it was yesterday.

This. And I really don't care if I forgot things. I don't want to know. I had enough of the whole mess the first time around, whether I remember it perfectly or not. Blech.

Isn't this thing being produced by the guy behind Glee? I just assumed this was for millennials who are too young to have paid much attention when it happened. Can't imagine anyone who was a sentient adult back then wanting to relive even a moment of this. I wasted far too much of my life on this nonsense the first time. 

It's based on Jeffrey Toobin's book, “The Run of His Life”. 

Don't know about the producers, but the creators of the series are the men who did "Ed Wood" and "People vs. Larry Flynt". 

Glee mastermind Ryan Murphy is an executive producer and directed half the episodes. His production company is producing it and he's the one who brought it to FX (where his American Horror Story lives). He's not the only one driving this thing, but to me it definitely smells of his cheesy sensibility. But I've only seen snippets, so maybe I'm off. 

I read good reviews and decided to watch but frankly I find Cuba Gooding as OJ really grating.  It shows why his post-Oscar success never happened - he's not a very good actor.  David Schwimmer is also super annoying playing Ross as Robert Kardashian and I really hate how they are pandering by dragging the Kardashian klan into the whole thing.  I am enjoying Travolta's creepy Shapiro.  The whole thing is meh and I doubt I'll make it to the end.

I would watch the heck out of this if we had cable. I hope it comes to Netflix or some ther streaming service. I was just old enough to be kind of aware of what was going on during the trial, but not really. My main memories of the trial were that Ghostwriter was interrupted by the white Bronco chase, and my friend's dad told me the verdict when he picked us up from school one day. I was in 7th grade. 

Not at all surprised they're playing up the Kardashian angle, as that audience seems to be the target for this thing. Yuck.

eliz said:

I read good reviews and decided to watch but frankly I find Cuba Gooding as OJ really grating.  It shows why his post-Oscar success never happened - he's not a very good actor.  David Schwimmer is also super annoying playing Ross as Robert Kardashian and I really hate how they are pandering by dragging the Kardashian klan into the whole thing.  I am enjoying Travolta's creepy Shapiro.  The whole thing is meh and I doubt I'll make it to the end.

I think maybe it was OJ that was so grating.  I think they are trying to show what an egomaniacal, misogynistic, narcissistic and, actually, crazy person he was while the whole world adored him.  That this wasn't just a rage thing- that he was seriously unstable and out of his mind all along. 

I think its pretty interesting and pretty well-done so far.

Read an interesting (and pretty compelling) theory somewhere that O.J. has CTE. 

I couldn't bare to relive watching that story again. I was working for Time Warner during the real trial and TVs were on everywhere showing the trial all the time. I worked at a call center so it was a 24 hour department so you can imagine how many hours of the case was being shown. It also created quite a disturbing amount of  racial tension throughout the company. Not a good memory for me, so I will have to pass on this one.

The depiction of the racial issues and looking back at that with today's perspective is part of what makes this so compelling actually.  But everyone's free to watch what they want to watch.  No need to watch if you don't want to.

I totally agree on the Kardashian family stuff- ridiculous. But, I think the Robert Kardashian character is a necessary part of the story ( yes, I am watching this more as a crime story than a real life event in some ways).. The friend who wants to stand by but maybe slowly is starting to think of his friend as a monster...

I haven't seen it ,but remember the trial well. Who remembers the gal who wore like 3-4 watches? Somehow she has stuck in my mind. And Kato Kaelin. Oh the memories.

conandrob240 said:

The depiction of the racial issues and looking back at that with today's perspective is part of what makes this so compelling actually.  But everyone's free to watch what they want to watch.  No need to watch if you don't want to. ">

Agree. The LAPD's handling / bungling of celebrity cases and their heavy handedness of shoot first with the brown and black L.A. communities makes this seem more "today" than "back in the day." And FWIW, they're not playing up the Kardashian angle in relation to the Kardashian's of today. The dad, Rob K., was an instrumental player in the saga and is featured prominently. He was married to Kris (divorced when Nicole was murdered) and Kris was a friend to Nicole, so to not mention that would be strange. In no way are they the "stars" of this show. 

There are certain nuances in the movie that wasn't known to the public. I am enjoying it and find it well written and acted. I too don't think Cuba is the right choice for O.J. My choices would have been either Nate Parker (Arbitrage) or Morris Chestnut (Rosewood tv series; The Call; Kick Ass). Either of these two actors would have nailed the essence of OJ. But Cuba doesn't prevent me from watching. 

Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark is simply spectacular. 

well, agree on all except the kardashian thing. The cuts to the kids (playing at the funeral, in their living room cheering dad on tv) are completely unnecessary to the story and are ridiculous. Yes, Robert kardashian is a central figure in this, yes Kris needed a small part as the friend but the K kids are just there gratuitously.

Seen in the paper this morning, for any Super Bowl watchers reading this thread:

"Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson, John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, and Peyton Manning as the slow, white Bronco."  (credit, or not, "Argus Hamilton, comedian")

............

On the more serious side, back at the time the verdict was announced, I was at the home of a VERY highly respected AfAm acquaintance, and was totally surprised by her response.   Big big learning moment for me about a different POV.

I thought the glancing reference to the Kardashian daughters was cute the first time. I hope the second time was the last. Another possible wink to today’s audience is DA Gil Garcetti’s quiet lament during the botched arrest that he had wanted to run for Los Angeles mayor—the position now held by his son.

It can be campy, but I think it’s entertaining enough to attract an audience too young to remember it. I love how Sarah Paulson and Bruce Greenwood play the Marcia Clark/Garcetti scenes. 

I wish Kibbegirl had been in the meeting when they cast OJ. I can’t help but think that someone quipped, “Cuba’s biggest role was as a football player, so why not have him play a retired football player 20 years later.” Someone in charge didn't realize it was a joke and went with it. 

Having Greenwood there reminds me of a funny exchange that references another dramatic interpretation of a real event.  In Thirteen Days, Greenwood played JFK as he dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis. There’s a Sopranos episode where an older mobster references the crisis, and younger mobster Christopher pipes up, “That really happened?! I saw that movie. I thought it was B***S***!”

mjc said:

Seen in the paper this morning, for any Super Bowl watchers reading this thread:

"Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson, John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, and Peyton Manning as the slow, white Bronco."  (credit, or not, "Argus Hamilton, comedian")


............


On the more serious side, back at the time the verdict was announced, I was at the home of a VERY highly respected AfAm acquaintance, and was totally surprised by her response.   Big big learning moment for me about a different POV.

The Peyton Manning reference is hysterical. And I'd be curious to know more about the learning moment you had...

We just watched the first 3 episodes and are really enjoying it. I was young-ish when it was all going on so there are some details that I don't remember or didn't ever know (like, I totally didn't connect that there were 2 white Broncos). I do remember people celebrating over the verdict. Very interesting to place all of that in today's racial context as well.

I'm finding it really compelling from a legal strategy standpoint. It's the same thing that's drawn me into a series like Making a Murderer.

I do agree that the Kardashian stuff is pretty heavy-handed. The scene with Robert and the kids at the diner - "fame doesn't matter, it's only important that you're a good person" was way over-the-top. But, I think Selma Blair is doing a nice job as Kris. I think/hope that some of that will fade away now that they've thoroughly established the characters.

It's my understanding that FX has contracted to dive into one true American crime with the creators each year.

They're going to do a different one next? Oh man, I was really looking forward to The Sports Memorabilia Collector vs. OJ Simpson.

kibbegirl said:

Not a huge Travolta fan but he's blowing me away as Robert Shapiro. The cast is stellar. 

Yes the cast is stellar except for the main character. In last night's episode OJ was actually shorter than Robert Kardashian, not to mention that there's not one shred of any other physical resemblance either. The one facial expression and constant whining of Cuba Gooding Jr. as OJ is so out of sync with the rest of the cast. Yuk.

Really?  While I don't think he's as strong as the rest of the cast, he doesn't bother me.  I find it interesting that they are portraying OJ as a weak, whining baby.  To me it seems they are trying to show him as a coward, a weak little man with some pretty serious mental issues- self-esteem and anger issues.  He was not some great guy that snapped as many may think. So, yes, the OJ in the show is super annoying but I don't think its Cuba Gooding playing him poorly- I think they are trying to convey a different man than we all saw.