The first full trailer for Ryan Murphy’sAmerican Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpsonhas been released by FX, who will premiere the mini-series on February 2nd, 2016, and it’s just as ludicrous looking as you were probably expecting. To be completely honest, there was no way that this thing wasn’t going to be a big hunk of ham, what with Murphy’s long history of heedless lunacy, horrendous atonality, and the sheer presence of Mr.John Travoltaas Robert Shapiro, one of Simpson’s defense attorney. Then there’sDavid SchwimmerandSelma Blairas Kris Jenner and Robert Kardashian, close friends of the former athlete and comedian, played byCuba Gooding Jr., and Murphy axiomSarah Paulsonas Marcia Clark, the lead of the prosecutorial team that took on Simpson. In terms of camp, this might just work, but Murphy’s track record includes some truly outrageous attempts at thin, earnest morality that taints otherwise fun outings. Check out the trailer forAmerican Crime Storybelow:
It’s reassuring to see Gooding out in front again, considering his recent line of strong supporting roles, most memorably in the ensemble ofLee Daniels' wonderful, under-valuedThe Butler. Otherwise, the entire production looks like a ton of melodramatic nonsense, done without the visual flair or emotional and psychological thoughtfulness that powers great melodrama. Murphy is always after the shock, always playing up his control over the audience and consistently condescending to them, which is clearly evident inAmerican Horror Story: Freak Showand, to a lesser extent,Hotel.
There’s always the chance thatAmerican Crime Storycould show a new side of his creative process, but there’s no evidence of any such shift in this trailer, which has plenty of talk about race and celebrity but assumedly no insight into such matters that haven’t already been touted by a 100 other films or TV series. I’ll attempt to keep my mind open until February 2nd, but for now, this looks like forced outrageousness mixed with the self-seriousness of aJohn Grishamadaptation. The question is obvious: Where isJohn Waterswhen you need the man?
