Rambling TV: American Crime Story - The Assassination of Gianni Versace

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It took me way to long to watch the first season of American Crime Story. It was damn near perfect in covering the OJ Simpson trial. So I knew I had to watch season two right away. 

 Season two follows serial killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) as he kills world famous fashion designer Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez) and three others. Versace's name may be in the title, but this is really Andrew's show. The way he probably would've wanted it.

 I don't think I'm going to be able to see Criss as anything other than Cunanan again. He officially has one of the most punchable faces on the planet after this. He's just good. So is Ramirez. Penelope Cruz, who got a lot of hype playing Donatella Versace was surprisingly one of the weaker acting links, which I never would've expected.

 Unfortunately unlike season one, the way they told the story didn't work for me. The first episode was Versace's murder, which I think was the right thing to do, the second episode followed the aftermath, another great choice. Then they started to get into the "why" of Cunanon's psyche..and they tell his story ass backwards. I hated this gimmick, because it made the middle episodes slightly confusing. There was a time when I went to my DVR to start one and I actually questioned whether or not I had seen that particular one already because they replayed scenes from the week before. I think they would've been better off starting with the beginning of Andrew in episode 3, and building up to where he got with Versace. Showing his murders backwards didn't help the narrative. 

 Production wise, this show is gorgeous. It's bright, well edited, and so sharp. The acting as I said was wonderful, I just wish the episode order had been changed.

 Did you watch season two? What did you think?

Comments

  1. BirgitJuly 23, 2018 at 9:46 AM

    I do want to see this but I don't have HBO or Netflix. I heard Ricky Martin was in this as well. how was he? It is strange, to me, that they would start off with Versace and i would agree that it would have been better to make it more linear. It sounds like they wanted to be artsy-fartsy

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 23, 2018 at 10:37 PM

      He was very meh. I'm shocked he got an Emmy nomination for this. It's not on HBO though, it airs on FX. So if you get that channel you should still be able to watch it on demand.

      Delete
  2. GetterJuly 23, 2018 at 12:22 PM

    I still haven't watched American Crime Story... I will though, I definitely will.. in the future. :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Candice FrederickJuly 23, 2018 at 11:07 PM

    awww the only thing i didn't love was edgar, penelope, and ricky's castings and the fact that the show should be titled to reflect andrew as the lead character

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 24, 2018 at 7:03 AM

      At the same time, it is kind of funny that Cunanan didn't get the title spot light, you know that would've upset him lol.

      Delete
  4. DanielJuly 26, 2018 at 1:34 PM

    I was totally fascinated by the backwards structure, as each episode seemed to fill in one piece of why Andrew did what he did. I agree that Darren Criss was incredible. The whole cast was, really. Judith Light was the standout for me. Absolutely incredible. And Jon Jon Briones as Andrew's father! WOW. I thought Penelope Cruz was doing a great Donatella, but wasn't really given much to work with. I wish we had gotten to see more of Edgar Ramirez and Ricky Martin.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 26, 2018 at 7:55 PM

      Judith Light was insanely good in this. I'm surprised they had the balls to stick her in Supporting Actress at the Emmys. I thought she'd for sure go in Guest.

      Delete
  5. UnknownJuly 31, 2018 at 11:03 AM

    I'm sorry you didn't like it as much, though I haven't seen it! Very much looking forward to it but there just have been too many shows to binge, lately. I loved season one, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 31, 2018 at 2:24 PM

      Its not a bad show by any means, I just didn't care for the structure. It is worth the watch.

      Delete

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