Liza underplays on 'Criminal Intent.' Seriously.
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As over-the-top as Tuesday's Law & Order: CI could have been -- with its straight-from-the-headlines take on the bogus confession in the JonBenet Ramsey case and Liza Minnelli, of all people, playing the murdered girl's mother -- the show actually underplayed things a little.
In fact, the episode made for a pretty effective little Halloween chiller. The first half, especially, was pretty creepy, as Goren broke down the confession of the John Mark Karr stand-in who confessed to the girl's murder -- here a 10-year-old actress named Amber Leigh, not a 6-year-old kiddie-pageant competitor named JonBenet.
That bit of fictionalization made the case less prurient -- from the little we see of the victim, she doesn't give off the miniature glam-doll vibe that the familiar images of JonBenet do. That decision let us concentrate more on the detectives' rebuilding of the botched case and the psychology of the people involved, which is more interesting anyway.
It was a really well-acted episode on all fronts, with Vincent D'Onofrio largely tic-free and Minnelli being admirably low-key, even in the final scene where she came to realize what actually happened to her daughter. The clear enjoyment her character took in Goren's attention also hinted at Norma Desmond territory; nice touch, that.
So good was the acting, in fact (and by the way, from what I've seen this season, Eric Bogosian is a great addition to the cast), that the not-so-shocking revelation of the real killer didn't really bother me. I'm a sucker for a well-told mystery story, even when I figure out the culprit ahead of time. And Criminal Intent has always been more about the whydunit than the whodunit anyway. That part was pretty satisfying tonight.
Liza Minnelli was great last night. Can we say Emmy?
The show was really good. All actors we good. I must say Liza Minnelli is really a great actress. We need to see more of her on TV. WAY TO GO NBC!!
I think we can indeed say Emmy.
She reminded you of how good she can be--and she was good.
Every song Liza sings comes from a superb acting gift, so no suprise she gave a brilliant performance.
For more info on Liza's career, please visit her official websites :
OfficialLizaMinnelli.com
LizaMinnelli.de
-- Scott Schechter
Author of "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook"
Liza just blew me away. She is really something. Can we see more of her on TV soon.
as a permanent viewer of criminal intent, I was very disatisfyied with the script of this show and the relationship it tried to follow from the ramsey killing. I really thought it was in very bad taste to try and re-produce a very serious case. It had all the markings of similiar details and events of the real case. Liza is a great actress, and this role was not worthy of her talents. I turned off the tv before the ending, figuring I had already lived the truer version. After reading the serious problems that nbc is having in its programing, it seems to me it needs to keep its writers and to hire others if needed. I have read about the cuts NBC is making here and there, and with more productions like this episode, NBC can count on loosing me as a viewer and moving toward CBS and ABC, which still has prime time programing. I am holding my breath on how nbc is going to show and cut/or disect the Madonna concert when it airs later this month. I think putting her concert on on the eve of Thanksgiving again is a poor deceision. Of all the other good nights nbc could have choosen. It is a shame that NBC is lowering its interests in trying to maintain its viewers. I was glad to see Liza, I would watch her in anything she would do. However, I hope her agent is looking out for better roles, especially if she intends to use the TV as her new format of exposer.
thank you
Thomas Morton
I think Vincent D'Onofrio has been underestimated for some time now. The show is really the best of the Law & Order series (in my mind) and with the addition of Chris Noth I would like to think that it will continue. I actually saw the newest SVU last night and was very disappointed with Mariska Hargitay's re-entry
Well I thought Liza was very good in this role. We need more parts for a women with her talent. Hay Emmy board can we see a Emmy nom. here for Liza!!!
Sorry folks but this episode just didn't do much for me. I am even lucky enough to have a screener copy that I can review whenever I want and having seen the episode more than once doesn't improve it.
I really hated that CI got stuck with a redo of the JonBenet Ramsey case so the writers were already at a disadvantage in adapting it to CI. I didn't think much of Liza's performance (at least she wasn't awful) and certainly no way would I put her anywhere near in a cl*** with Gloria Swanson's Norma Desmond. Frankly she needs to stick to singing and dancing, where she owns her role and can go full tilt.
While I don't really see him in a Bill Holden/Joe Gillis/Sunset Boulevard kind of light, Vincent D'Onofrio's still got the chops of a fine actor, but I just don't feel like his heart is in the role anymore...his Goren this season comes off tired bored and frustrated to the point of angst (which is what the writers have been heaping on the main characters and frankly angst is a poor substitute for drama...it all feels so forced). So although I'm a huge fan of D'Onofrio and have been enthralled with Criminal Intent up until now, I am emotionally ready to let Vincent move onto something he'll feel more strongly about doing. I'm really hoping that Season 6 is his last although I'll miss tuning in to see Goren. I want to see him go out on a high note.
It was good however to see Bill Irwin on TV...he is a marvelous actor whom I'd love to see more of (preferably in better material than these screwy 6th season CI scripts)