by Austen Terry, Contributing Writer
Impeachment is the third season of the Ryan Murphy-directed TV Series called American Crime Story, and this season focuses on the Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton scandal. For those who don’t know, Lewinsky was an intern at the White House during the Bill Clinton presidency, and between 1995 and 1996, she had an affair with President Clinton. The show deals with that affair and the outcome of people finding out about it. With a stacked cast and a truly compelling time in American history, it is set up that this season will be just as good as the previous two. Murphy has delivered some great television in his show American Horror Story and in the first season of American Crime Story, but the question is, does Impeachment live up to being as great and appealing as the story it’s based on?
Well, the short answer is no, and I am not sure how many Os to put no for the long answer. This scandal happened when I was six, and I don’t remember much about it other than the things I have heard comedians say about it over the years. Out of the four-to-six U.S. History classes I have taken over my life, whether in high school or college, the ’90s weren’t covered as much. So I knew very little going into this show. In this review, I want to keep that in mind. But since I only know the information that this show presented me with in regards to the scandal, I want to take the show at face value, and not as something based on real events.
With that in mind, the show felt too long and too stretched out, and that it should have been cut down some. There were episodes where I was checking the runtime constantly because I wanted to know how much time was left. I haven’t seen the other two ACS seasons, but I have heard great things. However, Impeachment felt flat to me.
Two of the biggest highlights of the show were Beanie Feldstein’s Lewinsky and Clive Owen’s Clinton. I have been a fan of Feldstein since Booksmart, and she absolutely shines in this role; she definitely understood the assignment. Feldstein shines in the true emotion one would have to express to play this character, and she’s one of the very few bright spots among the whole show.
The other bright spot is Owen. Over the years, I have seen lots of Bill Clinton impersonations — some good and many terrible. Owen does not play a laughable impersonation, but an excellent interpretation. The makeup effects on him were great and he gives it his all to portray who Clinton was back then.
Impeachment had the budget to do great makeup effects and cast great actors and actresses to fill these roles. Yet while they do have some great casting, one who was not so great was Sarah Paulson. If you are a fan of Murphy, then you know Paulson, who is in pretty much every season of AHS, so Murphy cast her as Linda Tripp. Tripp was the person responsible for leaking the story of the affair between Lewinsky and Clinton. I didn’t even know who Tripp was, yet something felt off by how Paulson portrayed her. There didn’t seem to be any chemistry between her and Feldstein. Also, the way the show portrays their friendship doesn’t feel like how people would ever be in a friendship.
Impeachment is very problematic, mainly because it’s so all over the place with how it is presenting the story. It not only wants the cake, but it wants to bake it and rub its face in what’s left over. For example, having Ann Coulter (Cobie Smulders) say something along the lines of, “allowing the President to get away with doing whatever he wants will lead to someone running for President who thinks they are above the law.” This show either doesn’t know which side it’s leaning towards, or is just name-dropping real people to say like look there’s this person.
Another problematic thing is the constant discussion of weight throughout. I am someone who struggles with weight, and my god, this show just constantly can’t stop talking about weight. It does show us how gaslighting and manipulative all these people are to Lewinsky, and it made me want to go out and do more research on the actual scandal, rather than focus on what this show presents.
Finally, let us talk about Impeachment‘s length, because this show drags this story on; most of the time, I couldn’t keep everything straight. There is an episode that shows the 12 hours the FBI kept Lewinsky in a hotel room in Washington, D.C. to try to get her to flip on Clinton, and the episode literally felt like I spent 12 hours of my life watching that unfold. It also bounces around all through ’93 and ’98, and even with telling me what year they are in, I couldn’t stay focused. I am not sure if this show was meant for me to take it at face value, but I do not recommend it. If you want to know more about the Lewinsky-Clinton scandal, then watch something else.
Grade: D
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