TV Review

E! News: Michael Jackson Trial (2005)

EW's GRADE
B

Details Start Date: Mar 01, 2005; Genre: Crime; With: Eddie Moss; Network: E! Entertainment Channel

Whether Eddie Moss can sing or dance, we may never know, but as for sitting at a desk with his fingers clasped together — he is a natural. Moss' fine finger-clasping work has been on display as he portrays the King of Pop in El's reenactments of the Michael Jackson child molestation trial. While the faux Jacko has so far been reduced to steely gazes and occasional looks of mild irritation, other breakouts are emerging. Playing white-haired defense attorney Thomas Mesereau as if he were the love child of Andy Warhol and William Shatner, Rigg Kennedy shows a flair for the flamboyant, mixing in off-syllable enunciation with a liberal use of finger-pointing — his patented go-to move. Kennedy deftly outduels his counterpart, Charles Haigh as District Attorney Thomas Sneddon. Whether he's painfully informing the jury that Michael Jackson's ''world was rocked, and it didn't rock in a musical sense — it rocked in a real-life sense,'' or stiffly peppering the accuser's sister with leading questions, Haigh is certainly no thriller. Why, it's enough to put Jack Donner (in the role of Judge Rodney Melville) to sleep! At least he looks asleep. . .or merely a little confused as to what the hell he's doing in a fake courtroom on the E! network.

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Originally posted Mar 14, 2005 Published in issue #811 Mar 18, 2005 Order article reprints

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