This is the second season of the Ryan Murphy series "Monster". The first was the Jeffrey Dahmer story. See my review of that a little later. "The Lyle and Erik Mendenez Story" is about the 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez at the hands of their then 18 and 21 year old sons. The brothers were originally tried separately with both resulting in hung juries. They were then tried together. Lyle and Erik said the murders were self defense. They claim to have suffered years of sexual and psychological abuse from their parents. The prosecution asserted that they wanted the inheritance money and point to massive spending by the two right after their parents deaths. The jury believed the prosecution the second time around and in 1996 the brothers were sentenced to life without parole.
The Netflix series has received mixed reviews from critics. Some point to the hyper-sexualization of the main characters. Lyle and Erik are depicted as having an incestuous relationship. Is there any evidence of this IRL? I dont think so. Others say the series makes light of the stories of victims of sexual abuse. The show alternates between a true crime story and campiness. Case in point, there are several outlandish depictions of prison escape attempts. One involves the brothers breaking out and changing their identities. They get plastic surgery and sport long hair. They look atrocious but it is a fun scene. I'm not sure why people are surprised about the tone of the series. This is typical Ryan Murphy fair. There's lots of campiness, lots of male beauty and lots of references to sex.
Below are my thoughts on the series:
- Lots of Filler- The nine episodes could have been trimmed down to maybe 6 or less. While I always enjoy seeing Nathan Lane (and he does a fantastic job) do we really need to have Dominick Dunne in this series? He was a reporter for Vanity Fair for the trial but his commentary didnt add much IMHO. And why do we need to know that Leslie Abrahamson and husband were trying to adopt? The show would have been much more entertaining without all these side stories.
- Can't Stick The Landing- Murphy never really manages to stick the landing on any of his shows. The ending is typically one or two episodes before the actual finale. This series is better than some but I found the boat scene a strange way to end. I will give them credit for trying to depict all sides of the situation but that back and forth leads to a messy series.
- True Crime As Entertainment- I always struggled with society's and my tremendous appetite for true crime. We are talking about the tragedy of real people. I'm not sure how to feel about such things.
- The Excellent Cast- The actors are the show's saving grace. Each is excellent. Standouts include Javier Bardem as Jose and Cooper Koch as Erik.
- Personal Pet Peeve- I lost count of how many times they referred to the brothers as "boys". They were adults at the time of the killing (18 and 21). Stop calling them boys!
- In Summation: You should watch the show if for nothing else other than episode 5's "Hurt Man". It is a 35 minute single shot of Erik recounting the horrors of his abuse by his father. Excellent acting. Koch really deserves some awards for this scene.
Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). Yes the series has received mixed reviews but I really enjoyed it. All the main actors are definitely on point. Cooper Koch (who portrayed Erik) should win a bunch of awards for episode 5 if nothing else. As to the facts of the case, I guess we'll never know. If what Lyle and Eric said is true, their parents were horrific monsters. If it's not true, Lyle and Eric are sociopaths and deserve to be exactly where they are for the rest of their lives.
Photo Credit:
GMonsterTV
TV: Heavy On Horror, Sci Fi, Fantasy & Adventure
September 29, 2024
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