Whoopi Goldberg made her first "Law And Order" appearance nine years ago, in 2006. on the 'Criminal Intent' franchise, in an episode entitled "To The Bone." She played the character of Chesley Watkins, a combination of Ma Barker and Fagin, who had her boys stealing artifacts from the wealthy. She was some nasty piece of work, but she did a fabulous job.
In some ways, except one, this was a better performance than the one she gave this past Wednesday on 'SVU'. This performance was hyped for a week as being so "devastating," but it was only so during her final monologue toward the end.
Whoopi here played Jeanette Grayson in "Institutional Fail." I felt ambivalent about her character, because the acting was great, and the monologue, which was a social plea and damnation of the overworked, not only on the City scene, but in workplaces across America, in general, that one had to concede she had a point.
Except for one thing. In all the numbers crunching and falsifying and cutting back on duties to make statistics--a practice going on everywhere these days, where quantity is sacrificed for quality-- a child died. There is absolutely no excuse for that, and the way she died--confined in a dog's cage by her whore mother and druggie boy friend, where she was starved and dehydrated, did not excuse Jeanette from culpability. She and her coworkers, the young Keith Music, played by John Murago (though one could sympathize with what he was caught up in), and that disgusting Matt Sheridan, played by Josh Mercantel, all deserved the sentencing they got. I can understand Jeanette having a breakdown--I came close this past Spring--but no children died under my care, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These three got what they deserved.
And Josh Pais was on hand, doing his usual brilliant turn as a corporate sleazebag!!!!!!!!!! Nobody does it better than Josh!!!!!!!!! It was good to see him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whoopi did a bravura turn! But I cannot condone her character's actions, no matter what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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