Episode #69 "Contempt Of Court"

[Matt5]

I enjoyed this episode - the Season 4 premiere . It had a laid back - no frills style to it almost low key . The locations are really nice and I really like the Jan Hammer score . The faded color beach scenes is great cinematography and great work from director Jan Eliasberg ("Forgive Us Our Debts" , "God's Work")

I can see non die-hard fans of the show would be questioning this episode but I always enjoy it. It shows Vice well for the fall of 1987 and shows how the show had moved away from the glitz of Season 2 9/10

Edited October 4, 2016 by Matt5

[AzVice]

it's alright, nothing special really for me. More of a serious story again. Crockett serving Mosca at the beginning made no sense. He's supposed to be deep under cover. Why would he be doing that?

much less stylized than the previous seasons. Mosca also seems to be a bit out of place in Miami.

[Matt5]

On 10/4/2016 at 4:09 PM, AzVice said:

it's alright, nothing special really for me. More of a serious story again. Crockett serving Mosca at the beginning made no sense. He's supposed to be deep under cover. Why would he be doing that?

much less stylized than the previous seasons. Mosca also seems to be a bit out of place in Miami.

I agree about Mosca.

[Remington]

I see S4 at a combination of the pastel laden S1 and S2 with the darker tone of S3. And personally, for the most part I dig it. I saw a few of these episodes on Centric shortly before it stopped airing on that channel. I've always had kind of a soft spot for it.

I just finished rewatching this episode. Could barely remember what happened. It's kind of an 80's Law and Order episode. Dick Wolf. Huh must be a coincidence.

Anyway, this is a decent episode. Not the best one to open the season though. However, every scene with Mosca is very watchable thanks to Stanley Tucci.

The cinematography does look pretty washed out. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. Compare this photography to El Viejo. It's like a different show.

Two standout scenes for me include the scene in the jail with Mosca and the death of Rivers.

It actually moves surprisingly fast. The only real flaws I can think of is the bland photography and the kid who played River's son. That final scene was painful to watch.

8/10

[Matt5]

Quite a low key episode for a season premiere even though “Death and the Lady” was due to be the premiere. I always like “Contempt of Court” it has a summer 1987 feel to it.

Ths locations are particularly good in this episode - the beach up in North Beach with some great lighting. Production is less glossy and harder - and great direction from Jan Eliasberg her first episode since “Forgive Us Our Debts”. 9/10

[Campion]

Watched this one again and it gives me mixed feelings. First, it's not a bad episode but it is a bad season opener. At this point in its run, Vice has already been moved to the 9 p.m. time slot against the hugely popular Dallas and ratings started to suffer (never understood this move--it was just plain stupid). The last thing Vice needed was a slow episode to start the season, with an unremarkable opening, no action, and nothing out of the ordinary. As a season opener it really fails. I can only imagine the previews for this one "catch the season premier of Miami Vice when Crockett plays catch on the beach and Tubbs pulls his revolver out really fast! Tune in for the action of an exploding envelope". I remember when I first watched it I kept waiting for the action to kick in, the twist. Never happened. And geez, poor Tubbs--I don't think he speaks a line of dialogue until Act III, while Castillo pretty much disappears after the credits. 

If you look at the first six episodes of season 4, they share that same characteristic--Vice trying to be more dramatic, more mysterious, more mature (I guess). I have no problem with this--in fact with the exception of "The big Thaw" I enjoyed the first episodes of this season ranking Child's Play, God's Work, and Death and the Lady as some of the best episodes of Vice's run. But, again, none feels like a season opener. At this point, Vice desperately needed a TV event to kick start the new season (something like Prodigal Son again). Contempt of Court just doesn't deliver--not even close. Had it been episode 4 or 5 of the season, I'd give it more love because the acting, sets, direction- all come across as professional and well-executed, so it'd be an acceptable filler/bottle episode. 

This is toned down Vice. Notice in all of season four there are no steamy love scenes (Crockett on the boat with Sheena Easton is boring compared to scenes in the previous seasons) and Tubbs doesn't have a single relationship all season (this is Tubbs we're talking about--a ladies man who chases no ladies in season 4, unless I'm forgetting something). Crockett & Tubbs don't fire their guns in anger until episode 5.

As someone else stated in an earlier post in this thread, this episode is an alarm bell about what is to come, so while I like much about Contempt of Court, it really failed to deliver. 

Edited August 15, 2018 by Campion

[Bren10]

I think some of the lawyer antics were based off of Bruce Cutler and Gerald Shargel who were John Gotti's lawyers.  If you watch the Gotti movie w/ Armand Assante, the "retch and vomit" outburst is repeated almost word for word.  Yes the episode is lacking in many areas but the character of Mosca could've definitely been used more.  No, this is not a good season opener.

[squeezem3]

On 9/29/2018 at 3:24 PM, Bren10 said:

I think some of the lawyer antics were based off of Bruce Cutler and Gerald Shargel who were John Gotti's lawyers.  If you watch the Gotti movie w/ Armand Assante, the "retch and vomit" outburst is repeated almost word for word.  Yes the episode is lacking in many areas but the character of Mosca could've definitely been used more.  No, this is not a good season opener.

Yes, they definitely referred to the "Teflon-Don" John Gotti and how he and his lawyer made a joke out of the justice system several times in the eighties until they finally got him in 1990.

Actually an interesting story, but they never managed to make this episode exciting. Sonny looks burned-out, Tubbs gets barely any screen time, the fashion is either recycled or uninspired and the music is boring. This is simply not Vice-like at all. Good acting by Tucci and the judge at least. 4/10

Edited November 18, 2018 by squeezem3

[Bren10]

I do enjoy the story of Sonny's inner turmoil throughout this episode.  It's not viscerally exciting, but it can't be given what the story is.  It's very much a slow burn ep.

[RedDragon86]

It would have been so much better instead of Mosca it was Frederico Librizzi who was in this, and it would have made more sense. Librizzi was in control of the mob operations in Miami not Mosca, who just appeared from nowhere like he has been running things for years, no mention of him at all during the mob episodes in season 1 or 2 .

 

Edited July 10, 2019 by RedDragon86

[Robbie C.]

Continuity? We don’t need no stinkin’ Continuity. 

[RedDragon86]

1 hour ago, Robbie C. said:

Continuity? We don’t need no stinkin’ Continuity. 

After season 2 they seemed to forget who was running things, I am assuming after Calderon died Mario Fuente was the main drug smuggler in Miami but we learn that some biker in "Viking Bikers From Hell" controlled a third of the cocaine? that didn't make any sense to me as Biker gangs are not organized or powerful as the cartel of mob.

Edited July 10, 2019 by RedDragon86

[Robbie C.]

Not only that, but at that time bikers were more into speed. Bikers are actually pretty organized, much more than Reb’s little crew. 

[Mr. Vigilante]

I think my excitement of a new season originally clouded my judgement.  This isn't a bad episode necessarily....just not a season opener-quality.  I'd probably rate it a 5/10.  Crockett did have a pretty freakin cool shirt under the white sportcoat however.

[Matt5]

7 hours ago, Mr. Vigilante said:

I think my excitement of a new season originally clouded my judgement.  This isn't a bad episode necessarily....just not a season opener-quality.  I'd probably rate it a 5/10.  Crockett did have a pretty freakin cool shirt under the white sportcoat however.

Good review - I like it but it is low key for a Season opener I agree - the network thought Crockett being in jail would be more of an opener im sure. 

[RedDragon86]

Haven't watched this one for a few years, so I started with season 4 last night. Sorry if anyone likes this but its just like I remember it, boring.

What this episode was missing massively was the style, music, OCB and even the main actors, it felt like the Vice team were not in it, just in flashes. This episode feels so empty. 

Contempt Of Court = "Law & Order, Dick Wolf Style"

5/10.

Edited January 25, 2020 by RedDragon86

[AndrewRemington]

I think this makes a great open for Season 4. “Amen... Send Money” is too odd for a season opener, and “Death and the Lady” is a superb episode but too dark and avant-garde for a season opener. I think “Death and the Lady” would have been a perfect Halloween episode, like “Shadow in the Dark”.

Stanley Tucci as Mosca is great. He’s a villain you like but also hate for his scumbag ways. It’s hard to believe Stanley was only 26 going on 27. He looks way older than that. I would have thought he’d be 35-40.

I really love the camera-work of the scene with Jimmy DePalma. The camera slowly spins around in a circle to reveal Mosca’s men with him. I also really like the simple, minimalist decor. White room with black chairs, with the flowers on the glass table. I don’t know, I just really appreciate the nice decor.

Enjoyable episode for me. It’s not terrifically exciting, but I definitely enjoy it. It takes the contempt of court plot from “Give A Little, Take A Little” and the ending is very reminiscent of “No Exit”. At least they didn’t end it with, “NOOOO!”  

Edited July 23, 2020 by AndrewRemington

[Jack Gretsky]

A lot of courtroom stuff which is not what I watch Miami Vice for, but this was reasonably engaging.  Stanley Tucci and Mark Blum made a despicable grandstanding pair of mobster and lawyer.  It was great seeing Steven Keats here; he was in several excellent 1970s films. (The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Black Sunday, etc.)

On the issue of continuity and season openers and finales in Vice - I'm OK with the show having a lot of stand-alone mini-movie episodes.  A lot of TV shows with grand schemes to their continuities over several seasons sometimes gets tiresome.  And as I'm watching these all in a row on DVD cliffhanger finales and "pow" openers don't really mean much!

[Rev Nada]

On 4/21/2008 at 10:09 AM, Ferrariman said:

Begin posting

I also enjoyed this one mainly because, and sorry if this has already been discussed here, I found the scene that influenced a scene in Tarantino’s (directed by Tony Scott) True Romance (the scene with Hopper and Walken).  Even the moment when Mosca walks away to get the gun from the henchmen is almost identical. And in both scenes the antagonists claim to be experts in finding lies. 

[sdiegolo78]

On 10/5/2016 at 4:42 PM, Matt5 said:

I agree about Mosca.

Tucci is a New York guy

[sdiegolo78]

On 7/10/2019 at 7:51 PM, Robbie C. said:

Not only that, but at that time bikers were more into speed. Bikers are actually pretty organized, much more than Reb’s little crew. 

True. This is shown in 'Stone cold' with Brian Bosworth.

[sdiegolo78]

I agree with the more favorable reviews about this episode. Definitely not the most memorable MV episode but not as bad as some people make it either. It was quite remarkable give S4 quality inconsistency.

You can't always have high speed car/boat chases and gun fights. Sometimes you need a story like this one, mostly taking place in a courtroom. That shows different aspects of police work.One may argue it's the FBI normally going after mobs like Mosca and leading the investigation. But that's a minor detail, it's MV after all and not FBI story.

I didn't find the story slow at all but well paced and crafted. Especially the jail sequence and Tubbs race to get Rivers out of prison. The scene in which the latter is killed, with the complicity of corrupt Dade County correction deputies, was very good. Steven Keats was great in this episode and it was a remarkable 70s-80s TV character actor. When i watched this episode for the first time, I've immediately felt I knew this actor from somewhere (saw him a few times on TJ Hooker playing the bad guy).

Some things i agree were a bit over the top, such as the candies passing over in the court room, and I found Mosca's lawyer quite obnoxious. Tucci was overacting at times, trying too hard to look like a 'poor man's De Niro'.

It was inevitable to me to run a comparison between Mosca and Lombard characters, as both being Italian mobs. And the rocket ball (or was it polo?) game line i think was kinda recycled from 'One eyed jack' when Lombard gets arrested in his yacht. Nonetheless, I feel Lombard would personally dislike a 'punk' like Mosca (old mafia vs new generation).

Overall I'll give this a solid 7/10.

 

 

[Titus]

I love this episode for Meg Foster alone. The chemistry between her and Crockett should have blossomed into something more.

Well... fine... a nod to Stanley Tucci too. Fantastic performance. He was smarmy smugly evil, a perfect Vice villain.

[sdiegolo78]

On 7/10/2019 at 3:59 PM, RedDragon86 said:

It would have been so much better instead of Mosca it was Frederico Librizzi who was in this, and it would have made more sense. Librizzi was in control of the mob operations in Miami not Mosca, who just appeared from nowhere like he has been running things for years, no mention of him at all during the mob episodes in season 1 or 2 .

 

My guess is new writer jumped in and created a new character to use available actor again (S.Tucci) who had a part in aS3 episode. Maybe who knows, the Librizzi and Mosca clans were rivals....

[RedDragon86]

On 3/20/2021 at 2:24 AM, sdiegolo78 said:

My guess is new writer jumped in and created a new character to use available actor again (S.Tucci) who had a part in aS3 episode. Maybe who knows, the Librizzi and Mosca clans were rivals....

I far as I am aware I don't think two mob outfits from lets say who are originally from NY or Chicago could operate as rivals in Miami, maybe partners. 

When the Chicago outfit sent Spilotro and crew to Las Vegas in the 70s no way could their be a crew from one of the New York borough muscling in or their would be a serious war. I think what the writers should have did was have Mosca mentioning Librizzi, like he dismantled his operation.