Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) Cherry Red (2003) User Reviews

The Stollers reunite

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 27 March 2017]

Years after Dennis Christopher got his first big break as the bicycle racing town kid in Breaking Away he and his screen dad Paul Dooley are reunited in this Criminal Intent episode. The father/son dynamic from the film is light years from what we have here.

Christopher got obsessed with those Italian bikers and was speaking some kind of pidgin Italian that drove Dooley bonkers. Here Christopher has another obsession and it's the basis for what happens in the story.

Dooley is a very sick man on dialysis and Dennis is a dutiful son accompanying him on every trip, taking time off from the Public Administrator's office to do this. In New York's five counties, the Public Administrator works for the Surrogate and administers the estates of those who die intestate without a will. It's an opportunity for a little looting as well.

What brings Major Case into the scene is the murder of one young woman which in turn reopens a case where an elderly woman died in a fire thought to be accidental. No accident as you gather. Someone was down on the job not catching what Goren and Eames do.

Christopher and Dooley's scenes with each other and Vincent D'Onofrio's interrogation of both of them are priceless.

Boys And Their Toys

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 30 December 2006]

Man, is this a bizarre story. As with most of these episodes it's a little disjointed and confusing at first but then things start to weave together and the complete picture is seen.

This turns out to be not just a story - as is seen early on - of a murder of an old lady, or of a younger woman who also lived in the same building, but really a story of a 12-year-old kid who grew up with tremendous unexpressed resentment and hatred for his father coupled with an obsessive and expensive hobby. The latter is collecting extremely expensive and rare classic cars. In the end, the need for those to fulfill his sick inner self, leads "Roger Coffman" (Dennis Christopher) to commit crimes.

This episode also is a good warning to those of us who are older and still have no wills. As Det. Goren states in here, "(someone else) can become lord and master of your estate."

A Pathological Need

[pepper_f · 9/10 · 23 March 2022]

"Cherry Red", in my opinion, is one of the best episodes in this season and that's purely because of the plot and characters in this episode. At first, the synopsis makes the episode seem very ordinary. As the plot starts unraveling in the episode though, we start to get a more in-depth look at the antagonist and what his desires are. What's also good about this episode is the interaction between the city worker and his father especially in the ending scene. The main cast are also pretty good as well and are their usual selves (Goren having perceptions and Eames' one-liners).

Overall, "Cherry Red" is a pretty good episode primarily because of the how plot starts unfolding and the supporting character interactions in this episode.

Familiar faces?!

[d_meyer · 10/10 · 9 November 2007]

The guest stars of this episode, Dennis Christopher and Paul Dooley, play son and father (respectively). This pairing of actors will probably ring a bell with many viewers. It should, because it's a veritable blast from the past. It's also an homage to a very popular movie of yesteryear. Paul Dooley and Dennis Christopher played father and son once before, you see. Think back to 1979 -- and the sleeper hit, BREAKING AWAY. Their indelible pairing in that movie is now evoked a generation later in this episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, in which they play family members whose fortunes revolve not around the wheels of bicycles, as in BREAKING AWAY, but the wheels of costly sports cars -- and the inexorable turning of the wheels of justice.

Murder and cars

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 30 April 2020]

Season 2 started off brilliantly and had a consistently great streak up until "Malignant", between "Tomorrow" and "Con-Text" the quality dipped a little bit. "Baggage" saw the season starting to properly return to form and "See Me" and "Probability" were season high points. Post-"Monster", the season dipped slightly again while still being very good viewing, just not top-form standard like the season and show proved that they were more than capable of being frequently.

"Cherry Red" continues the season's high quality, the overall standard of the second season was actually very high indeed if not consistent all the way through, though it doesn't quite see it on return to peak form. Not one of the best Season 2 or 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' episodes, but a very good one still elevated by the leads, two great supporting turns and a couple of particularly great scenes. Making up for some of the storytelling being flawed.

It is a little confusing in the early portions.

Will admit too to not being surprised at all by the revelation of who was the killer, there is something about the way they were written in an episode with relatively few suspects to begin with that made them strongly suspectable as responisible, complicit or knowing more than they let on.

Despite its flaws, "Cherry Red" is very good and actually nearly great. The case despite being very twisty became clearer later on, didn't fall too much into over-obviousness (only with one character) and was very intriguing throughout. The connection between the crimes is very well handled and is not given short shrift. Goren and Eames are as delightful as ever as are their playful and well gelled chemistry and Vincent D'Onofrio's charismatic acting. The dialogue is hard-boiled, intelligently written and at times affecting, more consistent than the occasionally patchy writing seen in the previous episode "Legion".

Furthermore benefits are two very well written supporting characters, one especially being one of the most repellent supporting characters of Season 2. A very well developed and unnerving father-son dynamic, how it's written is tense and sad and it's a long way from being superficially executed. Two terrific guest star performances, Dennis Christopher successfully allows one to feel for his character and Paul Dooley does repellent quite frighteningly. There are a couple of fine scenes here, namely the tense interrogation and my favourite the scene with Goren and the cherry red car (his dialogue here is priceless). The production values are solid as is how the music is scored and used.

All in all, very well done. 8/10

A Cohesive Story with an Awful Message

[appealing_talent · 10/10 · 10 December 2023]

Please don't get the idea that this review will be an awful one, due to using that word in the subject line. On the contrary, this episode has turned out to be my very favorite of the whole series. From the very beginning it captured my interest and as the plot unfolded all the elements involved flowed in a natural cohesive pattern. Unlike some of the others, this story was devoid of clever subterfuges that lead into convoluted labyrinths and then out again. There were no 'red herrings' or false leads and since the two guest stars were notable actors it was apparent, right from the start, who at least one of the perpetrators was. The acting was superb and their characters were as perfectly matched, as they were when together years earlier, in the terrific movie "Breaking Away," as father and son. This time, though, they brought a twisted malevolence, which fairly seethed of intense selfishness, greed and an almost palpable lack of humanity. Kudos to whoever thought of casting Dennis Christopher and Paul Dooley in the parts.