The ‘Hipster Grifter’ Law & Order Episode Is Here, And It’s Awesome

If, for some reason, you missed Gawker’s Kari Ferrell coverage this summer (she’s the Utah fugitive-turned-Brooklyn scam artist a.k.a., the “Hipster Grifter”), you’re missing out, dude.

Personally, I live for this kind of psychological/legal circus show. A local criminal/fugitive who gains notoriety for being inappropriately sexually aggressive and is clearly eligible for some kind of batshit, borderline personality disorder diagnosis? And whose catchphrases include such gems as, “I want you to throw a hotdog down my hallway” and refers to herself as the Korean Abdul-Jabbar? Um, Awesome.

Well, if you’re late to this story, you’re in luck. Law & Order just ripped our beard-loving con artist from Hamilton Nolan’s headlines.

Highlights of Friday’s episode include:

• Some clever editing that cut from a scene of Kari “Emma” and Jeremy Sisto in bed together to a shot of Jeremy Sisto buying a, wait for it, hot dog
• Emma works for a shitty, monosyllabically titled music magazine! No, not Vice. Jam. Maybe she organizes concerts for Ticketmaster LiveNation, too?
• Emma has a chronic kidney disease! And a heart condition! And a liver disease! And chronic anemia! No cancer, unless you count poor Lt. Van Buren’s only significant storyline in like a decade.
• Kari Farrell likes dudes with beards. Jeremy Sisto has a beard.
• “Emma” has arrest warrants in “a half dozen cities.” No word on whether Salt Lake City or Philly are among them, but she and Kari should team-up. I’ll bet it’d be like Thelma & Louise.

I was particularly tickled by this bit of exposition, where Emma clues Jeremy Sisto in about her medical conditions:

“Maybe you think I’m a delicate thing because of my kidney disease, and you might break me or something? For your information, I take good care of myself; I take my meds when I can afford them because Jam, the stupid magazine that I write for, doesn’t pay any benefits.”

Ordinarily, I’d call that some pretty contrived dialogue, but I can totally picture the real Kari talking like that. Plus, I like to think of it as a shout-out to every struggling freelance writer who doesn’t have the luxury of health benefits.

All of them, in other words.

Anywho, the episode is a pretty blatant spoof on the real-life Ferrell’s exploits (is it me, or do the “does not depict any actual person or event” disclaimers somehow more prominent when the episodes clearly depict an actual person and/or event?), and the whole thing culminates in a particularly over-the-top scene where the Hipster Grifter character fondles herself in open court. We’ll see if the real Kari pulls a similar stunt at her trial, but I honestly wouldn’t put it past her.

I don’t know when this episode will re-air, but if you’re part of the Kari Ferrell fan club, buy this on iTunes, DVR it, whatever. Do something to make sure you catch what may be the best episode in this show’s 20-year run.

(Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but seriously, it’s a pretty entertaining one if you like some quality scenery chewing every now and then.)