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Did you hear that noise? That's the sound of a door opening.
That's the sound of David E. Kelley opening the door to Larry's apparent future exit.
Bittersweet. That's the only word I can use to describe the feeling of this episode. I was left with a feeling of sadness when it was over. *Sigh* Dare I say this is the beginning of the end?
Well, I don't want to be too down on you. I'll try and keep this upbeat.....
Hey, Sting was on! I enjoy him very much. And he and Robert worked great together. It was nice watching their scenes knowing that the two of them are good friends in real life. They must have had a blast working together.
A little side note: When Sting retires, will he change his name to Stung? :) Just wondering....
The majority of this episode unfortunately kept Ally and Larry apart. Larry was working on the Sting case. And Ally....... well, it's that time of year again! It's Ally's birthday!! Ally's birthday episodes have always been bittersweet, but I was truly hoping that this year would be different. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Ally's alone...... physically and emotionally, it seems. She's 31 and decides that it's finally time for a face lift. She stays at home for most of the day, just moping around. But she does get a special visit -- the Dancing Baby is back!! Goody! I've always loved that little tyke. But as we see, the Baby is getting quite old. LOL! How hilarious was that when he made his first appearance on a walker?? Funny. And then it shot something out of a cannon at Ally. The bad news is that when Ally has these types of visions, it means that she's not happy.
The major revelation came when Richard came to visit her. She confessed that even though she has a man, friends, a job..... everything she has always wanted..... she still feels alone. Dammit, Ally!! What is it going to take for you to be happy? Well, I think the question was answered when she flashed back to the time when she first met Larry. I'm glad that DEK remembered their conversation because it's something I immediately thought about when Larry decided to move in with Ally. When they first met, Larry told Ally that Brian wanted to move in with her because he didn't want to marry her. Well, Larry has moved in with her but there's been no signs of a ring anywhere. I'd be a little worried, too, if I was Ally.
By the way, did you notice that in the flashback, there was a little part that didn't make it into the episode when it originally aired. Larry said, "Ally. Can I call you Al? Or Mac?" LOL. Sometimes it makes you wonder just how much is left on the cutting room floor. Wouldn't you just love a tape of all the outtakes?
Anyway, back to Ally...... she's feeling alone, depressed...... maybe it's just the Birthday Blues. Maybe it's something else. Renee convinces her to come to her party at the Bar that night. Go, Ally. You'll get a surprise there.
Okay, now we've come to Mr. Larry. What is he doing and what is so damn important that he has to miss his girlfriend's birthday?? Well, Sting! Or "Mr. Sting" -- as Larry calls him. The rock star seeks out Larry's legal help. He's being sued by Pee-Wee Herman because he was singing suggestively towards Pee-Wee's wife, Cheri O'Teri. LOL! Yes, Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee) and Cheri O'Teri guest-starred and I have to say it was a pretty good combination. Did you ever think you'd see Sting and Pee-Wee Herman trading insults at each other? Priceless.
The case was okay. Sting is a pretty good actor. And he proved to be a noble person by the end when he fibbed and told Cheri O'Teri what she wanted to hear..... that he *was* singing to her and dreaming about her....... just to make her happy. And he settled -- hey, he's rich. Money's no big deal to him. What I did like was when Sting told Larry that he was settling, and Larry realized that the whole case was just a waste of time and that he "sacrificed his love life" for this.
Which brings me to the hero of tonight's show -- Richard Fish. Who knew?? I love Richard. Underneath his insensitive exterior is a true friend.... and a good person. When he paid Larry a little visit and told him that Ally was alone on her birthday, I wanted to hug him. Larry said that he had an explanation, but Richard said, "She's alone. No excuse." I love you, Richard. LOL.
Now onto the Bar!! Finally a scene that somehow makes the whole episode worth it. Ally's sitting at the table with her friends, looking around to see if Larry's anywhere in sight. He's not. It's late. She's depressed. She wants to go home. She stands up, but her friends tell her not to leave yet. Hmmm, do they know something she doesn't? Ally begs them to let her go. But wait.... the lights dim......
The lights go up and focuses on the stage.
And there stands Larry.
He's on stage in front of the microphone, and the opening chords of "Every Breath You Take" begin to play. He looks directly at Ally and begins to sing to her. Now didn't that just melt your heart??? The way he was looking at her, the way he was singing to her....... *Sigh* He has a gorgeous voice. In fact, his voice is very similar to........
Sting!
Oh, there's Sting! He pops up on stage and the whole crowd at the Bar goes nuts! Ally's surprised too. She obviously didn't know that Larry was handling a Sting case that day. Larry and Sting sing a little together, until Sting finally pushes Larry away...... probably leading him to his girlfriend. Larry goes to Ally and asks her to dance, kissing her sweetly on the cheek. They get up to dance, and notice the BIG SMILE on Larry's face. Doesn't he have the nicest smile? :)
Ally and Larry dance close together on the dance floor. If you watched 'Entertainment Tonight', they showed a lot of behind-the-scenes footage of this scene. Unfortunately, a lot of it didn't make it onto air. What was shown on ET was a lot of kissing, smiling...... wish it could've made it onto the episode.
Sting motions for Larry to come back onto the stage with him to finish the song together. Larry finishes the song, directing it right to Ally. She has tears in her eyes and looks extremely touched. Has Larry been forgiven?
Well, kinda. After the Bar, they walk home together. Outside, Ally is in heaven and can't believe that Sting actually sang to her. LOL. Wait a minute. "So did I," Larry says. He apologizes for missing most of her birthday. And he says, "I love you, Ally McBeal." She smiles. They kiss. It's love.
And truth be told, I would have been happy if the show ended right here. With them holding each other, kissing each other..... TOGETHER.
But it's not over yet.
The next shot we see is them in bed together making love. This is always a welcoming sight to my eyes! But you could tell that this wasn't new footage. This was taken from the episode The Ex-Files. Remember at the end of that episode, we saw Ally and Larry in bed making love? Well, the scenes in this episode were from the same taping of that past scene. We saw footage we hadn't seen before, but it was from the same taping. You could tell. They spliced some outtakes from that scene, and presented them as new here.
Why? Well, my guess is that after recent events, they scrambled to change the ending of this episode. Who knows.... maybe this episode originally had a happy ending. But instead, we're left with a close-up of Ally's face looking pretty sad. And the final shot ends on Ally and Larry in bed together...... far apart, on opposite sides of the bed. And as many people pointed out, "Larry" in the final shot is not Robert. It seems to be another actor. That's why we can't see his face. Makes sense, doesn't it? As I said in the beginning of this review, it opens the door for Larry's exit. Noooooooo!!!!
Well, what can I say? The sad ending left me feeling kinda down. I'm very curious as to what this episode was originally supposed to be like. But I guess we'll never know. And I guess we all know it's coming. Larry's going to leave. That's the overwhelming impression. I only hope and pray that DEK leaves the door wide open for a future return.
Most of all, I pray for Robert to get well. That's first and foremost.
You know, I think it's almost sloppy writing on DEK's part. All of a sudden, Ally is feeling lonely and sad??? Where did that come from??? It just came so abrupt. When Larry was in Detroit, she missed him like crazy! When he came back, the look on her face was that of a woman who had finally found her soulmate. This was just out of character for Ally, in my opinion.
I think we can all agree that Larry is IT. He's the one for Ally. He's the man that she's been searching for all her life. He's the LOVE OF HER LIFE. How DEK can follow Larry up....... well, he just can't. He's an impossible act to follow. In future episodes, go ahead and let Ally have one disaster of a date after another. It's what made up the first three seasons. I can handle that. But DEK, don't even attempt to find her another 'love' like Larry. It's impossible.
My hope for the future is that Larry will come back. He'll come back to sweep Ally off her feet once again. Even if the series had to end next season, I'd be content as long as Ally and Larry find their way back to each other.
That's my hope for the future.
We have to have faith.
And remember that Ally and Larry belong together.
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