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As you can see by the title, this was the first of the Ally McBeal Christmas episodes. I love the Christmas episodes. David E. Kelley always manages to incorporate a bittersweet theme into these shows. In the first season, we had the heartbreaking story of the cross-dressing prostitute that Ally befriended. In the second season, we had unicorns. In the third season, we had Elaine fighting for custody over a baby she had found. This season, it was Larry's story that was front and center..... especially in this episode.
We learn that Larry hates Christmas and we completely understand his feelings when we find out why. He has a 7-year old son that he barely sees. A son that he misses so much, especially around the holidays. The development of the character of Larry has been fantastic. When we first met him, he was this witty and sarcastic kind of guy. Then layers of his character began showing episode after episode. He is such a multi-dimensional character and kudos go out to RDJ for his pitch-perfect portrayal.
You could feel the sadness, the pain, the hurt he was going through. The scene where he sits at the piano by himself and sings "River" is absolutely riveting. The look on his face, the tears in his eyes, and that voice..... wow, what a great voice he has. I'm so glad that this show has been able to showcase all of Robert's talents. By the way, if you don't already have the A Very Ally Christmas CD, I urge you to get it. "River" is featured on it and I still listen to it today, even though Christmas is long over. LOL.
And I by no means want to shortchange Calista Flockhart, who is another huge talent. The look on her face when she was watching Larry sing "River" at the piano was heartbreaking. You could see her come to fully realize that Larry is a hurt soul and you could also see her wanting to help him but not knowing how to.
The holidays can be a horrible time, especially if you don't have anybody special to share it with. That can be just unbearable. But even if Larry didn't have his son, I'm glad that he did have Ally. And I believe he realized that when he showed up at her apartment at the end of the episode. Ooh, allow me to backtrack back to the beginning of the episode for a moment? LOL. I just remembered something. When Larry and Ally were walking home carrying the Christmas tree and Larry told Ally that he hates Christmas because he's always alone, Ally said the perfect thing to him..... he won't be alone this year. It tugged at my heart when Larry asked her to say that again. When she does, the look on his face is just too precious.
And coming back to the end of the episode, this is another one of my all-time favorite Ally & Larry moments..... when they sing White Christmas together at the piano. It very well may be my ultimate favorite scene between them. Larry begins singing and then gets choked up in the middle of it when a line in the song reminds him of his son..... Ally begins singing and Larry gives her the most loving look...... then he joins in and the two of them finish the song together. I LOVE this scene so much. And when they finish the song, Larry leans over and nuzzles her neck, almost like he is abandoning himself to her and showing her that he really needs her in his life. They just sit there in silence and hold each other...... fade to black. If that doesn't get to you, I don't know what will :-)
This episode was bittersweet, but sometimes they just need to be.
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