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Review:
Ally McBeal
Written By Rick Ellis
I've never really
believed that you can remain friends with your ex. It's easy to
do if the relationship didn't matter, if if was casual, if you just
drifted apart. But if you care, really hurt when they leave, how
can you stand to talk to them everyday? You pretend to be detached,
to not really care when they walk past you smelling just so. And
instead, you silently find yourself manipulating reasons to say
hello, imagining scenerios that would throw you together one last
time. And if you still love them--even if you can't admit it to
yourself--every time you hear their voice you die a little inside.
Ally McBeal
is a smart, sexy, funny woman. She's a successful lawyer with a
life that should be happier than it is. Her life might be perfect
except for one little thing: she finds herself working with not
just the only man she ever loved...but his new wife.
David E. Kelley
has always had the knack of writing strong roles for women. But
in his newest series, Ally McBeal, he delivers his strongest
effort yet. And there's no better example of the show than Monday's
episode, which provides countless reasons to consider the show one
of the strongest dramas on television.
The episode
juggles a number of plots, with everything from a threatened walkout
by the entire female staff to a breathtakingly sexy scene of Calista
Flockhart and Courtney Thorne-Smith drinking cappachino "slowly...like
the way a woman wishes her man would make love." Combined with a
subplot of a messy divorce case and the memorable vision of Peter
MacNichol picking his nose in the midst of a client meeting, it
was a dizzingly display of what separates shows like this from network
time killers like Dellaventura.
But above all,
what drives the show is the triangle between Flockhart, Thorne-Smith
and Gil Bellows. The waves of attraction between the ex's are so
strong that they're almost visible, as the two careen back and forth
between aching for each other, and wishing desperately that they
could flee the scene.
All of this
longing would seem ridiculously over the top if the third part of
the triangle wasn't so easy to fall in love with. Courtney Thorne-Smith
might have been a success on Merose Place, but it took this show
to finally offer a glimpse of her strength as an actress. Ally may
be spectacular, but it's easy to watch the two women and thank your
lucky stars you don't have to decide between them.
And like all
good dramas, the ensemble cast shines. Besides MacNichol, Monday's
episode had strong scenes featuring Ally boss (played by Greg Gormann),
Lisa Jane Carson and Jane Krakowski, who organizes a walkout by
the female staff, only to find it collapse in the saddest way possible.
In fact, the only pointless performance was by Sandra Bernhard,
who's brief appearance scarcely rated the amount of time Fox spent
promoting it last week.
But in the
end, the show works because of Calista Flockhart's portrayal of
Ally. She steals every scene she's in, and her angular face is expressive
and so beautiful that sometimes you can look into her eyes and feel
as if you're drowning.
In other words,
ignore NBC's pathetic attempts at programming for women, and put
in a tape so you don't miss Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Then
sit back and enjoy the ride. Being in the same room with an ex may
not be pleasant in real life--but it makes for some fine television.
THE
CAST:
Calista
Flockhart
Gil
Bellows
Courtney
Thorne-Smith
Lisa
Nicole Carson
Greg
Germann
Jane
Krakowski
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