L.A. Law: The Movie

This reunion took some of the most loved characters and took them ten steps backwards. Some characters are back with vengeance in the heart and others are having returned with nothing to do. This movie might have done better by extending to at least a three hour format to give the story line some time to complete. Instead we get this mess of changed characters that no one really gets a chance go care about. Even the background ambience is gone. From the ringing phones and office chatter that once filled the law firm, the sound environment now represents either a very poor law firm with no business or that of a funeral parlor. This movie should never have been made with such a weak and quickly thrown together script. Unfortunately I would have to say this garbage is a D.O.A. movie that should not be shown again....

Although we, in the UK, have not had the pleasure of seeing this reunion movie it seems as if it is one NOT to miss. However, the ending seems to have left an opening for a second movie or EVEN a mini series!!! Now that would be good! Especially now that are having the chance to relive the whole series thanks to the new digital channel ITV3. It is also good to see that the majority of the cast from the series agreed to return for this movie, but what happened to Blair Underwood and Jimmy Smits? Would they and the others return for a second movie or a mini series? I do hope so as when L. A. Law ended it left a big hole in believable legal dramas that also contained very believable humorous moments as well. Even when new characters were brought in the show maintained a high level of writing and acting that would have sustained the show even though the US networks cancelled the show.

Arnie is suddenly a complete loser and is getting manipulated by his ex-wife? Ann is no longer a tough-as-nails skeptic, she's been defrauded by a cultish guru? Kuzak has given up the law to run a bar? And he's still going over Douglas's head to Leland, even though Leland is retired and working in a greenhouse. Pretty unrealistic, and an assassination of the original characters. And the plot behind the reunion special was as cookie-cutter as you can get. It wasn't utterly horrible, but it wasn't the L.A. Law of old.

I don't expect a lot out of TV reunion movies. After all, their purpose is simply to get as many original cast members as possible together, and play upon the nostalgia of those who remember the original series fondly. They don't start with a good script; that is the last thing that is done.

However, in this case, the story was actually worth watching even if you had never seen the original series. The subplots also held my interest. My only complaint was the unsatisfactory ending. One subplot item ended in a way that left one feeling dislike for someone in the original series (if only as a recurring character), for no reason that I could tell. The actual ending seemed to me to be abrupt, almost as if at least one more scene had been written and filmed but then cut for time. Still it was worth the two hours.

OK. So the plot wasn't great, but then again what did you expect out of this TV Reunion movie? More magical moments this series had in the late 80s/early 90s? Not really. Having written that, I found this reunion still enjoyable....especially when Abby Perkins showed up! BTW, I have fallen in love with Michele Greene, but please DON'T TELL ANYONE! Just watch the movie...and please enjoy it for what's it worth.