Sopranos: The Review

June 11, 2007
BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic

And they lived miserably ever after.

HBO's signature show concluded Sunday night with a big, fat "happy" ending for mob boss Tony Soprano, his New Jersey thugs and his suicidal, druggie, violent and slothful family.

There was (spoilers ahead!) one last scene with Tony in his large white robe.

There was one last gruesome murder. Phil Leotardo: shot in the brain, then his head run over by his own SUV. With that New York rival out of the way, Tony's life seemed to be spared from Phil's war on him.

In the final scene, Tony sat down with long-suffering, complicit wife Carmela and weirdo son A.J. in a greasy diner. Tony played Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " in a jukebox. Just as daughter Meadow opened the door, the last words heard were Steve Perry's lyrics, "Don't stop."

The screen went black. Credits rolled in silence.

Some viewers will surely be unsatisfied. Before Sunday, many had said they wanted killer Tony to end up dead or in jail. Others thought it would be realistic if he had become a rat fink in witness protection.

But it was open-ended. In the cafe, guys hung around looking like assassins or feds. And Tony got word of big odds he soon would be indicted.

There were crystal-ball moments. Consigliere Silvio was last seen on life support. Tony spoke to Uncle Junior, apparently out of his mind in the mental ward. And a cat Paulie feared superstitiously began staring at him -- an omen of his fate?

Fans will buzz all day about the finale. If you're not a fan, feel free to argue if they try to bully you into thinking it was the best show of all time. It was not. The best show of all time is ... whatever you think it is. Such is the beauty of thinking for yourself.

But it may have had a shot at being the best if creator David Chase had written and directed every episode. He handled Sunday's see-ya, an adios that didn't waste a single shot. And it is true the series reinvented American cinema's gangster tale.

"The Sopranos" took a harsher view of gangsters than have "Godfathers" and "Goodfellas" films, with their glorified murderers, sexy actors and coke-rock music montages. Over the years, "The Sopranos" was variously interesting, cool, dark, tedious and dull.

Almost everyone was fat or ate as if at troughs, tacky wives obsessed over status and new SUVs (A.J. the dolt accidentally blew up his Sunday) and foreboding music usually served only to punctuate final credits.

Characters were usually amoral. Although on Sunday, A.J. and Meadow opined about how America is a real mess. And she said she wouldn't have pursued a law career "if you hadn't been dragged away so many times by the FBI."

Sunday's suspenseful ender caps a filler season. Chase had planned to end "The Sopranos" some time ago, but HBO convinced him to elongate the current season, which mostly fell flat from lax storytelling.

Now, Chase will field calls for a feature film. My suggestion for a title: "The Sopranos Eat Macaroni and Kill More People."

delfman@suntimes.com