bregund
Because it's neither. Twice I have tried to watch this film, and each time I got about halfway through before I called it quits. In the right role Lily Tomlin pops off the screen, here her performance is lethargic and her timing is way off. I suspect it has a lot to do with Art Carney's performance...sometimes a mismatched buddy comedy really works like Rush Hour or Lethal Weapon. In this film I kept waiting for something to happen, and while the clues roll out, they emerge with all the speed and snap of a sleepy tortoise. If they had picked up the pace this could have been an interesting film, but constantly referring to how old Art Carney's character is does nothing but slow the film down. Even the retirement home sci-fi film Cocoon proved that older actors can entertain with snappy dialogue and quick cuts, so there is no excuse for this film's glacial pace. Fool me twice, shame on me.
MartinHafer
When the film begins, Harry Regan comes knocking on the door of retired fellow private eye Ira Wells (Art Carney). Regan's been shot and soon dies. Wells vows to find the man's murderer...even though he's rather old and paunchy. Soon, he meets a SUPER-quirky lady (Lily Tomlin) who whines again and again about her stolen dog and together the pair get pulled into this mystery.Whether you like or hate this film is strongly dependent on what you think of Tomlin's character. Some might find her funny and cute. Others, like me, might find her super-annoying and unfunny. For example, when Wells is at his friend's funeral, this woman (who doesn't even know him at this point) interrupts and goes on and on and on insisting Wells must drop everything to retrieve her stolen dog. Lady...the man's friend was JUST MURDERED and you're whining about a dog?! Her complete lack of social skills and empathy really, really annoyed me--to the point that I really didn't care what happened to her. I just wanted her to go away...and stay! A fatal problem that ruins an otherwise interesting take on Film Noir.By the way, seeing the car explode when Ira shoots the tire of a speeding car was pretty stupid...sloppy and unrealistic.UPDATE: Soon after I wrote this, another IMDb user,'themathexpert', contacted me to tell me it was stolen cat, not a dog. Oops. Sorry about that. Guess I hated the character so much I was not listening to much of what she said.
SnoopyStyle
Ira Wells (Art Carney) is a broke aging private detective in L.A. His friend Harry Regan shows up at his door mortally wounded. Charlie Hatter introduces him to quirky Margo Sperling (Lily Tomlin) who is looking for her stolen cat. Harry was working for Margo before his demise. Ira decides to take on the case and track down Harry's killer. It's a lot of twists and turns with a good amount of danger.This is a weird hybrid of a movie. It's a little wacky due a lot to Lily Tomlin and her character but it's not exactly a comedy. It has roots in the hard-boiled detective stories. The movie keeps twisting and turning. It is a long winding road to follow. The plot gets a bit confused. It is definitely something different and unique.
dtidball
The Late Show is one of the most underrated films of all time. It's somewhat convoluted detective plot has raised comparisons to Chinatown, which is both unfair and unfortunate. This is a film that stands out on its own.The acting is generally very good, and the performances by the leads are particularly strong. Dialogue which might have seemed forced or corny with less assured actors is believable and often funny here. Art Carney and Lily Tomlin are fun to watch as a bickering detective duo brought together as much by mutual loneliness as by anything the plot throws at them. Both are able to keep their characters interesting without overdoing it. It would have been especially easy for Ms. Tomlin to go over the top with her depiction of the rather flighty Margo, but she manages to balance her character's peculiarities and make it look effortless.Robert Benton received an academy award nomination for his screenplay, but he really deserved more recognition for directing a film in which he gets the mood just right, and trusts his cast to do their jobs well. This was no mean feat for a work that needs to be film noir with some comic timing.I saw this film when it first came out nearly 30 years ago, and then watched it again recently. At a time when so many films rely on computer generated images, and plots that seem dreamed up by marketing departments, it was refreshing to rediscover a film that relies on strong direction, and outstanding acting.
AD
