Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

So much average

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I've never seen Art Carney in a bad movie. That might mean that he raises the bar of any film he's in, bringing out the best in his co-stars and supporting players. He's superb here as the aging private detective Ira Wells, called out on one last case involving a stolen cat before it turns into a noir styled murder mystery with body after body piling up.Actually, it's the murder of a former partner that opens the story a la "The Maltese Falcon", with a somber Wells determined to find out who the dirt bag was who offed his friend. I don't think I've ever seen a name actor like Duff dispatched so quickly after making his entrance in a picture; he was probably on screen for about two minutes. Nice work if you can get it, I guess.Had Harry Regan (Duff) survived, it would have been interesting to see how Wells would have dealt with him after discovering he was part of an extortion racket, trying to cut himself in on some big time action with that slimy creep Birdwell (Eugene Roche). The story gets more and more convoluted in the telling, with Birdwell's philandering wife (Joanna Cassidy), a hood named Escobar we only get to see by way of an open refrigerator door, and the whereabouts of a gun owned by Laura Birdwell used in the murder of her lover's wife. It occurred to me that the story could have been even more confusing if some of these characters actually showed up.As good as Art Carney was here, what really made the picture for me was all the understated humor running throughout with Lily Tomlin's neurotic take on her character Margo Sterling, and Eugene Roche's hilarious offers of ridiculous merchandise to whoever he was trying to bribe at the time. Working this movie with a straight face was probably a tough job for the actors involved, but they pulled it off admirably.A couple of minor observations - didn't it look like someone else on Ira Wells' California Private Detective ID card? And how about that long, slow focus shot on a photo of Lou Costello in the restaurant? I wonder what that was about. Oh yeah, and Winston the Cat was recovered without any fanfare, not even enough to merit a credit in the cast list.

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.

Ira Wells (Art Carney) is a wheezing, semi-retired private dick who is more likely to meet your concerns with a disinterested eye roll than with genuine interest. Margo (Lily Tomlin), on the other hand, is the definition of kooky: she designs every single piece of clothing she wears, is prone to babbling like a Woody Allen heroine, and isn't afraid to ask wheezing, semi-retired private dicks (see what I did there) if they would be interested in helping them find their recently catnapped kitty. They drive each other mad — Ira is too quiet and Margo is too talkative — but I'll be damned if they don't make for a fantastic, if eccentric, detective duo. They're like Nick and Nora Charles, Margo muses at one point, minus the opulence, sex, marriage, doggy sidekick. These days, ulcer related episodes, madcap car chases, tawdry villains, and cat starring plot devices will have to do.I love The Late Show. I love that it isn't quite a comedy or a neo-noir romp, existing somewhere cheekily in-between. I love Ira's contagious bitterness and his old school haggardness, unafraid to call a woman a dolly instead of an actual name, unafraid to walk around silently when his eyes are quoting Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon. I love the hilarious weirdness Tomlin brings to Margo, and how she can deliver snappy lines at lightning speed like it's no big deal. This is an intelligent movie made by intelligent people (Robert Atman is executive producer), one that is both entertaining enough for the casual viewer and whip-smart enough for buffs seeking out something kinda Foul Play and something kinda The Long Goodbye.When we are first introduced to Ira Wells, he wants to take a break from sleuthing. The world, however, is much too seedy for him to really take a break from cases. This notion becomes abundantly clear when an old friend shows up on his doorstep, shot in the stomach, dead only a few seconds later. Poor Ira. With his hearing aids, huge gut, and graying hairline, he's so unhealthy looking that he seems like the kind to go to a local diner, ask for the senior menu, only to suddenly have a heart attack. But whatever. Crime comes calling, you may as well answer back. After the funeral, he is approached by, you guessed it, Margo, inquiring about, you guessed it, her stolen cat. Ira takes the case, hesitantly, I might add, but much to his dismay, he finds that the situation is much more complicated than it seems. After years of thinking he's probably seen it all, he becomes tangled in a big ole mess of deceit, murder, and deadly femmes. The usual.But The Late Show is hardly a Harper or a Farewell, My Lovely. Ira is way too old to still be in the game, and a woman like Margo should not be tagging along as his Lauren Bacall. I can't say that The Late Show knows this and "runs with it", because it doesn't necessarily run with it. It knows that it concocts a questionable situation, but instead of trying to make things outrageously zany to match the oddness, it just shrugs and lets things happen. Funny things. Tomlin is a ball of fire, inhabiting a role Barbara Stanwyck or Katharine Hepburn may have landed in their glory days; her chemistry with Carney is so backward that we can't help but sit back and wonder aloud how these two will ever get along. When they do, for better or worse, the rapport is wondrous. When they don't, the rapport is still wondrous. With Tomlin in tow, the mandatory "detecting" scenes become electric after years of cynicism: who knew that a shady run-in with a suspicious wife and a dead body could ring with such infectious humor?As the ending approached, the sadder I became: I didn't want The Late Show to end. Of course, it's too good to have a sequel or a later sitcom of the same name, but I think the point is that I could watch Ira and Margo solve cases together for hours upon hours. Ira is the kind of intimidating question mark you want to get to know, and Margo has the kind of voice you want to hear mumbling at a constant pace. I like these people, and we simply don't have enough movies that are smart but also emotionally involving. Like the best of comedies, this one is effortlessly engaging.Read more reviews at petersonreviews.com

The saddest thing about Robert Benton's "The Late Show" is that it has gotten lost in the shuffle when discussing the great movies of the nineteen seventies. This is a terrific piece of film noir that is paying homage to the great detective mysteries of the forties. Benton's sharp screenplay is sensational in creating colorful, likable, and original characters. Benton beautifully connects all the points of the complex plot by the end, leaving the viewer completely satisfied.The all around acting in the film is terrific, with Lily Tomlin supplying comedic support to Art Carney's lead detective Ira Wells. The film however belongs to the late, great Art Carney. Carney gives quite simply an amazing tour de force performance as the aging Ira Wells. He is a sad and lonely character who is socially awkward yet surprisingly tough. He is a great underdog character, who with Carney in the lead role, the viewer cannot help but to root for. After showing his dramatic range and winning an Oscar for Best Actor for 1974's "Harry and Tonto" (a personal favorite of mine), Art was offered some terrific roles and gave some great performances. In many ways Carney's performance in "The Late Show" is better then his performances in his other two great films of the seventies, "Harry and Tonto" and "Going In Style". It is a treat and pleasure to watch him in "The Late Show" because it shows a legendary and extroadinarily talented actor in full force. Thankfully Warner Brothers has released "The Late Show" on DVD (now if only Fox could release "Harry and Tonto" on DVD). For years it was very difficult to get on VHS. While the film may look a little dated, it hooks the viewer with its story and acting that you will be glad that you took a trip back to 1977.