I really like this sweet semi-comic homage to the great detective films. Art Carney is simply wonderful as a gumshoe now in his 60s, gaining weight and losing foot-speed, but with wits as sharp as ever, and wisdom gained by time. This is what one of Bogie's great detective characters probably would be like 30 years later.
He's drawn into an absurdly complex crime situation, when a slightly wacko aging hippie wanna-be actress (played by Lily Tomlin) hires him to help find her lost cat. '
Some of the humor is a bit broad for the more serious themes underneath, and as much as I always love Tomlin, there were times she seemed to be flirting with caricature.
But the almost-romantic chemistry between this supremely miss-matched pair is terrific and fun to watch. It doesn't add up to anything huge, but it's intelligent, fun well-executed entertainment for grown ups – something that's far too rare in the current cinema.
He's drawn into an absurdly complex crime situation, when a slightly wacko aging hippie wanna-be actress (played by Lily Tomlin) hires him to help find her lost cat. '
Some of the humor is a bit broad for the more serious themes underneath, and as much as I always love Tomlin, there were times she seemed to be flirting with caricature.
But the almost-romantic chemistry between this supremely miss-matched pair is terrific and fun to watch. It doesn't add up to anything huge, but it's intelligent, fun well-executed entertainment for grown ups – something that's far too rare in the current cinema.