Ruhe sanft, Mrs. Columbo

To all those who disregard or disdain every one of the late Columbos, I hate quite a few of them too. In fact, this one plays with the format as well, which is what caused so many of the others to be dreadful. But surprise, surprise, it not only worked this time, it turned into one of the greatest of all episodes, top 5 in my book. For starters, we have the old Columbo, reserved and serious but with a bunch of funny character quirks. None of the speaking like a senile old man, or explaining things like one does to a 3 year old child. The great dialogue is back. The french restaurant scene pitting Columbo against the Matre D' is hilarious and priceless. So is the chili scene with the waitress Gracie. The plot is brilliantly original, realistic (yes, there are psychopaths like that in the real world too). Helen Shaver, always underrated, is superb, grabbing every minute of her unusually long screen time and killing it. Her cat and mouse with Columbo is superb. And Columbo not only gets to do his usual great stuff as a sleuth, but also has to become a prime time actor, and does it splendidly. Finally, Roscoe Lee Browne is splendid as Dr. Steadman, and the scene in which he and Columbo do a dance act to get the necessary info without violating doctor/patient confidentiality is a joy to watch. If all that wasn't enough, the final two scenes are just riveting. Oh, did I mention that I really liked this movie?