Okay, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this Columbo episode. It was a break from the Columbo formula, and that's not saying I don't love the Columbo formula, but hey, a fresh approach can be fun. There are many things in particular I like about this movie.
First, like in "Troubled Waters", Columbo is off-duty and with family. For a moment my heart almost stopped, thinking that he was sitting next to Mrs. Columbo there at the banquet table, though it was merely the bride's mother. No, Mrs. Columbo is away, having gone off to take care of her elderly mother, who broke her hip falling off a skateboard. On hearing this gem I felt disappointment at not seeing Mrs. Columbo palliated by amusement, hearing these tantalizing tidbits about the Columbos. Having wondered about his character I welcome any chance to get up close and personal with the lieutenant.
Second, I've always loved Columbo's attention to details and his thoroughness. Yep, it is those little things that matter. Like in "Sex and the Married Detective", Columbo obtains a list of people who were at a key event and he worked through each person one by one until he found what he is looking for.
Third, while his characteristic humorous harassment of the murderer and "just one more thing" are classic Columbo that we don't see here, we still see in him an incredible ability to talk to people and get them to open up to him in a way that real-life law enforcers don't have. Notice how he initially talks to the hotel cook Bill Bailey late at night, then several hours later rousts Bailey out of bed to look at brochures of vans, of all things. Similarly with the photographer, Columbo rousted him out of bed at an ungodly hour, obtained his cooperation, and got a copy of the wedding photos. That morning he barged in on a meeting of that photographer with a magazine editor and managed to get more photos. Columbo was convinced that people typically don't realize how much they see, and he had a way of magically pulling the necessary information out of them.
Fourth, notice how the police department came running at Columbo's summons. Even the captain was involved in the final confrontation. The department had a great deal of affection and respect for Columbo. All those years driving a beat-up old car, harassing murderers, worrying about all the little details, wearing an embarrassingly wrinkled raincoat - but Columbo was adored by his department.
The circumstances of the kidnapping and the kidnapper himself were bizarre. And we don't get the humor typical of a Columbo episode. But we do get a glimpse of a master problem solver racing against time to prevent a murder. Oh, if only we all had the same kind of steel trap mind and learned to think like Columbo!
First, like in "Troubled Waters", Columbo is off-duty and with family. For a moment my heart almost stopped, thinking that he was sitting next to Mrs. Columbo there at the banquet table, though it was merely the bride's mother. No, Mrs. Columbo is away, having gone off to take care of her elderly mother, who broke her hip falling off a skateboard. On hearing this gem I felt disappointment at not seeing Mrs. Columbo palliated by amusement, hearing these tantalizing tidbits about the Columbos. Having wondered about his character I welcome any chance to get up close and personal with the lieutenant.
Second, I've always loved Columbo's attention to details and his thoroughness. Yep, it is those little things that matter. Like in "Sex and the Married Detective", Columbo obtains a list of people who were at a key event and he worked through each person one by one until he found what he is looking for.
Third, while his characteristic humorous harassment of the murderer and "just one more thing" are classic Columbo that we don't see here, we still see in him an incredible ability to talk to people and get them to open up to him in a way that real-life law enforcers don't have. Notice how he initially talks to the hotel cook Bill Bailey late at night, then several hours later rousts Bailey out of bed to look at brochures of vans, of all things. Similarly with the photographer, Columbo rousted him out of bed at an ungodly hour, obtained his cooperation, and got a copy of the wedding photos. That morning he barged in on a meeting of that photographer with a magazine editor and managed to get more photos. Columbo was convinced that people typically don't realize how much they see, and he had a way of magically pulling the necessary information out of them.
Fourth, notice how the police department came running at Columbo's summons. Even the captain was involved in the final confrontation. The department had a great deal of affection and respect for Columbo. All those years driving a beat-up old car, harassing murderers, worrying about all the little details, wearing an embarrassingly wrinkled raincoat - but Columbo was adored by his department.
The circumstances of the kidnapping and the kidnapper himself were bizarre. And we don't get the humor typical of a Columbo episode. But we do get a glimpse of a master problem solver racing against time to prevent a murder. Oh, if only we all had the same kind of steel trap mind and learned to think like Columbo!