Wow! After watching this a couple of times, it didn't stand out as particularly special, but somehow on the third viewing all the quality of this simply superb episode was revealed to me. I've just watched it for a fourth time and it just gets better. It's an incredibly rich, exquisitely textured episode, full of great dialogue and an intriguing storyline.
Columbo himself is in top form, Peter Falk at the top of his game. I can see why one poster said Columbo's mock-grieving wasn't very realistic, but I think that was almost intentional, his way of gently taking the pee out of the murderess. Knowing full well that she is insane, Columbo deliberately has some fun with the whole scenario! Plus, Columbo isn't an actor. So Peter Falk is doing a good acting job in portraying a cop trying his hand at acting.
I love the little things in this episode, such as the saga of the abysmal chili cooked by Heinrich, not the previous chef with "one blue eye, one brown eye"! One wonders if this is a sly piece of self-deprecating wit regarding Falk's own distinctive eyes...
I also love the golf course scenes with the excellent Ian McShane. They remind me of the scenes with Robert Culp in "Double Exposure": Columbo bumbling around on a stuffy golf course, totally disrupting the game and embarrassing the man he's interrogating.
The climax of the movie, where Columbo gets his confession before admitting the whole funeral for Mrs Columbo was a fake, is a classic Columbo ending.
This is yet another modern episode just as good as the 70s ones. Maybe one reason why many people don't rate the modern ones as much is that they are less immediately gripping, they take a few viewings to really appreciate them. But I wholeheartedly recommend watching "Rest In Peace Mrs Columbo" over and over...you won't get bored of it and you'll catch something new in each viewing.
Columbo himself is in top form, Peter Falk at the top of his game. I can see why one poster said Columbo's mock-grieving wasn't very realistic, but I think that was almost intentional, his way of gently taking the pee out of the murderess. Knowing full well that she is insane, Columbo deliberately has some fun with the whole scenario! Plus, Columbo isn't an actor. So Peter Falk is doing a good acting job in portraying a cop trying his hand at acting.
I love the little things in this episode, such as the saga of the abysmal chili cooked by Heinrich, not the previous chef with "one blue eye, one brown eye"! One wonders if this is a sly piece of self-deprecating wit regarding Falk's own distinctive eyes...
I also love the golf course scenes with the excellent Ian McShane. They remind me of the scenes with Robert Culp in "Double Exposure": Columbo bumbling around on a stuffy golf course, totally disrupting the game and embarrassing the man he's interrogating.
The climax of the movie, where Columbo gets his confession before admitting the whole funeral for Mrs Columbo was a fake, is a classic Columbo ending.
This is yet another modern episode just as good as the 70s ones. Maybe one reason why many people don't rate the modern ones as much is that they are less immediately gripping, they take a few viewings to really appreciate them. But I wholeheartedly recommend watching "Rest In Peace Mrs Columbo" over and over...you won't get bored of it and you'll catch something new in each viewing.