After all the positive comments here I was shocked by how bad this was. The dialog is labored, the pacing extremely slow, the situations lack plausibility or interest. A sad comedown for the actors and director. The underlying impulse seems to be anti-Nixon, or more generally anti-uptight Republican types. I could sympathize with that message but not in this ham-handed form. Also an age thing happening: the old guy outwits the young guns--except the young guns have no heft at all so who cares? It's not seriously involving and not funny enough to be a parody. Hard to believe this is a Criterion DVD. I felt almost as let down as when I saw the excruciating A New Leaf. If you want a good Matthau movie try Charley Varrick.
