If you want to be hypercritical about it and you delight in pointing out plot holes, you may give this movie a bad review, while at the same time flaunting your critical chops. That's anyone's privilege.

But if you're just looking for an enjoyable film, you can't go wrong with this one. The performances are good, the settings suggestive, the script often clever and funny and the whole experience quite entertaining. Can't quite figure out the plot? Well, that won't matter. The characters on the screen seem to understand it and that's enough.

By all means, catch it on cable or rent it. It's fun. And it will remind you why you find film noir so entertaining. So it isn't the Maltese Falcon. So what?