The other is an ingenious riff on the late-stage detective entrance instead of being called to the scene after the crime is committed, Charlie is revealed to be part of events from the beginning, in a mid-act flashback twist that Johnson pulls straight from Glass Onion. It’s not a superpower per se - Charlie admits that she’s very skilled at reading people - but it’s one of two things that elevate Poker Face above a tired Columbo rehash. But what she lacks in customer service skills she makes up for with an ultra-cool smoker’s rasp, a deep empathy for the underdog, and the ability to tell when anyone is lying. Our Columbo, in this case, is Charlie Cale (Lyonne), the world’s worst cocktail waitress. How do you improve upon a TV classic? Poker Face’s solution: Make Columbo a superhero. Columbo turned this formula into TV gold, running for 10 seasons and making a heartthrob (at least to an enlightened few) out of Peter Falk. Popularized by the ‘70s mystery series starring Peter Falk as the canny Lieutenant Columbo, the howcatchem is the opposite of the whodunit: the audience knows who the murderer is from the getgo, and the suspense is in how our detective - usually introduced midway through the story - can catch the culprit. Natasha Lyonne is on the run - and on the case.
