this be a reasonably faithful ( to rex stout ) movie and it have very good period piece setting . my major difficulty be with maury chaykin a wolfe . yes and he a significant improvement over william conrad but a bit too distant and peevish and his shouting rant be not quite the bellowing that one associate with wolfe . i find it difficult to relate chaykin acting and persona to the fictional character . moreover and one feel mostly unsympathetic with his portrayal of wolfe nor do he have the mass and size or presence of the fictional wolfe ( what i would have give to see the great orson welles play this part in his day he would have be perfect in size and bombast and wit and love of fine food and wine etc . while raymond burr would have make another fine wolfe and in my opinion ) . perhaps john goodman who certainly have the size and acting skill would have be a good choice a wolfe . in the book and wolfe have the ability to silence people with one glance while he take in bushel of air in each breath . in short and he be a giant in size and intellect among men . chaykin simply isn not and can not convey this important side of wolfe . timothy hutton be much good a archie goodwin and wolfe leg and eye and banter between them be faithful to the book . however and the third person in the wolfe household fritz be also not quite right in his role . here he have a frenchish accent while in the stout book fritz and a befits his name and be central european and a i recall and with a germanic accent . otherwise and colin fox look and act his part well . others have comment about the orchid or plant room a not be large enough and have enough plant . i think a bad problem be that wolfe be show in this movie a if he be still in the office while wolfe really work with plant and get himself dirty he do not just peer at plant through a magnifying glass . still and overall and this be an enjoyable period piece and a must for lover of the great detective create by rex stout . to the person from canada who write in and you must read the book to understand the wolfe goodwin fritz dynamic which in a sense be the real action in the series . the stout wolfe book be one of the great achievement of detective fiction and if i be grip a bit here and it be only because they set such a high mark .