It is 1991 and rumors abound that Johnny Carson will soon retire from hosting The Tonight Show. It is clear to the NBC executives and decision makers that there are only two men in the running to replace him: David Letterman and Jay Leno. Both men want the job, and have their winning qualities: Letterman is Carson's personal favorite, considered a more adventurous comic talent and something of the heir apparent. Leno, on the other hand, skews to a wider audience and is easier for the executives to manipulate. A bitter business battle erupts over who will take over the show, full of seedy behind the scenes machinations and corporate backstabbing; presented for your viewing pleasure in Betty Thomas' 'The Late Shift.'

Based on Bill Carter's non-fiction book of the same name, 'The Late Shift' is a fascinating, informative and entertaining peek behind the show-business curtain at a very turbulent time in television history. The narrative is tense and thrilling, exposing the cutthroat world of T. V in a satirical way which recalls Sidney Lumet's 'Network,' while still adhering to the facts. The film also features well-rounded versions of many real-world figures, from Letterman and Leno to Warren Littlefield and Michael Ovitz.

The film's versions of Letterman and Leno are particularly interesting and multi-faceted. The screenplay takes a stab at explaining their reasons behind wanting The Tonight Show, and tries to show us the 'real people' behind the entertainers. Ed McMahon used to joke that whenever he was approached by fans, the first question he was asked was always "what's Johnny Carson really like?" While the film can't and doesn't show us what Letterman and Leno are really like- or Carson, for that matter- their cinematic caricatures as written seem to be close enough to the real thing as to be memorable and impressive.

On the other hand, the dialogue often drifts into the expository, and some moments feel melodramatic; particularly those of a confrontational nature. Mac Ahlberg's cinematography is nothing to write home about either, appearing flat and dull. While it is a T. V movie- and therefore one's expectations should be lowered when it comes to visuals- there's no excusing generic work. On this point, the prosthetic make-up used for Leno is distractingly amateur in appearance, making the character look quite ridiculous and cartoonish.

Daniel Roebuck's performance as Leno is less ridiculous, but still rather cartoonish. Setting aside the awful make-up, Roebuck hasn't got Leno's voice right, and sounds like a bad impressionist on the Howard Stern show. He says his lines with conviction but without Leno's speech patterns or timing. Additionally, he plays the man as if he were a little slow; which seems a bit of a strange choice. As time goes by, you settle into the performance somewhat, and Roebuck isn't terrible; he just doesn't deliver a notable or accurate interpretation of Leno.

With John Michael Higgins, it's a different story. He is pitch-perfect as Letterman; he's got the voice, the look and the mannerisms down flawlessly. It is arguably one of the finest, most accurate portrayals of a real person ever in film. He plays Letterman as a work-obsessed, slightly neurotic hypochondriac- but one with charm and wit a-plenty. The film may be slightly biased towards Letterman, and chances are you will be too after watching it; due in large part to Higgins' commanding performance.

Of the supporting cast, Kathy Bates and Treat Williams must be mentioned. Bates plays Leno's manager, Helen Kushnick, a manipulative, vicious businesswoman with no morals and a mouth like a sailor. She is terrific, giving a wild performance that justly won her a Golden Globe that year for Best Supporting Actress. Williams plays Michael Ovitz- a sleek agent who takes Letterman on as his client- and is brilliant; smooth and calculated like a coiled, corporate cobra ready to strike. Of note to some may be Rich Little, who does a cameo as Johnny Carson, which is thankfully brief, as it is embarrassingly, jarringly inaccurate.

'The Late Shift' is an interesting, informative made-for-T. V-movie concisely recounting the infamous Late-Night Wars of the early 90's. Featuring fine performances from the likes of John Michael Higgins and Kathy Bates, the film rockets along at a brisk pace, providing entertainment all the way. While Daniel Roebuck's performance as Leno and the cinematography leaves a bit to be desired, the film is still wildly entertaining; showing us the dog-eat-dog world of showbusiness in a clever, frank way. In short, 'The Late Shift' is a made for T. V gift.

I read the book written by Bill Carter on which this movie is based many years ago. The book is certainly stronger than the movie. It provides more detail than a movie can possibly provide, the end result being that I thought the movie seemed a wee bit sketchy on a handful of items. All things considered, though, and given the limitations of the medium, the movie provides a wholly entertaining and informative account of the battle between Jay Leno and David Letterman in the early 90's to host "The Tonight Show" after the retirement of Johnny Carson.

The highlight is clearly the performances. I can think of no more difficult performance for an actor than to play a character who is still alive and well-known and on TV on a regular basis. John Michael Higgins nailed the part of Letterman perfectly. Watching him really was like watching Letterman. Daniel Roebuck tried valiantly to be Jay Leno, but somehow didn't pull it off as effectively. His whole "look" seemed fake, and he just didn't seem natural in the role. In a less central role, Rich Little not surprisingly nailed the voice of Carson, although the look was a bit off. In the book, the most interesting of the central figures was probably Leno's agent, Helen Kushnick. In the movie, Kathy Bates was perfect in the role, although not quite as out of control as Carter's portrayal of the woman in writing.

In the end, this is light and entertaining viewing. The subject matter isn't especially important in the overall scheme of things, but it's a fun behind the scenes look at a memorable time in the entertainment industry. 7/10

Over the years I've watched this movie many times from seeing it on "HBO" and I now own a copy on DVD. I must say it's very memorable and entertaining in the meantime it's interesting and educational too. As any TV fan can relate to the time of the early 90's when the time came up to replace Johhny Carson the TV living legend of "The Tonight Show" who's it gonna be Jay or Dave? This original film from HBO "The Late Shift" stays true to form and depicts the real events very well showing the behind the scenes battle between networks heads of NBC and CBS and even ABC they were all fighting for the services of Jay and Dave. The acting makes it seem real as very little actual TV footage is shown with real life people as the actors portraying Leno and Letterman make it seem so real. I haven't read the Bill Carter book so I don't know if it stayed true to the pages, but I have highly enjoyed this film over the years. From the moment when it starts showing CBS entertainment heads watching Leno sub for Johhny and they decide they want to get in on the late night game. Yet when Carson announces his unexpected retirement NBC wants to stay loyal with Leno yet conflict arrives when Letterman wants a crack at the slot at 11:30 too. It was fun to watch the wacky meeting with Michael Ovitz(Treat Williams)who makes all networks want to consider Letterman for a show. It was interesting to see the scene of Johhny telling Letterman by phone in a direct way to walk from NBC and consider CBS. And by the way Rich Little was terrific as Johhny Carson his portrayal couldn't be matched. And plenty of tense moments were provided by showing the bickering and firing of Leno's talent manager Helen which NBC heads pressured him to do. Overall great film that showed what TV is really like and it proves that networks are power and money hungry while showing that's it's a cutthroat business. Clearly there's no business like show business. Great work from HBO very memorable and a watch anytime it showed the true story of the late night wars.