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It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Fresh and Exciting

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It's a behind-the-scenes movie about the battle between Jay Leno (Daniel Roebuck) and David Letterman (John Michael Higgins) for the Tonight Show on NBC. Jay's hard-charging agent Helen Kushnick (Kathy Bates) schemes to get him the show. They are approached by CBS. Then she gets him a secret deal with Warren Littlefield (Bob Balaban) and John Agoglia (Reni Santoni). When Johnny Carson surprises everybody by announcing his retirement, Leno is given the show. Letterman hires agent Michael Ovitz (Treat Williams). Kushnick steps on some toes as Tonight Show exec and starts making enemies.This is a solid TV movie from HBO. The minutia of each piece of information can be pulled apart by those involved. Kathy Bates is great and I'm sure Kushnick has plenty of bones to pick with this movie. Jay Leno doesn't come off well either as a naive puppy desperate for approval. Letterman comes off much better. This is overwrought but the material allows for it. It's a fun take on a fascinating story.

The other reviews say it all but watch Treat Williams for his awe inspiring speech to David Letterman. I wish someone said that to me sometime.And Bob Balaban may be Littlefield's clone-He tells Helen Kushnik to " F you and the horse you rode in on."It's amazing how the actors captured the essence of the book characters by Bill Carter.Higgins portrayal of Letterman is spot on...When he refers to his CBS contract, he says "It would put a smile on Jack Benny's face... and that's in the condition he is now."You can watch this over and over again.

While I found the movie interesting, I was disappointed that Kathy Bates, who does bare a physical resemblance to Kushnick, did not think it necessary to lose the 60 pound weight difference that would have made her performance more accurate and that she shuffled rather than walked with the clip Kushnick had in her step. I was hoping for more insight into the character's motivations and was disappointed to find it to be pretty much of a "hit" job on all of them. Overall the film was enlightening as to the inside workings of network television, but I was left wondering how accurate the representation of each person was. It seemed as if they were reaching for the tabloid aspect of the story.

Leno talks through his punch lines. This spoils the joke, for those of you who haven't figured it out. His show is held in a micro sized studio for a reason, or two reasons -- the small amount of laughter will be amplified, and few want to see him. Letterman's set is the polar opposite -- Ed Sullivan would be proud and the balcony is always full.NBC, tacky NBC, will never get it. Founder David Sarnoff's megalomaniacal enterprise continues to be all about the money. At least CBS has a bit of a family feel to it.Leno collects cars, or is it stamps, while Letterman races cars. The difference is informative.When I chatted I used to ask other chatters to email me if Leno _ever_ said something that was funny. I never got a single email. Letterman has superb timing. He also can re-use the most unfunny joke in such a way that it becomes one of the funniest things in that night's show.Letterman has built other careers. Paul is now well known and respected in his own musical right. Even Paul's other band members get recognition and career boosting. Biff Henderson has become a name America knows of. Even the businesses in the same block as the Ed Sullivan theater get a boost. What has Leno ever done for anyone else? Personally, I am glad that Dave moved and Leno got the Carson gig. I never watched NBC shows before and had no reason to after.The Top Ten list is an American icon. So is Letterman. Leno is a caricaturist's dream, nothing more.