"It isn't trying to envoke the spirit of some bygone time..."

You probably meant that in cinematic terms (though it must be said that Ed Lachman's camerawork was purposefully dated -- the film was shot in HD, btw). It was hard not to feel a tinge of nostalgia towards the AM-based old-fashioned variety shows that didn't give a darn about marketing and advertising and simply fed off their core audience for generations. Until, of course, like any other business they also became corporatized and were either forced to fold or to make changes in their format.

"He plays his role so perfectly that you just become convinced he's not even acting, and I really believe he isn't. This is a man who really knows all those dumb old commercial jingles, and has over a million corny jokes to fill any conversation."

Keillor was great. His high point might've been the "on-the-spot" duct tape commercial

"Kline who's usually in top form just doesn't seem well suited for this hapless would be detective, and he plays him at times like an inspector Clousseau making it rather irritating to watch. Madsen does her job well and has the benefit of not having any emotion to display, she simply has to be a figure."

You might be right about Kline, but I don't think the character worked very well; it just didn't resonate thematically. Madsen's "angel of death" wasn't as problematic because in many ways the film does deal with finalities.

Overall, I feel the same way about Prairie as I did a few months ago when I watched it initially. While I don't believe that it will be remembered as one of Altman's best films, he certainly could've gone out on a worse note than this "last show."