diff --git a/lldb/source/Plugins/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjects.h b/lldb/source/Plugins/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjects.h
--- a/lldb/source/Plugins/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjects.h
+++ b/lldb/source/Plugins/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjects.h
@@ -309,6 +309,10 @@
   static llvm::Error exception(const char *s = nullptr) {
     return llvm::make_error<PythonException>(s);
   }
+  static llvm::Error keyError() {
+    return llvm::createStringError(llvm::inconvertibleErrorCode(),
+                                   "key not in dict");
+  }
 
 public:
   template <typename... T>
@@ -328,6 +332,21 @@
     return python::Take<PythonObject>(obj);
   }
 
+  template <typename... T>
+  llvm::Expected<PythonObject> Call(const T &... t) const {
+    const char format[] = {'(', PythonFormat<T>::format..., ')', 0};
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION < 3
+    PyObject *obj = PyObject_CallFunction(m_py_obj, const_cast<char *>(format),
+                                          PythonFormat<T>::get(t)...);
+#else
+    PyObject *obj =
+        PyObject_CallFunction(m_py_obj, format, PythonFormat<T>::get(t)...);
+#endif
+    if (!obj)
+      return exception();
+    return python::Take<PythonObject>(obj);
+  }
+
   llvm::Expected<PythonObject> GetAttribute(const char *name) const {
     if (!m_py_obj)
       return nullDeref();
@@ -386,6 +405,9 @@
 template <>
 llvm::Expected<long long> As<long long>(llvm::Expected<PythonObject> &&obj);
 
+template <>
+llvm::Expected<std::string> As<std::string>(llvm::Expected<PythonObject> &&obj);
+
 } // namespace python
 
 template <class T> class TypedPythonObject : public PythonObject {
@@ -559,8 +581,14 @@
 
   PythonList GetKeys() const;
 
-  PythonObject GetItemForKey(const PythonObject &key) const;
-  void SetItemForKey(const PythonObject &key, const PythonObject &value);
+  PythonObject GetItemForKey(const PythonObject &key) const; // DEPRECATED
+  void SetItemForKey(const PythonObject &key,
+                     const PythonObject &value); // DEPRECATED
+
+  llvm::Expected<PythonObject> GetItem(const PythonObject &key) const;
+  llvm::Expected<PythonObject> GetItem(const char *key) const;
+  llvm::Error SetItem(const PythonObject &key, const PythonObject &value) const;
+  llvm::Error SetItem(const char *key, const PythonObject &value) const;
 
   StructuredData::DictionarySP CreateStructuredDictionary() const;
 };
@@ -600,19 +628,31 @@
   using TypedPythonObject::TypedPythonObject;
 
   struct ArgInfo {
-    size_t count;
-    bool is_bound_method : 1;
-    bool has_varargs : 1;
-    bool has_kwargs : 1;
+    /* the number of positional arguments, including optional ones,
+     * and excluding varargs.  If this is a bound method, then the
+     * count will still include a +1 for self.
+     *
+     * FIXME. That's crazy.  This should be replaced with
+     * an accurate min and max for positional args.
+     */
+    int count;
+    /* does the callable have positional varargs? */
+    bool has_varargs : 1; // FIXME delete this
+    /* is the callable a bound method written in python? */
+    bool is_bound_method : 1; // FIXME delete this
   };
 
   static bool Check(PyObject *py_obj);
 
-  ArgInfo GetNumArguments() const;
+  llvm::Expected<ArgInfo> GetArgInfo() const;
+
+  llvm::Expected<ArgInfo> GetInitArgInfo() const;
+
+  ArgInfo GetNumArguments() const; // DEPRECATED
 
   // If the callable is a Py_Class, then find the number of arguments
   // of the __init__ method.
-  ArgInfo GetNumInitArguments() const;
+  ArgInfo GetNumInitArguments() const; // DEPRECATED
 
   PythonObject operator()();
 
diff --git a/lldb/source/Plugins/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjects.cpp b/lldb/source/Plugins/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjects.cpp
--- a/lldb/source/Plugins/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjects.cpp
+++ b/lldb/source/Plugins/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjects.cpp
@@ -47,6 +47,20 @@
   return obj.get().AsLongLong();
 }
 
+template <>
+Expected<std::string> python::As<std::string>(Expected<PythonObject> &&obj) {
+  if (!obj)
+    return obj.takeError();
+  PyObject *str_obj = PyObject_Str(obj.get().get());
+  if (!obj)
+    return llvm::make_error<PythonException>();
+  auto str = Take<PythonString>(str_obj);
+  auto utf8 = str.AsUTF8();
+  if (!utf8)
+    return utf8.takeError();
+  return utf8.get();
+}
+
 void StructuredPythonObject::Serialize(llvm::json::OStream &s) const {
   s.value(llvm::formatv("Python Obj: {0:X}", GetValue()).str());
 }
@@ -657,16 +671,66 @@
 }
 
 PythonObject PythonDictionary::GetItemForKey(const PythonObject &key) const {
-  if (IsAllocated() && key.IsValid())
-    return PythonObject(PyRefType::Borrowed,
-                        PyDict_GetItem(m_py_obj, key.get()));
-  return PythonObject();
+  auto item = GetItem(key);
+  if (!item) {
+    llvm::consumeError(item.takeError());
+    return PythonObject();
+  }
+  return std::move(item.get());
+}
+
+Expected<PythonObject>
+PythonDictionary::GetItem(const PythonObject &key) const {
+  if (!IsValid())
+    return nullDeref();
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
+  PyObject *o = PyDict_GetItemWithError(m_py_obj, key.get());
+  if (PyErr_Occurred())
+    return exception();
+#else
+  PyObject *o = PyDict_GetItem(m_py_obj, key.get());
+#endif
+  if (!o)
+    return keyError();
+  return Retain<PythonObject>(o);
+}
+
+Expected<PythonObject> PythonDictionary::GetItem(const char *key) const {
+  if (!IsValid())
+    return nullDeref();
+  PyObject *o = PyDict_GetItemString(m_py_obj, key);
+  if (PyErr_Occurred())
+    return exception();
+  if (!o)
+    return keyError();
+  return Retain<PythonObject>(o);
+}
+
+Error PythonDictionary::SetItem(const PythonObject &key,
+                                const PythonObject &value) const {
+  if (!IsValid() || !value.IsValid())
+    return nullDeref();
+  int r = PyDict_SetItem(m_py_obj, key.get(), value.get());
+  if (r < 0)
+    return exception();
+  return Error::success();
+}
+
+Error PythonDictionary::SetItem(const char *key,
+                                const PythonObject &value) const {
+  if (!IsValid() || !value.IsValid())
+    return nullDeref();
+  int r = PyDict_SetItemString(m_py_obj, key, value.get());
+  if (r < 0)
+    return exception();
+  return Error::success();
 }
 
 void PythonDictionary::SetItemForKey(const PythonObject &key,
                                      const PythonObject &value) {
-  if (IsAllocated() && key.IsValid() && value.IsValid())
-    PyDict_SetItem(m_py_obj, key.get(), value.get());
+  Error error = SetItem(key, value);
+  if (error)
+    llvm::consumeError(std::move(error));
 }
 
 StructuredData::DictionarySP
@@ -736,23 +800,97 @@
 }
 
 PythonCallable::ArgInfo PythonCallable::GetNumInitArguments() const {
-  ArgInfo result = {0, false, false, false};
-  if (!IsValid())
-    return result;
-
-  PythonObject __init__ = GetAttributeValue("__init__");
-  if (__init__.IsValid() ) {
-    auto __init_callable__ = __init__.AsType<PythonCallable>();
-    if (__init_callable__.IsValid())
-      return __init_callable__.GetNumArguments();
+  auto arginfo = GetInitArgInfo();
+  if (!arginfo) {
+    llvm::consumeError(arginfo.takeError());
+    return ArgInfo{};
   }
-  return result;
+  return arginfo.get();
 }
 
-PythonCallable::ArgInfo PythonCallable::GetNumArguments() const {
-  ArgInfo result = {0, false, false, false};
+Expected<PythonCallable::ArgInfo> PythonCallable::GetInitArgInfo() const {
   if (!IsValid())
-    return result;
+    return nullDeref();
+  auto init = As<PythonCallable>(GetAttribute("__init__"));
+  if (!init)
+    return init.takeError();
+  return init.get().GetArgInfo();
+}
+
+Expected<PythonCallable::ArgInfo> PythonCallable::GetArgInfo() const {
+  ArgInfo result = {};
+  if (!IsValid())
+    return nullDeref();
+
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3 && PY_MINOR_VERSION >= 3
+
+  const char *script =
+      "from inspect import signature, Parameter, ismethod \n"
+      "from collections import namedtuple \n"
+      "ArgInfo = namedtuple('ArgInfo', ['count', 'has_varargs', "
+      "'is_bound_method']) \n"
+      "def get_arg_info(f): \n"
+      "    count = 0 \n"
+      "    varargs = False  \n"
+      "    for parameter in signature(f).parameters.values():  \n"
+      "        kind = parameter.kind  \n"
+      "        if kind in (Parameter.POSITIONAL_ONLY,   \n"
+      "                    Parameter.POSITIONAL_OR_KEYWORD):  \n"
+      "            count += 1  \n"
+      "        elif kind == Parameter.VAR_POSITIONAL:  \n"
+      "            varargs = True  \n"
+      "        elif kind in (Parameter.KEYWORD_ONLY,  \n"
+      "                      Parameter.KEYWORD_ONLY):  \n"
+      "            pass  \n"
+      "        else:  \n"
+      "            raise Exception(f'unknown parameter kind: {kind}')  \n"
+      "    return ArgInfo(count, varargs, ismethod(f))  \n";
+
+  // this global is protected by the GIL
+  static PythonCallable get_arg_info;
+
+  if (!get_arg_info.IsValid()) {
+    PythonDictionary globals(PyInitialValue::Empty);
+
+    auto builtins = PythonModule::BuiltinsModule();
+    Error error = globals.SetItem("__builtins__", builtins);
+    if (error)
+      return std::move(error);
+    PyObject *o =
+        PyRun_String(script, Py_file_input, globals.get(), globals.get());
+    if (!o)
+      return exception();
+    Take<PythonObject>(o);
+    auto function = As<PythonCallable>(globals.GetItem("get_arg_info"));
+    if (!function)
+      return function.takeError();
+    get_arg_info = std::move(function.get());
+  }
+
+  Expected<PythonObject> pyarginfo = get_arg_info.Call(*this);
+  if (!pyarginfo)
+    return pyarginfo.takeError();
+  Expected<long long> count =
+      As<long long>(pyarginfo.get().GetAttribute("count"));
+  if (!count)
+    return count.takeError();
+  result.count = count.get();
+  Expected<bool> has_varargs =
+      As<bool>(pyarginfo.get().GetAttribute("has_varargs"));
+  if (!has_varargs)
+    return has_varargs.takeError();
+  result.has_varargs = has_varargs.get();
+  Expected<bool> is_method =
+      As<bool>(pyarginfo.get().GetAttribute("is_bound_method"));
+  if (!is_method)
+    return is_method.takeError();
+  result.is_bound_method = is_method.get();
+
+  // FIXME emulate old broken behavior
+  if (result.is_bound_method)
+    result.count++;
+
+#else
 
   PyObject *py_func_obj = m_py_obj;
   if (PyMethod_Check(py_func_obj)) {
@@ -785,10 +923,21 @@
 
   result.count = code->co_argcount;
   result.has_varargs = !!(code->co_flags & CO_VARARGS);
-  result.has_kwargs = !!(code->co_flags & CO_VARKEYWORDS);
+
+#endif
+
   return result;
 }
 
+PythonCallable::ArgInfo PythonCallable::GetNumArguments() const {
+  auto arginfo = GetArgInfo();
+  if (!arginfo) {
+    llvm::consumeError(arginfo.takeError());
+    return ArgInfo{};
+  }
+  return arginfo.get();
+}
+
 PythonObject PythonCallable::operator()() {
   return PythonObject(PyRefType::Owned, PyObject_CallObject(m_py_obj, nullptr));
 }
diff --git a/lldb/unittests/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjectsTests.cpp b/lldb/unittests/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjectsTests.cpp
--- a/lldb/unittests/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjectsTests.cpp
+++ b/lldb/unittests/ScriptInterpreter/Python/PythonDataObjectsTests.cpp
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 #include "PythonTestSuite.h"
 
 using namespace lldb_private;
+using namespace lldb_private::python;
 
 class PythonDataObjectsTest : public PythonTestSuite {
 public:
@@ -626,3 +627,92 @@
     }
   }
 }
+
+TEST_F(PythonDataObjectsTest, TestCallable) {
+
+  PythonDictionary globals(PyInitialValue::Empty);
+  auto builtins = PythonModule::BuiltinsModule();
+  llvm::Error error = globals.SetItem("__builtins__", builtins);
+  ASSERT_FALSE(error);
+
+  {
+    PyObject *o = PyRun_String("lambda x : x", Py_eval_input, globals.get(),
+                               globals.get());
+    ASSERT_FALSE(o == NULL);
+    auto lambda = Take<PythonCallable>(o);
+    auto arginfo = lambda.GetArgInfo();
+    ASSERT_THAT_EXPECTED(arginfo, llvm::Succeeded());
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().count, 1);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().has_varargs, false);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().is_bound_method, false);
+  }
+
+  {
+    PyObject *o = PyRun_String("lambda x,y=0: x", Py_eval_input, globals.get(),
+                               globals.get());
+    ASSERT_FALSE(o == NULL);
+    auto lambda = Take<PythonCallable>(o);
+    auto arginfo = lambda.GetArgInfo();
+    ASSERT_THAT_EXPECTED(arginfo, llvm::Succeeded());
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().count, 2);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().has_varargs, false);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().is_bound_method, false);
+  }
+
+  {
+    PyObject *o = PyRun_String("lambda x,y,*a: x", Py_eval_input, globals.get(),
+                               globals.get());
+    ASSERT_FALSE(o == NULL);
+    auto lambda = Take<PythonCallable>(o);
+    auto arginfo = lambda.GetArgInfo();
+    ASSERT_THAT_EXPECTED(arginfo, llvm::Succeeded());
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().count, 2);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().has_varargs, true);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().is_bound_method, false);
+  }
+
+  {
+    const char *script = "class Foo: \n"
+                         "  def bar(self, x):\n"
+                         "     return x \n"
+                         "bar_bound   = Foo().bar \n"
+                         "bar_unbound = Foo.bar \n";
+    PyObject *o =
+        PyRun_String(script, Py_file_input, globals.get(), globals.get());
+    ASSERT_FALSE(o == NULL);
+    Take<PythonObject>(o);
+
+    auto bar_bound = As<PythonCallable>(globals.GetItem("bar_bound"));
+    ASSERT_THAT_EXPECTED(bar_bound, llvm::Succeeded());
+    auto arginfo = bar_bound.get().GetArgInfo();
+    ASSERT_THAT_EXPECTED(arginfo, llvm::Succeeded());
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().count, 2); // FIXME, wrong
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().has_varargs, false);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().is_bound_method, true);
+
+    auto bar_unbound = As<PythonCallable>(globals.GetItem("bar_unbound"));
+    ASSERT_THAT_EXPECTED(bar_unbound, llvm::Succeeded());
+    arginfo = bar_unbound.get().GetArgInfo();
+    ASSERT_THAT_EXPECTED(arginfo, llvm::Succeeded());
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().count, 2);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().has_varargs, false);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().is_bound_method, false);
+  }
+
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3 && PY_MINOR_VERSION >= 3
+
+  // the old implementation of GetArgInfo just doesn't work on builtins.
+
+  {
+    auto builtins = PythonModule::BuiltinsModule();
+    auto hex = As<PythonCallable>(builtins.GetAttribute("hex"));
+    ASSERT_THAT_EXPECTED(hex, llvm::Succeeded());
+    auto arginfo = hex.get().GetArgInfo();
+    ASSERT_THAT_EXPECTED(arginfo, llvm::Succeeded());
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().count, 1);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().has_varargs, false);
+    EXPECT_EQ(arginfo.get().is_bound_method, false);
+  }
+
+#endif
+}
\ No newline at end of file