Robert Altman, who seemed to mysteriously lose his knack for filmmaking after directing 1993's brilliant "Short Cuts", comes close to a comeback with his most recent film, "Cookie's Fortune". The film, which passed itself off to audiences as a mystery, actually reveals Cookie's killer within the first 30 minutes of screen-time, and then spends the next 90 letting us get to know the kooky residents of a close-knit Southern community. With exception to Chris O'Donnell, who should stick with his rubber-suit and codpiece, the cast is fun to watch, and each play their part with an effervescent charm that is damn near contagious. Although it moves along at a fast enough pace, Anne Rapp's screenplay never quite works as a straightforward comedy, and the actors seem as though they're putting on performances tailor-made for a far better movie.