Robert Altman has an affinity for the South, and "Cookie's Fortune", reveals that it is gentle, pleasant and relaxed. Set in small town Mississippi there are none of the typical Hollywood stereotypes of flaming racial hatred, sexual oppression, and class bigotry. Well, not much at least. The characters in Holly Springs all know and like one another regardless of their race and social standing. Well acted by a great ensemble cast that portray an 'Altmanesque' kaleidoscope of small-town characters, most of whom are eccentrics. The plot revolves around the suicide of Cookie, a matriarch of one of the town's leading families. Since suicide is considered disgraceful, two of her nieces, upon discovering her body, cover it up to make it look like a murder. And then an innocent man becomes the prime suspect and...off we go. Ok, so it's not as 'deep' as many of Altman's films, nor as dark either. But that's not bad, and "Cookie's Fortune" is a very enjoyable movie. I recommend it highly for a Saturday night rental.
126 Reviews
A comedy that deserves to be seen
philip_vanderveken22 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Ever since I've seen "Gosford Park" I'm convinced that Robert Altman has some real talent. The only Altman movie that I had seen before that one was "Prêt-à-Porter", at least a part of it, but enough to know that I didn't like it. So when I got the chance to see this movie with the interesting title "Cookie's Fortune", I gave it a try. I thought that this would be a comedy about a Chinese restaurant or something (The only thing that I knew before taping it, was that it was a comedy from Robert Altman, that's where my confusion comes from). It had nothing to do with what I thought, but I liked it nevertheless...
Jewel Mae "Cookie" Orcutt is an older lady who lives in a small town, called Holly Springs. All the residents are peaceful, kind folk, except for her niece Camille Dixon. Cookie is a widow for several years now, but she isn't alone. Willis Richland does all her shopping and helps her wherever he can. But she is tired of living without her husband and she wants to die. She commits suicide, but when the irritating and pushy Camille discovers what her aunt has done, she decides to cover up the real story, convinced that this will have a bad influence on the good family name. Together with her shy younger sister Cora, whose estranged daughter Emma as just returned to town, she tries to make it all look like a robbery and murder. To do so, she eats the suicide note, hides the gun in the bushes and shatters some windows. The police is convinced that the murder story is true and they start looking for a suspect, Willis. Although the rest of the town is convinced Willis didn't commit the crime, an outside investigator isn't so sure. But as the truth comes out, more secrets are revealed than everybody thought existed in this quiet town...
I guess it's the combination of the rather naive looking people in the town, the nice story and the fine acting that makes this movie work. Of course you expect to see some nice performances from people like Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler,... but in my opinion it was Charles S. Dutton who was the most surprising of them all. He has already played some minor roles in well known movies like "Alien³" and "Se7en", but it was the first time that I saw him in major role and I must say that I liked it.
Overall, this may not be the most original movie, but it is a nice comedy and I had some good laughs with it. Sure, it is a bit stereotypical, but that's not bad. It's a comedy and well-used stereotypes are always funny to watch. Add to this some fine acting and a nice story and what you get is a comedy that certainly deserves to be seen. I give it a 7/10.
Jewel Mae "Cookie" Orcutt is an older lady who lives in a small town, called Holly Springs. All the residents are peaceful, kind folk, except for her niece Camille Dixon. Cookie is a widow for several years now, but she isn't alone. Willis Richland does all her shopping and helps her wherever he can. But she is tired of living without her husband and she wants to die. She commits suicide, but when the irritating and pushy Camille discovers what her aunt has done, she decides to cover up the real story, convinced that this will have a bad influence on the good family name. Together with her shy younger sister Cora, whose estranged daughter Emma as just returned to town, she tries to make it all look like a robbery and murder. To do so, she eats the suicide note, hides the gun in the bushes and shatters some windows. The police is convinced that the murder story is true and they start looking for a suspect, Willis. Although the rest of the town is convinced Willis didn't commit the crime, an outside investigator isn't so sure. But as the truth comes out, more secrets are revealed than everybody thought existed in this quiet town...
I guess it's the combination of the rather naive looking people in the town, the nice story and the fine acting that makes this movie work. Of course you expect to see some nice performances from people like Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler,... but in my opinion it was Charles S. Dutton who was the most surprising of them all. He has already played some minor roles in well known movies like "Alien³" and "Se7en", but it was the first time that I saw him in major role and I must say that I liked it.
Overall, this may not be the most original movie, but it is a nice comedy and I had some good laughs with it. Sure, it is a bit stereotypical, but that's not bad. It's a comedy and well-used stereotypes are always funny to watch. Add to this some fine acting and a nice story and what you get is a comedy that certainly deserves to be seen. I give it a 7/10.
A pleasant surprise, to say the least! Cookie is a wonderful, rich work from Altman with great characters, performances, story, music and writing!
Ben_Cheshire28 July 2004
Cookie shoots herself. Glenn Close discovers the body and the suicide note. Being a theatrical director, she decides this will not do... She invents a scenario for how a burglar might have murdered her. What she didn't expect was for the police to find a suspect...
Everything just goes completely right in Cookie. The atmosphere really gels, the cast are cohesive, the plot situation is interesting and its subtextual implications on suicide is also fascinating. Its actually an Altman film you feel like delving into. The amateur production of Salome the community are putting on is one of his most interesting devices. It gets you thinking of rhythms that run through the film, of suicide and human existence.
Also, Glenn Close's being a theatrical director, and carrying those skills into everyday life, to fairly extreme measures in the film, is an interesting subtext - commenting on the director/author as God.
Altman's regular themes of the small town and the weather are here - the weather once again reminding us of a higher force we have no control over.
I thought it was a fascinating, enjoyable film. I laughed out loud many times - mainly at just fun little aspects of the characters. Which is why it was such a pleasant surprise that Cookie's Fortune was not only an enjoyable movie, its actually a really great one.
10/10. One of Altman's best, and my favourites so far.
Everything just goes completely right in Cookie. The atmosphere really gels, the cast are cohesive, the plot situation is interesting and its subtextual implications on suicide is also fascinating. Its actually an Altman film you feel like delving into. The amateur production of Salome the community are putting on is one of his most interesting devices. It gets you thinking of rhythms that run through the film, of suicide and human existence.
Also, Glenn Close's being a theatrical director, and carrying those skills into everyday life, to fairly extreme measures in the film, is an interesting subtext - commenting on the director/author as God.
Altman's regular themes of the small town and the weather are here - the weather once again reminding us of a higher force we have no control over.
I thought it was a fascinating, enjoyable film. I laughed out loud many times - mainly at just fun little aspects of the characters. Which is why it was such a pleasant surprise that Cookie's Fortune was not only an enjoyable movie, its actually a really great one.
10/10. One of Altman's best, and my favourites so far.
You mean, I'm part black?
tieman6414 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
"American cinema is a bit like telling bedtime stories to children." - Peter Greenaway
Robert Altman typically begins his films by quickly sketching some self-contained environment (military barracks, hospital, dance studio, radio show, rodeo, stately mansion etc). His environment created, Altman then inserts an ensemble cast and lets his actors improvise or create their own roles.
His actors in motion, Altman then uses a free floating camera to track various characters and tease out various subplots. Of course all directors do this, but Altman's plots seem particularly ill-defined. There is a sense of an entire world in motion, a world which continues along regardless of where Altman pokes his camera. We, meanwhile, are invited to choose where we look and what we see. And so we float from one seemingly arbitrary nodule to the next, sculpting the film ourselves and stumbling upon bits and pieces of a "story" which we are asked to piece together and make coherent.
Altman also typically inserts some symbolic performance-within-the-film. His character's often gather to put on a play, production or show, a kind of self-reflexive model of the film they're in. The play within "Cookie's Fortune" is a performance of Oscar Wilde's "Salome", a tale of seduction, necrophilia, unlawful marriages and dangerous female seductiveness. Why "Salome" was chosen will become apparent to us later on.
Jazz music often find its way into Altman's films. His aesthetic style is itself jazz-like, his films structureless, improvisational and constructed around riffs and ripostes. "Cookie's Fortune" itself takes place in a Mississippi town with a strong jazz and blues tradition. Altman populates this town with lovable Southern eccentrics, amongst whom are Cookie (an elderly woman who commits suicide), a local sheriff and his deputies (who do nothing but drive about and talk about fishing), and Camille Dixon, a bossy matriarch who tends to her slow witted sister, Cora Duvall. Other characters include Manny (a lonely fisherman), Emma (a rebellious young woman) and Willis (a kind black man and local drunk).
Altman has always been a fairly relaxed film-maker, but "Cookie's Fortune" takes things to new highs (or leisurely lows). The film begins with a easygoing walk, and the film as a whole feelings like one gentle cinematic stroll, Altman casually introducing us to his cast and the film's key locations. Elsewhere the film engages in Altman's love for subversion. Watch how scenes or images traditionally associated with danger are subverted or rendered benign. A black man breaks into a house, for example, but it is then revealed that he knows the owner. A man opens a gun cabinet, but he simply wants to clean the guns. A creepy peeping tom spies on a girl, but he means no harm. And so on and so on. Indeed, the film itself is a satire on the Southern Gothic genre and various Tennesee Williams plays, but Altman's tone is less caustic than usual. He seems to love this community of eccentrics.
But there are sinister things lurking about. Watch how Camille Dixon, the director of the play within the film, becomes the God who controls the film's plot and who manipulates the on-screen murder investigation. Surrounded by a sea of inept actors and second rate actresses, she is in control of "Cookie's Fortune" the film, Salome the play, and Cookie's fortune, the literal will and testament of Cookie, a now-deceased elderly woman within the film. As her community bands together outside the Oscar Wilde play, however, Camille begins to lose control whilst they, ironically, begin to gain control of both Altman's film and Wilde's play. This power struggle is epitomised by a character played by actress Julianne Moore, who develops from an incompetent actress to the new star of Salome. She then usurps Camille.
Typical of Altman, there's some dark inter-racial, psycho-sexual stuff hidden in the film's margins. In the Salome myth, Salome is the stepdaughter of Herod and dances seductively before Herod and her mother Herodias. Her mother had her with another man, an affair which causes John the Baptist to denounce the mother's marriage to Herod as being unlawful. For spreading what she perceives to be these lies, Salome executes John. In the film, it is implied that Emma's mother isn't her mother and it is her real mother's sister's husband who is her father. With Camille Dixon obsessed with "pride" and "preserving the pride of the family and community", it seems that perhaps she was covering up some affair (or even a murder) with a black guy who "went back to Africa to serve as a missionary" (or jail or on the run). Altman inserts various breadcrumbs for those inclined to search.
Elsewhere the film advocates a kind of humble, mixed-race community spirit. A kind of sexual liberation where black and white, upper and lower classes, put things aside and get along. The aristocratic and stuck up Camille Dixon (a haemophiliac – on a symbolic level, her blood refuses to mix with outsiders) belongs to an era which the rebellious Cookie and Emma turned their backs on, one skipping town and getting into trouble, the other literally wearing her humble Mississippi State university sweater to her grave. This kind of warmth was typical of Altman's later films, particularly "Prairie Home Companion".
8.5/10 – See Mamet's "State and Main". Worth one viewing.
Robert Altman typically begins his films by quickly sketching some self-contained environment (military barracks, hospital, dance studio, radio show, rodeo, stately mansion etc). His environment created, Altman then inserts an ensemble cast and lets his actors improvise or create their own roles.
His actors in motion, Altman then uses a free floating camera to track various characters and tease out various subplots. Of course all directors do this, but Altman's plots seem particularly ill-defined. There is a sense of an entire world in motion, a world which continues along regardless of where Altman pokes his camera. We, meanwhile, are invited to choose where we look and what we see. And so we float from one seemingly arbitrary nodule to the next, sculpting the film ourselves and stumbling upon bits and pieces of a "story" which we are asked to piece together and make coherent.
Altman also typically inserts some symbolic performance-within-the-film. His character's often gather to put on a play, production or show, a kind of self-reflexive model of the film they're in. The play within "Cookie's Fortune" is a performance of Oscar Wilde's "Salome", a tale of seduction, necrophilia, unlawful marriages and dangerous female seductiveness. Why "Salome" was chosen will become apparent to us later on.
Jazz music often find its way into Altman's films. His aesthetic style is itself jazz-like, his films structureless, improvisational and constructed around riffs and ripostes. "Cookie's Fortune" itself takes place in a Mississippi town with a strong jazz and blues tradition. Altman populates this town with lovable Southern eccentrics, amongst whom are Cookie (an elderly woman who commits suicide), a local sheriff and his deputies (who do nothing but drive about and talk about fishing), and Camille Dixon, a bossy matriarch who tends to her slow witted sister, Cora Duvall. Other characters include Manny (a lonely fisherman), Emma (a rebellious young woman) and Willis (a kind black man and local drunk).
Altman has always been a fairly relaxed film-maker, but "Cookie's Fortune" takes things to new highs (or leisurely lows). The film begins with a easygoing walk, and the film as a whole feelings like one gentle cinematic stroll, Altman casually introducing us to his cast and the film's key locations. Elsewhere the film engages in Altman's love for subversion. Watch how scenes or images traditionally associated with danger are subverted or rendered benign. A black man breaks into a house, for example, but it is then revealed that he knows the owner. A man opens a gun cabinet, but he simply wants to clean the guns. A creepy peeping tom spies on a girl, but he means no harm. And so on and so on. Indeed, the film itself is a satire on the Southern Gothic genre and various Tennesee Williams plays, but Altman's tone is less caustic than usual. He seems to love this community of eccentrics.
But there are sinister things lurking about. Watch how Camille Dixon, the director of the play within the film, becomes the God who controls the film's plot and who manipulates the on-screen murder investigation. Surrounded by a sea of inept actors and second rate actresses, she is in control of "Cookie's Fortune" the film, Salome the play, and Cookie's fortune, the literal will and testament of Cookie, a now-deceased elderly woman within the film. As her community bands together outside the Oscar Wilde play, however, Camille begins to lose control whilst they, ironically, begin to gain control of both Altman's film and Wilde's play. This power struggle is epitomised by a character played by actress Julianne Moore, who develops from an incompetent actress to the new star of Salome. She then usurps Camille.
Typical of Altman, there's some dark inter-racial, psycho-sexual stuff hidden in the film's margins. In the Salome myth, Salome is the stepdaughter of Herod and dances seductively before Herod and her mother Herodias. Her mother had her with another man, an affair which causes John the Baptist to denounce the mother's marriage to Herod as being unlawful. For spreading what she perceives to be these lies, Salome executes John. In the film, it is implied that Emma's mother isn't her mother and it is her real mother's sister's husband who is her father. With Camille Dixon obsessed with "pride" and "preserving the pride of the family and community", it seems that perhaps she was covering up some affair (or even a murder) with a black guy who "went back to Africa to serve as a missionary" (or jail or on the run). Altman inserts various breadcrumbs for those inclined to search.
Elsewhere the film advocates a kind of humble, mixed-race community spirit. A kind of sexual liberation where black and white, upper and lower classes, put things aside and get along. The aristocratic and stuck up Camille Dixon (a haemophiliac – on a symbolic level, her blood refuses to mix with outsiders) belongs to an era which the rebellious Cookie and Emma turned their backs on, one skipping town and getting into trouble, the other literally wearing her humble Mississippi State university sweater to her grave. This kind of warmth was typical of Altman's later films, particularly "Prairie Home Companion".
8.5/10 – See Mamet's "State and Main". Worth one viewing.
Altman Does Small-Town Mississippi.
rmax30482324 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I must say this ensemble effort doesn't begin too promisingly -- another glimpse of oddity in a small Southern town, people with names like Jewel Mae and Otis and Lester, something along the lines of Beth Henley's "Crimes of the Heart," which couldn't be saved even by my own sterling performance.
And it is a little casual in establishing its characters. One wonders where the hell it intends going. Patricia Neal does a fine job with the role of the decrepit old "Cookie" Orcutt in the opening scenes. Neal is old but not THAT old and the talent behind the performance still glows under the crusted patina. But then so does everyone else's, and it's a good cast.
Basically the plot is thus: Cookie, knowing she'll join her husband in heaven, cheerfully shoots herself in the head. Two younger cousins -- the too-clever Glenn Close and the exceedingly dumb Julianne Moore -- discover the body and decide to make it look like a murder, suicide being too much of a disgrace for the family to bear.
Then the plot gets off the ground in its casual, laid-back, Mississippian way, kinda like a sleepy dog rousin' itself to slink off the dusty road so the universal harvester can chug past. It's too twisted to detail but there were several times I laughed out loud. "Crimes of the Heart" only got one laugh.
The gags come not just from Anne Rapp's screenplay but from Altman's direction as well. A semi-serious criminal interrogation goes on in the foreground while in the background two officers marvel at the dimensions of a stuffed catfish on the wall. Glenn Close manages to be caught with her hand in the cookie jar -- literally.
I won't go on about it. It's a relaxing and amusing fairy tale.
And it is a little casual in establishing its characters. One wonders where the hell it intends going. Patricia Neal does a fine job with the role of the decrepit old "Cookie" Orcutt in the opening scenes. Neal is old but not THAT old and the talent behind the performance still glows under the crusted patina. But then so does everyone else's, and it's a good cast.
Basically the plot is thus: Cookie, knowing she'll join her husband in heaven, cheerfully shoots herself in the head. Two younger cousins -- the too-clever Glenn Close and the exceedingly dumb Julianne Moore -- discover the body and decide to make it look like a murder, suicide being too much of a disgrace for the family to bear.
Then the plot gets off the ground in its casual, laid-back, Mississippian way, kinda like a sleepy dog rousin' itself to slink off the dusty road so the universal harvester can chug past. It's too twisted to detail but there were several times I laughed out loud. "Crimes of the Heart" only got one laugh.
The gags come not just from Anne Rapp's screenplay but from Altman's direction as well. A semi-serious criminal interrogation goes on in the foreground while in the background two officers marvel at the dimensions of a stuffed catfish on the wall. Glenn Close manages to be caught with her hand in the cookie jar -- literally.
I won't go on about it. It's a relaxing and amusing fairy tale.
Altman Takes on Small Town Eccentrics with Lovely Soundtrack
noralee20 December 2005
"Cookie's Fortune" has Robert Altman's patented esprit de corps with ensembles, here representing the intimacy of small town eccentrics, with somewhat amusing intricacies of lies and misunderstandings.
The young folks' parts are underwritten so Chris O'Donnell simply doesn't have a lot to do, though Liv Tyler breathes life into her role.
Rufus Thomas has an entertaining bit part. Lyle Lovett's role is a charming bit, less lines but more character substance than O'Donnell's.
There is wonderful original blues music throughout, with guitar work by The Edge of U2.
(originally written 5/9/1999)
The young folks' parts are underwritten so Chris O'Donnell simply doesn't have a lot to do, though Liv Tyler breathes life into her role.
Rufus Thomas has an entertaining bit part. Lyle Lovett's role is a charming bit, less lines but more character substance than O'Donnell's.
There is wonderful original blues music throughout, with guitar work by The Edge of U2.
(originally written 5/9/1999)
One of Altman's best
SKG-219 April 1999
It's hard to believe a film this sunny came from Robert Altman, and is also this good, but there you go. While I love some of his films, like M*A*S*H, MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER, NASHVILLE, THE PLAYER, and SHORT CUTS, there are times when I feel he has a fundamental contempt for his subject matter, like in THE LONG GOODBYE and POPEYE, and for his characters. But while this movie, well-written by Anne Rapp, is essentially a Tennessee Williams drama turned inside out (Glenn Close's character is the only one who seems like a refugee from Williams territory), we instead feel a great deal for each of the characters. Even Close's Camille, whose machinations end up in the temporary jailing of an innocent man for a crime that never was, is somewhat likable.
When Altman is on, we really get a sense of community and place, as opposed to movies which are just a triumph of production design, and this is no exception. The best example of this is how Lester(Ned Beatty), a deputy sheriff, sums up his reasons for why Willis(Charles S. Dutton), that innocent man referred to earlier, is innocent of killing Cookie(Patricia Neal); "I fished with him." In another movie, that line of reasoning would be ridiculous, but since you feel all of these people have known each other for years, it seems just right. And the rhythms of the town feel right as well, so you don't feel like you're just watching a filmed set.
Casting has always been a hallmark of Altman films, and this one is no different. Charles S. Dutton is as good as they say, being more restrained than usual, Close shows great comic timing in her role, and Julianne Moore is very good as her put-upon younger sister, who has a lot more to her than meets the eye. And Altman regulars like Beatty and Lyle Lovett are quite good as well. The most surprising turns came from Liv Tyler and Chris O'Donnell. I've liked Tyler before(in HEAVY, EMPIRE RECORDS, and THAT THING YOU DO!), but to imagine her with shorn hair playing a rebel who skins fish for a living was a bit much, to say the least, but she's utterly convincing. O'Donnell has always seemed too callow, but here he's quite funny as a deputy sheriff who's seen way too many cop shows. And he and Tyler have nice chemistry together.
When Altman is on, we really get a sense of community and place, as opposed to movies which are just a triumph of production design, and this is no exception. The best example of this is how Lester(Ned Beatty), a deputy sheriff, sums up his reasons for why Willis(Charles S. Dutton), that innocent man referred to earlier, is innocent of killing Cookie(Patricia Neal); "I fished with him." In another movie, that line of reasoning would be ridiculous, but since you feel all of these people have known each other for years, it seems just right. And the rhythms of the town feel right as well, so you don't feel like you're just watching a filmed set.
Casting has always been a hallmark of Altman films, and this one is no different. Charles S. Dutton is as good as they say, being more restrained than usual, Close shows great comic timing in her role, and Julianne Moore is very good as her put-upon younger sister, who has a lot more to her than meets the eye. And Altman regulars like Beatty and Lyle Lovett are quite good as well. The most surprising turns came from Liv Tyler and Chris O'Donnell. I've liked Tyler before(in HEAVY, EMPIRE RECORDS, and THAT THING YOU DO!), but to imagine her with shorn hair playing a rebel who skins fish for a living was a bit much, to say the least, but she's utterly convincing. O'Donnell has always seemed too callow, but here he's quite funny as a deputy sheriff who's seen way too many cop shows. And he and Tyler have nice chemistry together.
The actors seem as though they're putting on performances tailor-made for a far better movie
sloopydrew23 June 2000
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.
A nice place to visit...
majikstl24 May 2004
What would it have been like had Tennessee Williams -- for some unfathomable reason -- been hired to write a script for "The Andy Griffith Show?" This is hardly a pressing question for either amusement or intellectual debate, but the answer would surely be something very much like Robert Altman's COOKIE'S FORTUNE.
This is undoubtedly Altman's most accessible and likable effort. It is set in Holly Springs, Mississippi, but it could just as easily be Mayberry, North Carolina. Both are in a fantasy world just north of Sitcomville and across the ridge from Capratown. In Altman fashion, Holly Springs is populated with variety of oddball folk, but in contradiction to Altman tradition, they mostly tend to be free of cynicism and malice. Andy, Opie, Barney and Aunt Bee would feel right at home. Indeed, there is even a town jail where the cell doors are left unlocked, all the better to allow visitors to come and go as they please.
The hypothetical contribution by Tennessee Williams is nonetheless apparent as well. There is a murder mystery, a suicide, a bit of gore, a dash of sex, some racial consciousness and Glenn Close, whose character might be a second cousin to Blanche DuBois. But these elements of dark and twisted madness aren't all that removed from the cheerful eccentricity that is a trademark of fictional smalltown America. As such, COOKIE'S FORTUNE falls somewhere between SHADOW OF DOUBT and THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN in its representation of bucolic life; there is a cheerful silliness to the characters, but tragedy darkens the edges just a tad.
No one would ever accuse Altman of being the sentimental type. His screen career has consisted largely of taking pot shots at the American landscape, aiming to reveal hypocrisy behind everything from patriotism to idealism, with his preferred vehicle of deconstruction being the conventions of various movie genres. He has taken a wrecking ball to everything from the backstage musical to film noir to westerns to sci-fi. Yet he approaches the Capraesque vision of smalltown American with a gentle good humor, refraining from indulging in either parody or satire. COOKIES FORTUNE is probably the only Altman film where the characters are characters, i.e., loopy individuals, not archetypes to be debunked or mocked. I'm an admirer of Altman's films, but I have to admit that I am hard pressed to think of any other instance where I felt actual affection for any of his characters.
Alas, Altman's visit to Holly Springs is no doubt a side trip in the director's journey from one "important" film to the next. A chance to stretch his legs a bit before getting back to the serious business of showing how corrupt the world is. That's a shame, because Holly Springs is a right nice little place to visit.
This is undoubtedly Altman's most accessible and likable effort. It is set in Holly Springs, Mississippi, but it could just as easily be Mayberry, North Carolina. Both are in a fantasy world just north of Sitcomville and across the ridge from Capratown. In Altman fashion, Holly Springs is populated with variety of oddball folk, but in contradiction to Altman tradition, they mostly tend to be free of cynicism and malice. Andy, Opie, Barney and Aunt Bee would feel right at home. Indeed, there is even a town jail where the cell doors are left unlocked, all the better to allow visitors to come and go as they please.
The hypothetical contribution by Tennessee Williams is nonetheless apparent as well. There is a murder mystery, a suicide, a bit of gore, a dash of sex, some racial consciousness and Glenn Close, whose character might be a second cousin to Blanche DuBois. But these elements of dark and twisted madness aren't all that removed from the cheerful eccentricity that is a trademark of fictional smalltown America. As such, COOKIE'S FORTUNE falls somewhere between SHADOW OF DOUBT and THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN in its representation of bucolic life; there is a cheerful silliness to the characters, but tragedy darkens the edges just a tad.
No one would ever accuse Altman of being the sentimental type. His screen career has consisted largely of taking pot shots at the American landscape, aiming to reveal hypocrisy behind everything from patriotism to idealism, with his preferred vehicle of deconstruction being the conventions of various movie genres. He has taken a wrecking ball to everything from the backstage musical to film noir to westerns to sci-fi. Yet he approaches the Capraesque vision of smalltown American with a gentle good humor, refraining from indulging in either parody or satire. COOKIES FORTUNE is probably the only Altman film where the characters are characters, i.e., loopy individuals, not archetypes to be debunked or mocked. I'm an admirer of Altman's films, but I have to admit that I am hard pressed to think of any other instance where I felt actual affection for any of his characters.
Alas, Altman's visit to Holly Springs is no doubt a side trip in the director's journey from one "important" film to the next. A chance to stretch his legs a bit before getting back to the serious business of showing how corrupt the world is. That's a shame, because Holly Springs is a right nice little place to visit.
Simple and Funny
view_and_review10 December 2020
"Cookie's Fortune" is a simple movie built upon a simple, though tragic incident.
Cookie Orcutt (Patricia Neal) was an old woman living alone. She had no apparent friends or family besides Willis Richland (Charles S. Dutton). The family she did have was estranged and she longed to be reunited with her husband Buck who had passed on. Cookie decided to end it all one day with a gun. When her niece Camille (Glenn Close) found her dead, she opted to make the suicide look like a homicide. While doing so she ordered her willing and docile sister Cora (Julianne Moore) to recite the story she gave her: it was a robbery and Aunt Cookie was killed. There were no obvious suspects except Willis and so we have drama.
I thought the movie was creative. Using a small Mississippi town with small town folks they wove an interesting story. Death by gunshot is news anywhere, but it is particularly big in a little place where everybody knows everybody. Add to the mix a meddling relative trying to make a suicide look like a murder and you've got something.
Glenn Close was brilliant, of course, playing the privileged, smug while demanding, Southern belle. And I think more laughs were generated when out-of-towner investigator Otis Tucker (Courtney B. Vance) came on the scene. I say, watch and watch until the end when more family mysteries are uncovered.
Cookie Orcutt (Patricia Neal) was an old woman living alone. She had no apparent friends or family besides Willis Richland (Charles S. Dutton). The family she did have was estranged and she longed to be reunited with her husband Buck who had passed on. Cookie decided to end it all one day with a gun. When her niece Camille (Glenn Close) found her dead, she opted to make the suicide look like a homicide. While doing so she ordered her willing and docile sister Cora (Julianne Moore) to recite the story she gave her: it was a robbery and Aunt Cookie was killed. There were no obvious suspects except Willis and so we have drama.
I thought the movie was creative. Using a small Mississippi town with small town folks they wove an interesting story. Death by gunshot is news anywhere, but it is particularly big in a little place where everybody knows everybody. Add to the mix a meddling relative trying to make a suicide look like a murder and you've got something.
Glenn Close was brilliant, of course, playing the privileged, smug while demanding, Southern belle. And I think more laughs were generated when out-of-towner investigator Otis Tucker (Courtney B. Vance) came on the scene. I say, watch and watch until the end when more family mysteries are uncovered.
Land sakes, Robert Altman, this is an awful mess, you hear?
austinink2 September 2001
Cookie's Fortune is bad luck for anyone attempting to watch it. This is a cloying and boring seemingly endless movie with overdone Southern accents, hideous overacting, stale jokes, trite twangy slide-guitar music that is more annoying even than a hungry Southern mosquito, and a silly contrived script which at best could have been played out in 30 minutes but goes on and on and on and on for almost two plodding hours. With so much stale air pumped into it to extend its viewing time, it's the kind of movie you want to fast-forward through to the end, but then find the end, if there IS one, is confusing. Glenn Close in particular turns in an annoyingly overwrought performance as a Southern crazie -- she appears to have recreated the worst aspects of her earlier role as Norma Desmond and transposed it to the South. It is good to see Patricia Neal again, but her role as an eccentric old woman is just too cute and unrealistic. If you are a masochist with time on your hands who needs to suffer, rent this bit of tired Southern hogwash.
Overlooked Gem From Robert Altman
andy-6644721 August 2015
Throughout the long trajectory of his career, Robert Altman was known for interweaving multiple plots and characters within the context of a given theme. Think the brotherhood of the country music community in "Nashville" or the detachment of contemporary California life in "Short Cuts." But in 1999, Altman tried something a bit unique – he directed a motion picture with a plot. One plot. One story. A comparatively small cast of characters. It was called, "Cookie's Fortune," and it's this month's Buried Treasure.
With a clever screenplay by Anne Rapp, "Cookie's Fortune" tells the story of Willis (Charles S. Dutton), a handyman wrongly accused of murder in a small Mississippi town. His widowed employer (Patricia Neal) commits suicide at the outset, and her daughters decide to disguise the shooting as a murder in a vain attempt to preserve the family's reputation. Since Willis had just cleaned the widow's guns the night before, his fingerprints are all over them. And there you have the most plot structure you'll ever find in an Altman film.
What follows this sullen and morose setup is Altman's funniest picture since "M*A*S*H" in 1970. You see, everyone in the town knows Willis couldn't possibly commit murder. The jailer (a young Chris O'Donnell) consistently leaves the cell door open, and the sheriff (a fantastic Ned Beatty) plays cards with him – in the cell! You see, Beatty's character knows Willis is innocent because, "I've fished with him" – which seems to be his quintessence test for everyone he knows.
But, as in every Altman film, there's one character who doesn't quite fit. One who takes things more seriously than the others. Remember how pathetically dangerous Robert Duvall's Major Frank Burns seemed in "M*A*S*H" (as opposed to the maniacal buffoon Larry Linville played on the long-running television series)? It was as though the Major Burns character walked on the set from another movie – just to give the audience a jolt; to let us know this is war, and war is real.
In "Cookie's Fortune," Glenn Close plays Camille, the theatrical and mildly deranged daughter of the deceased – a slightly more comical version of her wicked turn in "Fatal Attraction." Camille is the smartest character in the picture, but she's also the one who doesn't belong; the one who, in a panic attack, might just turn this lovable comedy into a dreary exercise in unhinged madness. Fortunately, Altman is a skilled enough director to not allow this to happen, but my does he dangle it closely (pun intended). Had Glenn Close played her role ever so slightly more unsettled, the entire film would have been ruined. Altman walks a fine line allowing Camille to exaggerate her pomposity, but then her function seems to be to remind us that this is murder, and murder is real.
Still, Altman never loses sight of the fact that "Cookie's Fortune" is a comedy, dark though it may be. The script is peppered with well-drawn characters, and the acting is first-rate – particularly Ned Beatty as the sheriff, and also Liv Tyler as Camille's desperado niece, whose boyfriend just so happens to be Chris O'Donnell's maladroit jailer. Altman is a master handling these intertwining characters, as he doles out information in small enough doses for us to completely process their connections, and for us to understand the soul of the town in which they regale.
Unfortunately, "Cookie's Fortune" was released during the spring doldrums – that period between the Oscars and the summer blockbusters, when the studios trot out the fare they don't think anyone will pay to see. By the time the Oscars rolled around that year, the talk was all about "Magnolia," "American Beauty," "The Cider House Rules," and "The Green Mile." "Cookie's Fortune" was simply a forgotten footnote to American cinema in 1999. And that's a shame. You need to seek out this one. It's funny, touching, and intelligent – and easily one of Robert Altman's ten best films.
With a clever screenplay by Anne Rapp, "Cookie's Fortune" tells the story of Willis (Charles S. Dutton), a handyman wrongly accused of murder in a small Mississippi town. His widowed employer (Patricia Neal) commits suicide at the outset, and her daughters decide to disguise the shooting as a murder in a vain attempt to preserve the family's reputation. Since Willis had just cleaned the widow's guns the night before, his fingerprints are all over them. And there you have the most plot structure you'll ever find in an Altman film.
What follows this sullen and morose setup is Altman's funniest picture since "M*A*S*H" in 1970. You see, everyone in the town knows Willis couldn't possibly commit murder. The jailer (a young Chris O'Donnell) consistently leaves the cell door open, and the sheriff (a fantastic Ned Beatty) plays cards with him – in the cell! You see, Beatty's character knows Willis is innocent because, "I've fished with him" – which seems to be his quintessence test for everyone he knows.
But, as in every Altman film, there's one character who doesn't quite fit. One who takes things more seriously than the others. Remember how pathetically dangerous Robert Duvall's Major Frank Burns seemed in "M*A*S*H" (as opposed to the maniacal buffoon Larry Linville played on the long-running television series)? It was as though the Major Burns character walked on the set from another movie – just to give the audience a jolt; to let us know this is war, and war is real.
In "Cookie's Fortune," Glenn Close plays Camille, the theatrical and mildly deranged daughter of the deceased – a slightly more comical version of her wicked turn in "Fatal Attraction." Camille is the smartest character in the picture, but she's also the one who doesn't belong; the one who, in a panic attack, might just turn this lovable comedy into a dreary exercise in unhinged madness. Fortunately, Altman is a skilled enough director to not allow this to happen, but my does he dangle it closely (pun intended). Had Glenn Close played her role ever so slightly more unsettled, the entire film would have been ruined. Altman walks a fine line allowing Camille to exaggerate her pomposity, but then her function seems to be to remind us that this is murder, and murder is real.
Still, Altman never loses sight of the fact that "Cookie's Fortune" is a comedy, dark though it may be. The script is peppered with well-drawn characters, and the acting is first-rate – particularly Ned Beatty as the sheriff, and also Liv Tyler as Camille's desperado niece, whose boyfriend just so happens to be Chris O'Donnell's maladroit jailer. Altman is a master handling these intertwining characters, as he doles out information in small enough doses for us to completely process their connections, and for us to understand the soul of the town in which they regale.
Unfortunately, "Cookie's Fortune" was released during the spring doldrums – that period between the Oscars and the summer blockbusters, when the studios trot out the fare they don't think anyone will pay to see. By the time the Oscars rolled around that year, the talk was all about "Magnolia," "American Beauty," "The Cider House Rules," and "The Green Mile." "Cookie's Fortune" was simply a forgotten footnote to American cinema in 1999. And that's a shame. You need to seek out this one. It's funny, touching, and intelligent – and easily one of Robert Altman's ten best films.
Low-Key Southern Comedy from Robert Altman
evanston_dad28 May 2009
In the late 1990s, Robert Altman directed a series of films set in the South, all of them with Southern Gothic elements. "Kansas City" and "The Gingerbread Man" were throwbacks to the crime thriller film noir, while "Cookie's Fortune" was a mostly comic yarn about the suicide of a beloved widow in a small Mississippi town and the efforts of the local police department to solve the "crime" when it's re-staged to look like a murder.
The tone of "Cookie's Fortune" is like that of William Faulkner when he was writing books like "The Reivers." If the film seems to have nowhere to go and takes its time getting there, that's not necessarily a criticism. That's part of the Southern tall-tale culture, and if you've ever spent time in that part of the country, you know what it's like to sit on a porch, drinking overly sweetened iced tea, and listen to colorful characters take 20 minutes to tell a story that could be told in 5.
The cast includes Patricia Neal (Cookie) and Charles S. Dutton, as the widow and the chief suspect accused in her apparent murder; Glenn Close, in an overwrought performance as a relative of Cookie who wants to cover up Cookie's suicide so as not to tarnish the family name and get her hands on Cookie's fortune in the process; and Julianne Moore as Close's mentally slow sister who ends up not being quite as slow as we thought by the time the movie's over. There are also parts for Liv Tyler, Chris O'Donnell, Ned Beatty and a completely unnecessary Lyle Lovett. The fortune of the film's title is a red herring that would have made Alfred Hitchcock proud, and the investigation itself fades into the background as the characters become the point of interest. As he would show in his all-out murder mystery from two years later, "Gosford Park", Altman isn't nearly as interested in the destination as he is the journey to it.
Grade: B+
The tone of "Cookie's Fortune" is like that of William Faulkner when he was writing books like "The Reivers." If the film seems to have nowhere to go and takes its time getting there, that's not necessarily a criticism. That's part of the Southern tall-tale culture, and if you've ever spent time in that part of the country, you know what it's like to sit on a porch, drinking overly sweetened iced tea, and listen to colorful characters take 20 minutes to tell a story that could be told in 5.
The cast includes Patricia Neal (Cookie) and Charles S. Dutton, as the widow and the chief suspect accused in her apparent murder; Glenn Close, in an overwrought performance as a relative of Cookie who wants to cover up Cookie's suicide so as not to tarnish the family name and get her hands on Cookie's fortune in the process; and Julianne Moore as Close's mentally slow sister who ends up not being quite as slow as we thought by the time the movie's over. There are also parts for Liv Tyler, Chris O'Donnell, Ned Beatty and a completely unnecessary Lyle Lovett. The fortune of the film's title is a red herring that would have made Alfred Hitchcock proud, and the investigation itself fades into the background as the characters become the point of interest. As he would show in his all-out murder mystery from two years later, "Gosford Park", Altman isn't nearly as interested in the destination as he is the journey to it.
Grade: B+
Mostly inoffensive with an awful last act.
Rockwell_Cronenberg8 March 2012
Cookie's Fortune is another ensemble character piece from Robert Altman, although it's of a lot less magnitude than some of his previous works. The story centers around a group of citizens in the quaint town of Holly Springs, who are thrown into disarray by the sudden death of Cookie Orcutt (Patricia Neal). Altman's scope is much more intimate than some of his other ensemble pieces, and it fits the characters nicely. The whole thing, accompanied by a nice blues score, has this quaint and relaxed atmosphere to it. This makes the film move by at a slower pace, but I never really felt like it dragged or anything, it just sort of coasted along.
There are several characters that we focus on, from Cookie's nieces Camille and Cora (Glenn Close and Julianne Moore) to her best friend Willis (Charles S. Dutton) to the police (Chris O'Donnell, Ned Beatty and a few others) to Cora's estranged daughter Emma (Liv Tyler), who has coincidentally just strolled back into town after being gone for a while. Cookie's death sends waves through the small community and turns everyone's situations upside down, resulting in comedic strides and a police investigation. When focusing on the individual characters, I definitely enjoyed myself most of the time, especially when it came to the erratic and revoltingly vain Camille (played with utter theatrical delight by Close) and the eternally laid-back Willis, but I don't think the script managed to bring the characters together in an entirely fluid manner.
This especially became a problem when the film was focused on Camille and Cora, who felt as though they were in an entirely different film. The majority of it had that bluesy, Southern atmosphere to it but then you get to the scenes with the two of them and it's like they're in a Tennesse Williams play. The characters are supposed to be a contrast to the rest of the ensemble, but the tones of their sections don't mesh at all with the rest of the film and it's quite distracting. The cast for the most part does a fine job, Close being the only one who impressed me on any major level, but Tyler and O'Donnell stick out like sore thumbs, the flattest pieces of wood in an otherwise quite alive ensemble.
I think my main problem with it though came from the final act, which is just a bizarre disaster. Out of nowhere the investigation starts turning up revelations of different familial bonds and lies from the past, but they truly come out of nowhere and ultimately add nothing to the film. It gets so confusing and incoherent in the final act, I don't have a clue what possessed writer Anne Rapp. It drags the film down considerably, but the rest of it was alright, if relatively insignificant.
There are several characters that we focus on, from Cookie's nieces Camille and Cora (Glenn Close and Julianne Moore) to her best friend Willis (Charles S. Dutton) to the police (Chris O'Donnell, Ned Beatty and a few others) to Cora's estranged daughter Emma (Liv Tyler), who has coincidentally just strolled back into town after being gone for a while. Cookie's death sends waves through the small community and turns everyone's situations upside down, resulting in comedic strides and a police investigation. When focusing on the individual characters, I definitely enjoyed myself most of the time, especially when it came to the erratic and revoltingly vain Camille (played with utter theatrical delight by Close) and the eternally laid-back Willis, but I don't think the script managed to bring the characters together in an entirely fluid manner.
This especially became a problem when the film was focused on Camille and Cora, who felt as though they were in an entirely different film. The majority of it had that bluesy, Southern atmosphere to it but then you get to the scenes with the two of them and it's like they're in a Tennesse Williams play. The characters are supposed to be a contrast to the rest of the ensemble, but the tones of their sections don't mesh at all with the rest of the film and it's quite distracting. The cast for the most part does a fine job, Close being the only one who impressed me on any major level, but Tyler and O'Donnell stick out like sore thumbs, the flattest pieces of wood in an otherwise quite alive ensemble.
I think my main problem with it though came from the final act, which is just a bizarre disaster. Out of nowhere the investigation starts turning up revelations of different familial bonds and lies from the past, but they truly come out of nowhere and ultimately add nothing to the film. It gets so confusing and incoherent in the final act, I don't have a clue what possessed writer Anne Rapp. It drags the film down considerably, but the rest of it was alright, if relatively insignificant.
Enjoyably light film with only a few moments of misjudged seriousness and humour
bob the moo20 July 2003
In the small town of Holly Springs, Mississippi, the highly strung Camille is leading rehearsals for a performance of Salome. When she drops in on her Aunt Cookie (whom she has a frosty relationship with) she finds that Cookie has taken her own life in order to be with her late husband again. Unwilling to have her family name tarnished by this shameful act, Camille takes a necklace and moves things around to suggest a murder. Things get more complicated when Cookie's caretaker and loyal friend is arrested for the murder and the investigation begins in earnest.
I wasn't sure what this film was about when I took up to watch it but was wary as often I have found Altman films to be too sprawling for my tastes and have struggled to get into them. This film started well and light and pretty much managed to retain that feeling for the duration, making it enjoyable to watch. In terms of plot, the central action is strong enough to hold the focus, although really the film is more about the characters than anything else. This is good as I felt the film's strength was the cast and the characters. All the characters are watchable and interesting whether they be amusing, likeable or strange.
The film's humour is good as it matches the light tone it sets itself. At times though the humour is misjudged, for the most part it is natural and charming but there are times when the film forces jokes (for example semi-pratfalls etc) and they don't fit the mood. Likewise the drama occasionally goes a little too heavy (the ending for example) but these are minor compared to the effect of the whole. Generally it free wheels along quite nicely funny without ever becoming absurd or unenjoyable. Having said that, it may annoy those who expect more of a firm plot.
The rich ensemble cast makes it worth watching alone. Dutton stands out in the lead role, he is as relaxed and as affable as they come which was needed to carry that role. On the total other side is a well pitched Close, her character needed to be realistic (i.e. not another Cruella De Ville) but still be unpleasant enough not to have the audience with her Close manages it well. Tyler does ok but I found it a little hard to accept her casting at first, O'Donnell appears to have little to do but does well to play a fool without thinking of his career too much. Moore is good in support and Neal's pitching of Cookie's past and personality in only a few scenes enables us to feel for her and thus prevent her dark act from taking away from the light touch too much. Beatty has some great lines and Vance steals many of his scenes with a comic touch.
Overall this film is very slight and may not appeal to all for that reason. I felt like I'd had a rest on a hot day after watching it it was enjoyable and undemanding. Not perfect by any means but it's fun to spend to hours with the characters herein.
I wasn't sure what this film was about when I took up to watch it but was wary as often I have found Altman films to be too sprawling for my tastes and have struggled to get into them. This film started well and light and pretty much managed to retain that feeling for the duration, making it enjoyable to watch. In terms of plot, the central action is strong enough to hold the focus, although really the film is more about the characters than anything else. This is good as I felt the film's strength was the cast and the characters. All the characters are watchable and interesting whether they be amusing, likeable or strange.
The film's humour is good as it matches the light tone it sets itself. At times though the humour is misjudged, for the most part it is natural and charming but there are times when the film forces jokes (for example semi-pratfalls etc) and they don't fit the mood. Likewise the drama occasionally goes a little too heavy (the ending for example) but these are minor compared to the effect of the whole. Generally it free wheels along quite nicely funny without ever becoming absurd or unenjoyable. Having said that, it may annoy those who expect more of a firm plot.
The rich ensemble cast makes it worth watching alone. Dutton stands out in the lead role, he is as relaxed and as affable as they come which was needed to carry that role. On the total other side is a well pitched Close, her character needed to be realistic (i.e. not another Cruella De Ville) but still be unpleasant enough not to have the audience with her Close manages it well. Tyler does ok but I found it a little hard to accept her casting at first, O'Donnell appears to have little to do but does well to play a fool without thinking of his career too much. Moore is good in support and Neal's pitching of Cookie's past and personality in only a few scenes enables us to feel for her and thus prevent her dark act from taking away from the light touch too much. Beatty has some great lines and Vance steals many of his scenes with a comic touch.
Overall this film is very slight and may not appeal to all for that reason. I felt like I'd had a rest on a hot day after watching it it was enjoyable and undemanding. Not perfect by any means but it's fun to spend to hours with the characters herein.
This Cookie Crumbles
kenjha30 December 2011
The death of an old woman in a small Mississippi town leads to some minor intrigue. It gets off to a slow start, and doesn't really get interesting until the death of Cookie. And even after that, nothing much happens to hold one's interest. The characters are so stupid that one doesn't care what happens to them. The logic given for Close covering up the suicide of Cookie is absolutely ridiculous. The characters' blatant disregard for police procedures is meant to be funny but it's totally idiotic. A good cast is wasted. Altman has directed some great films, but by the time he made this his career was in decline and he does little to breathe life into a weak script.
One of Robert Altman's tightest films.
rmaxm26 January 1999
The story is threaded together with masterful precision, Altman extracts excellent performances from the entire cast with the exception of Lyle Lovett who is just plain goofy. Charles Dutton turns in the performance of a lifetime. And the on screen chemistry between Dutton and Patricia Neal is spell binding. Ending the film seemed too difficult for Altman and so it runs past a few places where it could have stopped, but what do I know.
rather sweet; left me with a smile when I first saw it
Quinoa19844 June 2006
One might call Cookie's Fortune a 'minor' effort from Robert Altman, a filmmaker who once commented that each film "is all part of the same picture", or rather one long movie with bits and pieces making up a career whole. But it has enough going for it through its very competent cast and interesting script to keep it afloat from being the kind of small film little old ladies might watch on TV during the day. In that sense it isn't as 'heavy' as some of Altman's other work. It is also cool enough to treat the subject of a mystery around a suicide with enough humanity to make some scenes smile-worthy. Considering some of the darker elements in the script, Altman depicts this to the point where- get this- Cookie's Fortune is sometimes shown on the HBO family channel!
Is it really a kid's film? I'm not sure, but it isn't work for only one age group- its appeal from its cast of a collective of small towners is appealing to most in the audience. That the cast- Glenn Close, Liv Tyler, (especially) Charles S. Dutton, even Chris O'Donnell- gels and plays some of the dialog sincerely even when its meant to not be taken seriously at all, is a credit to the filmmaker. That it also might not be quite as memorable as some of the director's major films is and is not a fault. It is a fault because the subject matter is sort of stuck in a certain genre realm. It is not because the subject mater is also very much more intelligent than would be expected at times. I was also fond of certain scenes and interactions with the actors, the rhythm of it all, like early on with Dutton and the actress Patricia Neal who plays the old lady. I also really like the climax.
So it's a good work about the rumblings and eccentricities of a small town, the good in people as well as the lesser parts, and parts of greed and death seen through a light that is not aiming for anything 'cheap', so to speak.
Is it really a kid's film? I'm not sure, but it isn't work for only one age group- its appeal from its cast of a collective of small towners is appealing to most in the audience. That the cast- Glenn Close, Liv Tyler, (especially) Charles S. Dutton, even Chris O'Donnell- gels and plays some of the dialog sincerely even when its meant to not be taken seriously at all, is a credit to the filmmaker. That it also might not be quite as memorable as some of the director's major films is and is not a fault. It is a fault because the subject matter is sort of stuck in a certain genre realm. It is not because the subject mater is also very much more intelligent than would be expected at times. I was also fond of certain scenes and interactions with the actors, the rhythm of it all, like early on with Dutton and the actress Patricia Neal who plays the old lady. I also really like the climax.
So it's a good work about the rumblings and eccentricities of a small town, the good in people as well as the lesser parts, and parts of greed and death seen through a light that is not aiming for anything 'cheap', so to speak.
Nicely directed, filmed and acted, with unfortunate humorous touches
khatcher-23 April 2002
Given the story-line of this piece, I thought some of the humorous touches were just slightly out of place and is my only complaint. Otherwise this is a neat little piece, with evident hallmarks of teleseries-style in the making of it. The first part of the film especially was excellent as the background and personalities were being established, and the development of characterisation showed good directing. Worthy performances by Glenn Close (however could it be otherwise
.?), Julianne Moore and Lyv Tyler, as also Charles Dutton as the lovable fellow he is, and Patricia Neal was natural, real, in her playing of 'Cookie'. Chris O'Donnell unfortunately did not have to do much to earn his pay-check, which was a pity. You really should see him with Al Pacino in 'Scent of a Woman' (qv), without a doubt one of the best character-driven US films of the last ten years or so.
David Stewart's music is very reminiscent of something else but cannot place where, and together with the humorous touches, somewhat suggestful of a kind of attitude belittling country folk lost out there in the middle of the flatlands ... ... which I doubt very much was the intention of either Altman or Stewart. The photography is really good.
Despite certain reservations, the film is entertaining and has really excellent moments, but I cannot give it more than a 6 out of 10. If some of the unnecessary humorous touches had been left out or made a little more in keeping with the proceedings, my vote may well have been a resounding 8+. Take it or leave it: but even I have my little obsessive foibles from time to time. All that said: please do not go away to some other channel: the film is worth watching, seriously.
David Stewart's music is very reminiscent of something else but cannot place where, and together with the humorous touches, somewhat suggestful of a kind of attitude belittling country folk lost out there in the middle of the flatlands ... ... which I doubt very much was the intention of either Altman or Stewart. The photography is really good.
Despite certain reservations, the film is entertaining and has really excellent moments, but I cannot give it more than a 6 out of 10. If some of the unnecessary humorous touches had been left out or made a little more in keeping with the proceedings, my vote may well have been a resounding 8+. Take it or leave it: but even I have my little obsessive foibles from time to time. All that said: please do not go away to some other channel: the film is worth watching, seriously.
An excellent film; thoroughly enjoyable, sentimental, but wise.
jack_947062 January 2001
I'll fess up, Altman ranks high with me and has for a long time. This is far from his best work -- but also far, far above your average bear, er, rather... average film. It has much to recommend; many fine performances, a complex storyline; it will request a little patience from you -- be so kind as to grant it. Patience lies at the heart of this film; not the high-jinks and rapid-fire action of most movies. Kindness gets lost, and many deeper human qualities, too -- when people or a culture push patience out of the way. Altman seems to know this, to celebrate patient people, sensible people. But there are plenty of good jokes, visual, verbal, plot-involved. Relax and laugh, let things develop. You might even laugh pretty hard -- and happily. I suppose this film could be called Capra-esque, and thus old-fashioned, even nostalgic -- not a good fit with the tumult of violence and dishonesty which characterized the media's portrayal of the nineties. Too bad. Rent the video; or buy the video and watch it with your kids and later with the grandkids. People complain about too much violence in the cinema and then ignore a film like this -- and many of these people are critics! Here's the full panoply of human life, young, middle-aged, and elderly, all interesting, all central to the story. What a fine thing!
Parts better than the whole...
waha9922 February 2004
Yesterday on "This American Life", the NPR series, Ira Glass spoke of the "I'm Wishing"-type song that introduces many Disney animated features, and indeed, many musicals. Simply put, the first song of the movie establishes the dreams and wishes of the hero/heroine of the film, and then the rest of the film is about fulfilling that dream or wish.
Robert Altman doesn't work that way. As his movies begin, the "I'm Wishing" song has not only already been played, it was played several days ago and is probably more than likely forgotten. The characters of his films are already long established in their own worlds, and Altman leaves it up to us to work out the details of his film-residents. This movie is no exception: we are not introduced to the residents of Holly Springs (the setting of this story), we are simply shown the seemingly everyday goings-on of various folks and the blanks left open at the beginning of the movie are filled in gradually throughout the rest of the film.
I guess I'm not an Altman fan, although I certainly admire the way he can bring several loose parts together to unify the whole of a movie. This movie is very typical of his filmography-multi-character, story seemingly dropped in on instead of began, humorous in places, touching in others, great performances. I watched this movie several hours ago and now am thinking back on the elements I liked...Glenn Close gives one of her best performances, Julianna Moore grows into hers, Charles Dutton is masterful, Ned Beatty is reliably good as always. It's a thrill to watch Patricia Neal working, as always. Liv Tyler is good. Chris O'Donnell is merely okay, as is Lyle Lovett.
Oh, the plot? Cookie (Neal) commits suicide early in the film, and we see how various people react to her death, and how they react to other's reactions to her death.
Yes, I do recommend this film. For Altman enthusiasts it may be perfect, so give this one a chance. 6/10
Robert Altman doesn't work that way. As his movies begin, the "I'm Wishing" song has not only already been played, it was played several days ago and is probably more than likely forgotten. The characters of his films are already long established in their own worlds, and Altman leaves it up to us to work out the details of his film-residents. This movie is no exception: we are not introduced to the residents of Holly Springs (the setting of this story), we are simply shown the seemingly everyday goings-on of various folks and the blanks left open at the beginning of the movie are filled in gradually throughout the rest of the film.
I guess I'm not an Altman fan, although I certainly admire the way he can bring several loose parts together to unify the whole of a movie. This movie is very typical of his filmography-multi-character, story seemingly dropped in on instead of began, humorous in places, touching in others, great performances. I watched this movie several hours ago and now am thinking back on the elements I liked...Glenn Close gives one of her best performances, Julianna Moore grows into hers, Charles Dutton is masterful, Ned Beatty is reliably good as always. It's a thrill to watch Patricia Neal working, as always. Liv Tyler is good. Chris O'Donnell is merely okay, as is Lyle Lovett.
Oh, the plot? Cookie (Neal) commits suicide early in the film, and we see how various people react to her death, and how they react to other's reactions to her death.
Yes, I do recommend this film. For Altman enthusiasts it may be perfect, so give this one a chance. 6/10
A Completely Useless Movie
Uncle-Hovno25 February 2005
"Cookie's Fortune" is perhaps the most inane and useless movies I have ever watched. Definitely NOT a watershed event in cinematographic history. On the CZTV website, 21 percent of viewers rated it as "waste of time" whereas 72 percent rated it as "excellent," with almost nothing in between. I don't get it. Do YOU get it? I certainly don't get it. Had this film not have had Liv Tyler in it, I don't think I would have watched it to its pathetic and boring finale. Definitely a lot of material for a future episode of MST3K here. I mean, it takes just as much time/effort/money/etc. to make a good movie as it does to make a movie like this, so why did they even bother producing it? I guess CZTV doesn't have a whole lot of money to buy any good films, so all we get here are reruns of Dallas, and garbage like this. Possibly the only good thing I have to say about this movie is the fact that it doesn't copy the standardised model of most American movies. No helicopters, no explosions, no car chases, and no unrealistically exaggerated characters. In fact, the characters were all too ordinary. Even a video of some guy playing chess on his computer would have been more fascinating than this movie. It definitely has its own genre: Useless. I mean, even my writing this comment is a useless waste of time.
Delightful wry comedy with excellent cast
btm129 December 2012
I loved this wry comedy that takes place in a small Mississippi town where everybody is, at least outwardly, friendly with everybody. It was directed by the late Robert Altman (1925-2006), who also gave us M*A*S*H and Nashville, and much more. Terrible title, however. It has nothing to do with fortune cookies, or cookies of any kind. The fortune refers to the assets that the heirs of a family matriarch, whose nickname is Cookie (Patricia Neal), will inherit when she dies.
One of the little comedic touches I appreciated were the historical markers in the town, one of which I think read "nothing historical occurred at this spot."
I enjoyed the treat of four generations (each about 20 years younger than the next) of noted actresses in one film. In addition to movie legend Patricia Neal (1926-2010) who won an Oscar for Hud, Glen Close (who has had 6 Oscar nominations so far) played Camille Dixon, Cookie's over-bearing theatrical-obsessed niece. Four time Oscar nominee Julianne Moore played Camille's subservient and perhaps dim-witted younger sister Cora Duvall. Cute Liv Tyler (who was Arwen in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) is Emma Duvall, Cora's estranged daughter.
Charles S. Dutton is great as African-American Willis Richland, who is kind of a genial gentle care-taker for Cookie. At the end of the film we learn he is more than a friend.
Famed singer Lyle Lovett plays a spooky peeping Tom character who is interested in Emma. His role didn't seem to be fully developed and didn't contribute much to the film.
Chris O'Donnell plays a Barney Fife type sheriff's deputy, except he is very good looking and is romantically involved with Emma.
Cookie, who's mind is beginning to go, misses her late husband and kills herself to be with him. Camille Dixon discovers the suicide and initially is shocked and horrified that people will learn that her aunt killed herself (nice people don't commit suicide) and affect Camille's social standing. So she makes it look like a thief murdered Cookie. But once she does that her horror turns to appreciation. She now can move into Cookie's grand house. But she hadn't counted on anyone in the town becoming a murder suspect.
One of the little comedic touches I appreciated were the historical markers in the town, one of which I think read "nothing historical occurred at this spot."
I enjoyed the treat of four generations (each about 20 years younger than the next) of noted actresses in one film. In addition to movie legend Patricia Neal (1926-2010) who won an Oscar for Hud, Glen Close (who has had 6 Oscar nominations so far) played Camille Dixon, Cookie's over-bearing theatrical-obsessed niece. Four time Oscar nominee Julianne Moore played Camille's subservient and perhaps dim-witted younger sister Cora Duvall. Cute Liv Tyler (who was Arwen in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) is Emma Duvall, Cora's estranged daughter.
Charles S. Dutton is great as African-American Willis Richland, who is kind of a genial gentle care-taker for Cookie. At the end of the film we learn he is more than a friend.
Famed singer Lyle Lovett plays a spooky peeping Tom character who is interested in Emma. His role didn't seem to be fully developed and didn't contribute much to the film.
Chris O'Donnell plays a Barney Fife type sheriff's deputy, except he is very good looking and is romantically involved with Emma.
Cookie, who's mind is beginning to go, misses her late husband and kills herself to be with him. Camille Dixon discovers the suicide and initially is shocked and horrified that people will learn that her aunt killed herself (nice people don't commit suicide) and affect Camille's social standing. So she makes it look like a thief murdered Cookie. But once she does that her horror turns to appreciation. She now can move into Cookie's grand house. But she hadn't counted on anyone in the town becoming a murder suspect.
The warmth and great cast don't hide a clumsy, thin, stereotyped core...
secondtake4 September 2013
Cookie's Fortune (1999)
A wacky, wobbly comedy with a stellar cast playing types and clichés that sometimes run against type and sometimes are too typecast to quite work. The writing varies, too, from warm to comic to contrived. The best parts of the movie might balance out the gaffes for you, though, as the plot coils and the very warm, almost-black comedy grows.
The main character here seems at first to be Cookie herself, played by a venerable Patricia Neal. As an old movie fan, this was enough for me alone, and it was great to see Neal at 73 still going strong (she made two movies after this one, too). But the real central character is Willis, played by the little known Charles S. Dutton, who has done a lot of t.v. Willis is a great old friend who helps the old woman out of appreciation and love.
One key to this movie is its setting--a small town in the Deep South where everyone knows everyone. And where old racial boundaries and still slow to fall. Cookie is the old white woman in the big house living alone while Willis is a poor black man who drinks a half-pint of Wild Turkey a day. The clichés are too plain to see, and are magnified by the ditzy, apparently racist two women who share a house, Julianne Moore and Glenn Close. Finally there is Liv Tyler who plays the new kind of woman, young and without prejudice.
Such warm and fuzzy comedy is bound to avoid real social commentary just as much as avoid biting humor, or laugh-aloud humor for that matter. You have to immerse yourself in the quirks of the town and the likable characters everywhere. Even the most murderous intentions here are just twitches and mistakes. You could almost picture living here, despite all the dumbed down clichés about what white and black culture is all about, and what the people in such a place are like.
No, Robert Altman has not quite laid an egg here, but if you take any of this seriously you might find the assumptions and clichés almost insulting, or at least so obvious and worn-out you want to run. From the goofy white cop who play Scrabble with the inmates to the big black woman who sings, of course, the blues in the local bar. From the worker by the railroad yard who lives in a caboose to Liv Tyler herself with that weird voice of hers who is so outside of convention and propriety you wonder why did she come back to this town at all?
The writing by Anne Rapp, a "script supervisor" by profession, is the weakest link here. The movie might gloss over its thinness by claiming to be funny, but it just isn't that funny, and it's too laden with the obvious to rise up in other ways. I think this is one of those movies that's going to get worse with time, too, as the clichés look more and more wooden.
But hey, lots of people like the film and the trick is to just enjoy what works and accept, if you can, the overworked clichés.
A wacky, wobbly comedy with a stellar cast playing types and clichés that sometimes run against type and sometimes are too typecast to quite work. The writing varies, too, from warm to comic to contrived. The best parts of the movie might balance out the gaffes for you, though, as the plot coils and the very warm, almost-black comedy grows.
The main character here seems at first to be Cookie herself, played by a venerable Patricia Neal. As an old movie fan, this was enough for me alone, and it was great to see Neal at 73 still going strong (she made two movies after this one, too). But the real central character is Willis, played by the little known Charles S. Dutton, who has done a lot of t.v. Willis is a great old friend who helps the old woman out of appreciation and love.
One key to this movie is its setting--a small town in the Deep South where everyone knows everyone. And where old racial boundaries and still slow to fall. Cookie is the old white woman in the big house living alone while Willis is a poor black man who drinks a half-pint of Wild Turkey a day. The clichés are too plain to see, and are magnified by the ditzy, apparently racist two women who share a house, Julianne Moore and Glenn Close. Finally there is Liv Tyler who plays the new kind of woman, young and without prejudice.
Such warm and fuzzy comedy is bound to avoid real social commentary just as much as avoid biting humor, or laugh-aloud humor for that matter. You have to immerse yourself in the quirks of the town and the likable characters everywhere. Even the most murderous intentions here are just twitches and mistakes. You could almost picture living here, despite all the dumbed down clichés about what white and black culture is all about, and what the people in such a place are like.
No, Robert Altman has not quite laid an egg here, but if you take any of this seriously you might find the assumptions and clichés almost insulting, or at least so obvious and worn-out you want to run. From the goofy white cop who play Scrabble with the inmates to the big black woman who sings, of course, the blues in the local bar. From the worker by the railroad yard who lives in a caboose to Liv Tyler herself with that weird voice of hers who is so outside of convention and propriety you wonder why did she come back to this town at all?
The writing by Anne Rapp, a "script supervisor" by profession, is the weakest link here. The movie might gloss over its thinness by claiming to be funny, but it just isn't that funny, and it's too laden with the obvious to rise up in other ways. I think this is one of those movies that's going to get worse with time, too, as the clichés look more and more wooden.
But hey, lots of people like the film and the trick is to just enjoy what works and accept, if you can, the overworked clichés.
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