Cookie's Fortune (1999)

COOKIE'S FORTUNE is maestro Robert Altman's lesser known work, an outlandish comedy about an intrigue deriving from Cookie (Neal)'s suicide in a small town in Mississippi. It is a sterling ensemble piece and Anne Rapp's satirical script excels in mockery of the Presbyterian church and the provincial racism while Altman is mostly at ease with the straightforward storyline.

Cookie is an elderly widow, apparently quite wealthy, has built a close friendship with the handyman Willis (Dutton), but every family has some loose screws, her two nieces Camille (Close) and Cora (Moore), are church fanatics, barely take care of her, the only person she cares in the family is Emma (Tyler), Cora's rebellious daughter. Everything turns havoc when Camille is the first one discovers the scene, since "suicide is disgrace" for her, she destroys Cookie's suicide note and makes it look like a break-in and murder scene, with Cora as the witness. The interesting part is the sibling relationship, Camille principally dominates Cora's life, she is currently preparing a revamped play of Oscar Wilde's SALOME for the church and let her half-witted sister as the lead. So Camille has to brainwash Cora on the spot to dragoon her into believing what a sin Cookie has done and they should conform to the same testimony.

So the death is investigated as a murder case, and needless to say Willis becomes the soft target for suspicion as a rich widow's black handyman who doesn't have a manifest alibi and whose fingerprints are all over the "murder weapon". But Willis has the unconditional aid from Emma and most of townsfolk who know the relationship Cookie and Willis. Clearly, Camille is in no mood for clarifying Wilis' suspicion, as she has already hogged the house of a "crime scene" as her own property, until Cookie's will (which is fortunately oblivious to her) comes into light, an unknown family secret is revealed and a blood-type analysis diverts the suspicion towards Camille. Then arrives the most satisfying part when Camille's fate is totally at the hands of Cora's testimony, Julianne Moore again proves her superlative dexterity by enforcing a genuine ambiguousness of Cora's "revenge" highlighted by her inscrutable delivery, it consummates such a rewarding viewing experience between Moore's passive submission and Close's OTT aggression.

This film is also Patricia Neal's major big screen appearance in her later years, nostalgia strikes, Cookie is a woman who has blissfully fulfilled her mission in life and has no regret in joining her late husband in the paradise, Neal nabs a doddering front of senility, and furthermore, camouflages her unexpected decision with a cordial rapport between her and Willis. Dutton outstandingly offers Willis a spontaneously carefree nature while Liv Tyler's Emma is a too-good-to-be-true exemplar of a younger generation. The only incongruity rises from O'Donnell's rookie officer Jason, who is a total non-starter apart from being Emma's love interest and smooching on each other every time their eyes click.

To all appearances, COOKIE'S FORTUNE is Altman in his most laid-back fashion, planted in the southern soil, lyrically jazzy and beguilingly hilarious, it is also a showcase for his main players (Moore and Neal are my pick, with Dutton and Close closely behind), however beneath the surface, it sharply encapsulates the vexing status quo presided by narrow- minded prejudice an

Fmovies: 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'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!

Cookie's Fortune fmovies. 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.

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.

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.