The Fortune Cookie

Finally caught it on TCM yesterday, and was able to watch it "fresh," compared to "The Odd Couple" or "The Front Page," which one might already know all about.

A fine study in contrasts at work here; Matthau, as the shyster lawyer has something resembling a family life, while Lemmon, ostensibly the nice guy, is shown to be very lonely, still stuck in the apartment his wife left him in (and aren't those exteriors filmed in Cleveland? I don't think those buildings on his street were seen in any other Hollywood backlot, and they looked a touch more shabby than ordinary). So we have "Boom Boom" as the real moral center of the movie. He's racked with guilt over having injured Hinkle (Lemmon), so much so that he sees to Hinkle's recovery, even carrying him around like a wounded puppy, letting his game suffer, and he's the one who's most hurt by the scam.

The movie also shows a hopeful light on race relations in the mid-60's: Ron Rich gets to play a character with some feelings and some ambition beyond the NFL, and it's he and Lemmon's characters who become buddies at the end.

Little-known, but has fine performances by Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Lemmon is a not-too-bright sports cameraman who gets knocked over by a football player (Ron Rich) and is persuaded by his crooked, ambulance-chasing brother-in-law lawyer (Matthau) to fake an injury for the insurance money. Lemmon tries to go along with the scam, but is consumed by guilt because the guilt Rich feels for the "injury" is quickly wrecking his life. Added to this is the return of Lemmon's ex-wife (Judi West), with whom he is still obviously in love. He is completely oblivious to the fact she is a gold-digger--in his case, love truly is blind. Everything resolves itself as it should, but not as you might think. It's a funny, dramatic, and touching film.

Amazingly original and intelligent comedy by Billy Wilder that has CBS cameraman Jack Lemmon injured one day by a football player while covering a Cleveland Browns game. Lemmon is rushed off the field and to the hospital but other than a few bruises he is just fine. Enter brother-in-law lawyer Walter Matthau (in a very well-deserved Oscar-winning role) who convinces Lemmon to fake various injuries so the duo can sue CBS, the NFL and the Cleveland Browns all for negligence. Lemmon is not too sure but when he realizes that he can get back with his ex-wife, he finally agrees to the charade. The biggest problem is that all-around-great-guy Ron Rich (the Cleveland Brown who collided with Lemmon on the sideline) feels lousy about the situation and starts to develop a bad drinking problem when he sees how poorly Lemmon is supposedly doing. The title refers to a strange message that Lemmon receives after eating some Chinese food. A great film that has lots of upside. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

"The Fortune Cookie" is a light, lovable con/slapstick film about Harry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon), a sports cameraman who is accidentally knocked down by NFL star Boom Boom Jackson (Ron Rich) at a football game. Hinkle suffers a minor concussion but his lawyer brother-in-law, Willie Gingrich (Walter Matthau) is immediately on the seen. Willie thinks that they can sue for millions of dollars if Harry plays that he's got a "compressed vertebrae", and Harry reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile Boom Boom is feeling desperately guilty and is taking care of Harry to make himself feel better.

This movie is labeled as a comedy but most of the humor is dry and subtle. I'd go as far as to call it out-dated, it was probably considered a lot funnier when it first came out.

Though I guess the only character that is supposed to be actually funny is Matthau's, and he is. Hilarious, in fact. He never misses a beat, every movement and line is delivered in perfect accordance to his character. And considering the guy had a heart attack while working on the film, his drive and proffesionalism is admirable.

Aside from Matthau the movie is a little bland, but not bad. The other performances, from Lemmon, Rich and Judi West as Hinkle's gold-digging ex-wife, are all well-played, Rich gives the most notable performance as the guilt-ridden Boom Boom.

The style, direction and other componets of the film are well too...but in the end Matthau's performance is the only real benefit of this film, but it's a big benefit, and gets a 7.5/10 from me.

In the course of Hollywood legends, there emerges a great chemistry when certain scripts, actors, and directors are combined to make a movie. In this immortal Black and White film, we have such a combination. Herein we have, the late, great Jack Lemmon playing Harry Hinkle, a standard cameraman working with a TV crew covering a Cleveland Browns football game. As the game proceeds, a celebrity running-back Luther " Boom Boom " Jackson (Ron Rich) accidentally runs off the field and directly into the filming cameraman, knocking him out cold. Fortunately for Hinkle, his wily Brother-in-law, William Gingrich, attorney-at-law, (Walter Matthau) leaps into his life and proposes an insurance lawsuit which, if Hinkle goes along with, will net them $1.000.000. Hinkle explains to 'Whiplash Willy,' there is nothing wrong with him and will not participate in the scheme. The plan is doomed, until Gingrich uses a trump card, Hinkles' ex-wife Sandy, (Judi West) whom Harry believes still loves him. The plan is flawless despite the fact, the Insurance company hires the Purkey (Cliff Osmond) Dectective Agency to spy on him 24 hours a day. While Gingrich is busy with the Insurance lawyers and Hinkle is attempting to win his wife back, by pretending to be an invalid, no one notices Luthor Jackson is miserable, drinking and becoming despondent. The movie is wonderful as Lemmon and Matthau are a superb team under the direction of their favorite director Billy Wilder. This is a great movie and certain to become a Classic. ****