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Cookie's Fortune

  • 1999
  • PG-13
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
14K
YOUR RATING
Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler, Glenn Close, Chris O'Donnell, Charles S. Dutton, and Patricia Neal in Cookie's Fortune (1999)
Home Video Trailer from October Films
Play trailer1:34
1 Video
46 Photos
ComedyDrama

Conflict arises in the small town of Holly Springs when an old woman's death causes a variety of reactions among family and friends.Conflict arises in the small town of Holly Springs when an old woman's death causes a variety of reactions among family and friends.Conflict arises in the small town of Holly Springs when an old woman's death causes a variety of reactions among family and friends.

  • Director
    • Robert Altman
  • Writer
    • Anne Rapp
  • Stars
    • Glenn Close
    • Julianne Moore
    • Liv Tyler
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    14K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Robert Altman
    • Writer
      • Anne Rapp
    • Stars
      • Glenn Close
      • Julianne Moore
      • Liv Tyler
    • 126User reviews
    • 64Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 11 nominations total

    Videos1

    Cookie's Fortune
    Trailer 1:34
    Cookie's Fortune

    Photos46

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    Top cast33

    Edit
    Glenn Close
    Glenn Close
    • Camille Dixon
    Julianne Moore
    Julianne Moore
    • Cora Duvall
    Liv Tyler
    Liv Tyler
    • Emma Duvall
    Chris O'Donnell
    Chris O'Donnell
    • Jason Brown
    Charles S. Dutton
    Charles S. Dutton
    • Willis Richland
    Patricia Neal
    Patricia Neal
    • Jewel Mae 'Cookie' Orcutt
    Ned Beatty
    Ned Beatty
    • Lester Boyle
    Courtney B. Vance
    Courtney B. Vance
    • Otis Tucker
    Donald Moffat
    Donald Moffat
    • Jack Palmer
    Lyle Lovett
    Lyle Lovett
    • Manny Hood
    Danny Darst
    • Billy Cox
    Matt Malloy
    Matt Malloy
    • Eddie 'The Expert' Pitts
    Randle Mell
    • Patrick Freeman
    Niecy Nash
    Niecy Nash
    • Wanda Carter
    Rufus Thomas
    Rufus Thomas
    • Theo Johnson
    Ruby Wilson
    • Josie Martin
    Preston Strobel
    • Ronnie Freeman
    Anne Whitfield
    Anne Whitfield
    • Mrs. Henderson
    • (as Ann Whitfield)
    • …
    • Director
      • Robert Altman
    • Writer
      • Anne Rapp
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews126

    6.814.1K
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    Featured reviews

    6Ben_Cheshire

    A pleasant surprise, to say the least! Cookie is a wonderful, rich work from Altman with great characters, performances, story, music and writing!

    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.
    8gbheron

    Holly Springs, MS - What a Great Place to Live

    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.
    10SKG-2

    One of Altman's best

    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.
    9majikstl

    A nice place to visit...

    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.
    bob the moo

    Enjoyably light film with only a few moments of misjudged seriousness and humour

    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.

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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Robert Altman felt that Liv Tyler had been too glamorous in previous films, so he asked her to cut her hair short for for this movie.
    • Goofs
      When Cora (Julianna Moore) is locked out of the house, she is shown sitting on the front porch with the front door open.
    • Quotes

      Cora Duvall: Camille, Aunt Jewel shot herself.

      Camille Dixon: We don't know that Aunt Jewel shot herself.

      Cora Duvall: What do you mean?

      Camille Dixon: All we know was that Aunt Jewel was shot, period.

      Cora Duvall: But - but the gun was in her hand. She must have - must have -

      Camille Dixon: Don't always go for the obvious, Cora. Just think!

      Cora Duvall: What are you eating?

      Camille Dixon: Nothin'. Now, you just listen to me, all right? Aunt Jewel did not commit suicide. Nobody in this family commits suicide. Suicide is a disgrace. Only crazy people commit suicide. So if that's what come - some robber, some murderer is trying to make this look like, well, forget that you saw the gun in her hand, you hear me? It was not there. Aunt Jewel did not commit suicide.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Payback/She's All That/Rushmore/Simply Irresistible/My Name Is Joe (1999)

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    FAQ20

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 16, 1999 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • ¿Quién mató a Cookie?
    • Filming locations
      • Holly Springs, Mississippi, USA
    • Production companies
      • Elysian Dreams
      • Kudzu
      • Moonstone Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $10,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $10,920,544
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $186,828
      • Apr 4, 1999
    • Gross worldwide
      • $10,920,544
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 58m(118 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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