Rating: 
Summary: Gently Blossoming Splendor
Review: Cookie's Fortune is about a murder, the investigation that ensues and the long covert secrets that are revealed. The setting is Mississippi, where everybody knows everybody else, and more often then not, everybody is everybody else's cousin. It's the same place where Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe once hunted down some inbred racist good ol' boys and the ku kux klan in Alan Parker's Mississippi Burning. Even if a black man is taken in for the murder of his white landlady/friend/confidant (or is she?), Altman's peculiar little slice of some very distinct lives is as far away as you can get from that sensationalist film. For starters, the old lady, Cookie Orcutt (Patricia Neal) has, quiet happily, committed suicide to join her departed husband. There has been no murder. The "investigation" involves friendly chats with the local witnesses where the police clerk, a cute wide eyed young woman ponders complex questions in the vein of "How can I strike Eddie's statement from the record. I'm recording this, not writing it". Meanwhile, the "suspect", the immensely amiable Willis (Charles Dutton) sits in an open cell, playing scrabble with the police chief Lester Boyle, who believes Willis to be innocent because he has "fished with him". The suspect's stay is so relaxed that he complains that he may die from the lavish prison food, incidentally cooked by the Police chief's wife, before he gets anywhere near an electric chair. In an Altman film, the setting is almost as important as his numerous characters. In this case, it is Holly Springs, with its staples and archetypes. The camera wonders around town, lazily observing them, slowly revealing the plot, which is obvious and serves only to highlight those archetypes. The story, which, despite a couple of twists near the end is just an excuse to observe this inbred, particular architecture of inter-locking relationships. There is Camille (Glen Close), Cookie's niece who discovers Cookie's body and eats the suicide note because "no one commits suicide in this family". This is her contribution to the plot, more important to Altman is the fact that she is a pompous, elitist eccentric who is currently directing a "revised" Oscar Wilde's version of Salome for which she shares a writing credit. Her sister, a ravishing moron, Cora(Julianne Moore)is the star who could hypnotize a bull in heat with her "performance". Cora's daughter is Emma (Liv Tyler), a free spirit who rejects her family, and is in love with a local doofus cop, Jason Brown (Chris O'Donnell) who in turn is acting her deranged aunt's play. And so goes the circle. The town of course is comically under prepared for a murder investigation. Much of the humor comes from the way these people's child-like reactions to what other more cynical movie characters would react with requisite formality. In truth the film is difficult to classify. Partly a comedy of manners or a gentle farce or a tour of a deep fried utopia even a tale of one man's camaraderie with his town. It has a lightness of touch, that would make those frenzied, desperate young directors jealous. After the useless, Grishamed, plot-driven Gingerbread Man, I think the best classification for this little gem would simply be "A Robert Altman film".
Rating: 
Summary: A clever, meandering movie perfect for a lazy afternoon
Review: I missed the start of this movie. I tuned in on HBO right after the "murder". This film has the perfect combination of pace, quirky, yet totally believeable, characters, sound, settings and dialog that flows through perfectly to the ironic ending. I laughed out loud, quite unexpectedly many times, particularly during the interrogation of the alibis. I found the jail and crime scenes reminiscent of an updated and slightly racier Andy Griffith Show. I can't believe this movie went in and out of theaters without my ever hearing about it. Definitely a winner.
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate. Impressive. (I saw the show Survivor)
Review: I liked this movie. Alot. It's terrible to even think of how this movie only has 3.5 stars on AMAZon. Anyway, I first saw this movie when I was 13 years old. I wasn't bored. I loved it. It was a very interesting story and I don't see how anyone without a medical disease could dislike this movie. RENT IT. People that have seen it and are reading this, please write a review to bring the rating level up to 4.5. Roger Ebert knew what he was talking about... he gave it 4 stars, his highest rating (Roger Ebert is kinda fat, his body is round). i like Roger Ebert. How old is he? I can't figure it out.
Rating:
Summary: Sharp Southern Satire
Review: Cookie's Fortune is a charming little slightly dark comedy about a gallery of quirky characters. Although the characters are primarily one-dimensional "types," they are placed in a situation fraught with comic possibilities. The brilliantly amateur church play directed by prima donna Glenn Close is a great comic touch. Julianne Moore is great as the dim sister who knows more secrets than she's telling. A delightfully ridiculous slice of southern family and small town life.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and good>>>>QQQQQQQQQ
Review: The Q's are a sign of good luck! Any way. I loved this movie. Any one who doesn't like this movie has bad taste. It is about a town of people in the south, a peaceful town. Until the old woman Cookie dies. She commited suicide, but her neice tries to cover it up in order to save her family the disgrace of a suicide. The neice and her sister make it look like a break in robbery and murder. Then, Cookie's best friend, Willis, is taken to jail as a suspect. The sheriff is convinced Wilis didn't kill her, because he fishes with him. This is a good comedy about people in a small town. Very funny. A good movie.
Rating: 
Summary: typically overpraised Altman film
Review: I will be the first to admit that, when it comes to evaluating the films of Robert Altman, I seem to suffer from some sort of critical blind spot. No director has seemed to me so critically overrated, yet, because of his obvious qualities of innovation and originality, one feels guilty being so negative. Certainly, the one thing no one can ever accuse Altman of doing is playing it safe, of selling out to the principles of commercial moviemaking. His works have always remained almost doggedly original in both form and content despite the inevitable temptation to compromise in the name of box office success. Admirably, Altman has tenaciously insisted on remaining his own man, even at the expense of gleaning financial failure after financial failure. He certainly has his avid admirers, who worship him even more for this streak of defiant iconoclasm particularly in the face of an industry whose very life's blood is found in the celebration of the almighty buck and in which praise and recognition are often determined by how many tickets a director is able to sell. Yet, ironically - and even acknowledging the validity of all those previous statements - in my opinion, Altman hit his artistic peak all the way back in 1970 with `MASH,' his one certifiable box-office smash. His career has consisted of a steadily careening slide downhill ever since, despite the fact that most major critics, especially through the 1970's, managed to elevate his reputation to near-mythical proportions, enshrining him as a paragon among American filmmakers. Admittedly, Altman practically pioneered the multi-character format so often employed by independent filmmakers today. The irony is that their films are often more interesting and engaging than Altman's own. All this is preparatory to discussing Altman's latest film, `Cookie's Fortune,' a generally entertaining, offbeat comedy that again falls far short of greatness. At least, this latest work boasts an intriguing plot line that helps to sustain our interest - and, it must be stated right at the outset, that the second half of the film is far more engaging than the first, partly because of the intricacy of the story. Set in a small, sleepy Southern town, the narrative revolves around the complications resulting from the unexpected death of an aging matriarch named Cookie. We, in the audience, know the demise is the product of a suicide but, thanks to the machinations of a bitter, deceitful niece of the woman, Camille Dickson, who fears that suicide will be seen as too great a cause for scandal, the town's members are led to believe the death is the result of murder. When suspicion falls on Willie, an innocent black friend, the only person in fact still loyal to Cookie in her old age, Camille remains determined not only to stay closemouthed about the truth, but also to do all in her power to see this guiltless man tried and condemned for the murder. The film is at its most enjoyable near the end, as we watch, with undisguised glee, the ironic hand of fate inexorably closing in on this despicable comic villainess. So far so good. Somehow, though we suspect that the narrative is supposed to be of secondary importance to the gallery of eccentric characters Altman and writer, Anne Rapp, have assembled for us. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, the people in the story never get much beyond their one-note stereotypical nature. Cookie (embodied by the legendary and magnificent Patricia Neal) is essentially the typical crusty old family matriarch, straight talking and no-nonsense, who loves her devoted caretaker far more than her conniving kinsmen. Her niece, Camilla Dickson (Glenn Close), emerges as that great old Southern stereotype: the appearance-conscious, misanthropic moral gargoyle who will stop at nothing to retain the family dignity and honor in the face of a less-than-palatable reality. Camilla's sister, Cora (Julianne Moore), though she does get the satisfaction of exacting worm-turning vengeance at the end (albeit it comes through a change in character quite unprepared for in the screenplay), basically comes across as a gaping-mouthed simpleton who inexplicably allows her more dominant sister to manipulate her every move. The remaining characters are equally shallow and two-dimensional: Emma, the sassy young rebel of the family who stands for truth and justice in the face of her family's seeming madness; Willis, the innocent harmless black man who loves Cookie far more than the members of her own self-absorbed family; and, most drearily of all perhaps, the dimwitted young deputy who serves as a constant source of exasperation for the other, more seasoned officers in his department. The comic level of the film seems, at times, distressingly low. We are supposed to derive humor from the slipshod antics of the investigative authorities on the case, from the fact that the prisoner is allowed to sleep in a wide open jail cell and from the sight of the jailers and their prisoner playing a friendly game of scrabble together. In fact, for the first 45 minutes or so, the film seems to wander aimlessly, searching for a purpose, plot and tone. Luckily, after the suicide, Altman and Rapp pick up the pace and engage us enough in the story to make us eager for its eventual resolution. The actors generally perform their roles admirably, saddled as they are with the fact that the authors have provided very little room for them to explore their characters in much detail or depth. I can't say, based on my overall track record with Altman films, that I was expecting a lot from `Cookie's Fortune.' But, given its extraordinary number of positive reviews and the never-dying quality of hope that comes with eternal optimism, I sure wish it had been better.
Rating:
Summary: A sublime little movie that grows on you
Review: When a friend first told me about this movie when it came out, I got the feeling it was Tennesse Williams on acid, and therefore didn't risk the seven dollars (not including popcorn- and that's not New York). But when another friend who has completely different tastes told me about it a month ago, I had to see it. This movie is so elegantly crafted via Patricia Neal, Glenn Close, and Charles S. Dutto that it is certainly worth seeing twice, as I did, and owning. The first time I didi myself and the movie a disservice by being a little drowsy while seeing it. That has the same effect of being a little drowsy while going to the museum. And yet, the treasures of writing, character play, plot etc. asre so powerful, elgant and vivid in this movie you will not miss the best parts, and love the while at the end, as you laugh from the heart. Worth seeing. Give it a chance, and youl will wenjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: A minor movie.
Review: Well, here's another movie that makes (good-natured?) fun of Southern folks. *Cookie's Fortune* takes place during Easter, a time for egg-hunts and -- apparently -- a production of *Salome* at the local church. Meanwhile, an old lady, sick of the indignities of old age, cheerfully commits suicide, only to be discovered by her greedy niece who might benefit financially if she can paint the suicide as a "murder". There's also a fun-loving alcoholic (Charles Dutton) who never drinks before the evening news and charmingly returns "borrowed" bottles of bourbon from the local bar. Believe it or not, he's important to the denouement. However, the romance between a young cop and a local girl irritates -- it's one of those Altman "flourishes" that typically clog up his movies. In fact, the entire police investigation is like a hardened artery -- sluggish. We couldn't care less because we know from the get-go not only what really happened but even how it will all turn out; therefore we have to focus on the characterizations. . . . I suppose I can really get on Glenn Close's and (the usually faultless) Julianne Moore's cases for their dreadful overacting, but that wouldn't be fair -- as a long-time "auteur", Altman must shoulder the blame for his vision. Making the sisters into cartoons was unnecessary, and typifies the contempt intellectuals like Altman have for the South. (But of course SOUTHERN intellectuals have contempt for the South.) But this still doesn't exonerate Ms. Close completely, an actress well-known for tearing scenery with bared fangs. Charles Dutton was the best thing in the movie; it would seem he's the hero, but Altman isn't very interested in him for some reason -- a shame, considering our choices herein. Oh, and it was wonderful to see Patricia Neal again, however briefly. Welcome back to you, ma'am. At any rate, I could only recommend this movie to someone with a personal interest. It's beginning to look like *The Player* was Mr. Altman's last hurrah -- he's not made a really good movie since then. Ah well. . . .
Rating: 
Summary: Great if You Are Looking For A Nap!
Review: This had to be one of the most boring films I have seen in a long time. Slow-moving is fine in a film if there is something to catch the viewer's interest. Such was not the case here. The characters other than Willis and Cookie were completely annoying, and if this film was supposed to exemplify Southern Charm, then KEEP ME AWAY FROM THE SOUTH! The first 119 minutes were slow. The credits moved along nicely, however. The soundtrack was completely annoying. Unless you are a die-hard Robert Altman fan, stay away!
Rating:
Summary: Entertainingly Quirky
Review: Cookie's Fortune - is definitely not a movie for everyone. But I loved it. This is NOT a fast-paced, noisey movie with tons of special effects. If you're looking for ACTION ... look elsewhere. What this movie is ... a quietly quirky movie that captured my attention from the beginning. The movie focuses on the rather odd relationships of the characters (most were relatives) in a small "Nothing Ever Happened Here" town in the South. The soundtrack is awesome and fits the look of the movie perfectly. The movie did leave me wanting to know more about the history & stories behind the characters. I was hoping the movie was based on a book, where I could learn more about each of the main characters, but that doesn't appear to be the case. You would probably like "Cookie's Fortune" if you liked: "Fried Green Tomatoes" , "The Spitfire Grill", or even "Steele Magnolias". I suspect it falls under the category of a Chic-Flick. Enjoy!
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