Roll-M: Cookie's Fortune

by Susan Sackett

Cookie’s Fortune (starring Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Patricia Neal, Liv Tyler, Ned Beatty, Lyle Lovett, Charles S. Dutton, Chris O’Donnell; written by Anne Rapp; directed by Robert Altman; rated PG-13).

There are, we are told, two certainties in life – death and taxes. To that, I would add the dependable excellence of "A Robert Altman Film." Although there have been a few exceptions (the recent Pret-a-Porter/Ready to Wear being one), this director has been turning out memorable movies since his early days of M*A*S*H, Nashville, and the recent delights, The Player and Short Cuts. It’s his brand name on a film that virtually guarantees quality.

Cookie’s Fortune, I am pleased to report, lives up to the usual expectations of an Altman film. It’s pure Altman, from the richness of its kooky characters, to its dramatic twists and turns, presented with the obligatory all-star cast, whose stories are the warp and woof of the sleepy southern town of Holly Springs, Mississippi.

Glenn Close is quirkily wonderful in the offbeat role of a southern lady trying desperately to cover up her aunt’s (Patricia Neal) suicide, thereby preventing a family scandal. Close and her sister (Julianne Moore) stage the death to appear as a murder, inadvertently implicating the black handyman (Charles S. Dutton). Cookie’s niece, played by Liv Tyler, stands up for him, but this never becomes an issue about race – just mistaken identity. Most of the people in the town don’t believe he’s the murderer. The outcome is pure Altman, surprising yet logical.

This is a good film for moviegoers seeking relief in this summer season of FX and action films. Cookie’s Fortune is character-driven, and these people have a way growing on you in the leisurely two hours or so it takes to tell this tale. They’re oddball, to say the least. For instance, Tyler’s character that seems somewhat reminiscent of "Maggie" from "Northern Exposure." In fact, with its town full of eccentric locals, this movie might easily have been called "Southern Exposure." The movie’s not for everyone, but I think those of us who appreciate this genre – and I’m willing to bet that includes most Mensans – shouldn’t miss this one.

FOUR OUT OF FIVE OWLS