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)

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34 Photos

Comedy Drama

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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

14K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins & 11 nominations

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: The Matrix/10 Things I Hate About You/Cookie's Fortune/The Out-of-Towners/The Dreamlife of Angels (1999)

User reviews126

Review

Featured review

6/10

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.