{"id":86288,"date":"2022-08-17T17:17:48","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T00:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=86288"},"modified":"2023-02-07T01:02:25","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T08:02:25","slug":"fortune-cookie-1966","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=86288","title":{"rendered":"Fortune Cookie, The (1966)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;This guy is so full of angles and gimmicks and twists, he starts to describe a doughnut and it comes out a pretzel.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Poster-197x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-86289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Poster-197x300.png 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Poster-177x270.png 177w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Poster.png 615w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter his brother-in-law (Jack Lemmon) is accidentally hurt by a football player (Ron Rich), a shyster lawyer (Walter Matthau) convinces Lemmon to fake a back injury for insurance purposes &#8212; which Lemmon only agrees to in hopes that his ex-wife (Judi West) will return to him once he has money.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Billy Wilder Films<\/li>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Con-Artists<\/li>\n<li>Detectives and Private Eyes<\/li>\n<li>Jack Lemmon Films<\/li>\n<li>Lawyers<\/li>\n<li>Walter Matthau Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nWalter Matthau won a Best Supporting Actor award for his performance as a crooked lawyer in this collaborative comedy &#8220;with a mean edge to it&#8221; by director Billy Wilder and writer I.A.L. Diamond, who made twelve films together, with a couple of gems among them &#8212; specifically <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28643\"><em>Some Like it Hot<\/em> (1959)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43961\"><em>The Apartment<\/em> (1960)<\/a>. Unfortunately, this seventh collaboration falls in the &#8220;true clunker&#8221; category. The topic of insurance fraud wasn&#8217;t new for Wilder, who covered it with <em>noir<\/em>-ish flare in <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6738\"><em>Double Indemnity<\/em> (1944)<\/a>, but playing it for laughs was a bad idea all the way around. We&#8217;re not meant to like either the insurance agents or Matthau&#8217;s Willie Gingrich (and we most definitely don&#8217;t): <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Matthau2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Matthau2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-86294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Matthau2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Matthau2-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Matthau2-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Matthau2-604x255.png 604w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; but it&#8217;s also hard to feel much sympathy for Lemmon&#8217;s Harry Hinkle, given that: 1) his only reason for going through with the scam is to earn money for an ex-wife clearly undeserving of his ongoing devotion: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-West.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-West.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-86293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-West.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-West-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-West-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-West-604x255.png 604w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and 2) his lies cause tremendous distress to poor Rich, whose character is otherwise (mostly) purely sympathetic (admitting to having a fiancee in every town doesn&#8217;t help his case, but he&#8217;s otherwise selfless to a fault). <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Rich.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Rich.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-86299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Rich.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Rich-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Rich-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Rich-604x255.png 604w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/15862\/the-fortune-cookie#articles-reviews?articleId=220550\">TCM&#8217;s Pop Culture 101<\/a>: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The year <em>The Fortune Cookie<\/em> appeared, 1966, Stokely Carmichael issued his public appeal for African-Americans to embrace &#8220;black power.&#8221; In regards to the turbulent Post-Civil Rights climate, some reviewers considered the benign, almost saintly Boom Boom Jackson a throwback to earlier African-American stereotypes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Exactly; Carmichael was right. While Peary argues that &#8220;Matthau&#8217;s conniving, coldhearted performance is the reason to watch this otherwise unfunny&#8221; comedy, I disagree that he makes it worthwhile; and not that we need more to dislike in this film, but Lemmon&#8217;s mother (Lurene Tuttle) won&#8217;t stop crying hysterically, either. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Tuttle.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Tuttle.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"304\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-86298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Tuttle.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Tuttle-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Tuttle-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fortune-Cookie-Tuttle-604x255.png 604w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sigh. This one was simply a chore to sit through. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><br \/>\nNot much. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo; skip this one. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0060424\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1966\/10\/20\/archives\/screen-the-fortune-cookie-funny-fantasy-of-chiselers-begins-its.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s939cook.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/15862\/the-fortune-cookie#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;This guy is so full of angles and gimmicks and twists, he starts to describe a doughnut and it comes out a pretzel.&#8221; Synopsis: After his brother-in-law (Jack Lemmon) is accidentally hurt by a football player (Ron Rich), a shyster lawyer (Walter Matthau) convinces Lemmon to fake a back injury for insurance purposes &#8212; which Lemmon only agrees to in hopes that his ex-wife (Judi West) will return to him once he has money. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Billy&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=86288\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=86288"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89783,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86288\/revisions\/89783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}