Cookie (1989) Warner Bros./Comedy RT: 94 minutes Rated R (language, some violence, sexual content) Director: Susan Siedelman Screenplay: Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen Music: Thomas Newman Cinematography: Oliver Stapleton Release date: September 15, 1989 (Philadelphia, PA) Cast: Peter Falk, Emily Lloyd, Dianne Wiest, Michael V. Gazzo, Brenda Vaccaro, Adrian Pasdar, Lionel Stander, Jerry Lewis, Bob Gunton, Joe Mantello, Ricki Lake, Joy Behar, Ben Rayson, Thomas Quinn, David Wohl. Box Office: $1.8M (US)
Rating: ***
Director Susan Siedelman (Desperately Seeking Susan) was desperately seeking another hit with Cookie, a Mob-themed comedy starring British actress Emily Lloyd as the rebellious daughter of an imprisoned mobster played by Peter Falk (The In-Laws).
Carmela “Cookie” Voltecki and Susan (Madonna) are definitely kindred spirits with their outrageous tastes in clothing and tendency to find trouble wherever they go. Yet audiences didn’t respond to Cookie as enthusiastically as they did to the 1985 hit film. They came to see Madonna play Madonna. They had no idea who this Emily Lloyd person was. Prior to Cookie, her only credit was the 1987 British comedy-drama Wish You Were Here. This was supposed to her breakout role. In fact, 1989 should have been the year of Emily Lloyd as she also co-starred alongside Bruce Willis in the Vietnam War-themed drama In Country. It didn’t quite work out that way. Too bad because this is one talented young lady. She successfully trades in her British accent for a New York one. She oozes personality from every pore; so much that you can’t take your eyes off her. She makes Cookie a tasty cinematic treat.
After being arrested for turnstile jumping, her father’s associates bring her to visit him in jail where he tells her to shape up fast. He’s Dominick “Dapper Dino” Capisco, a one-time Mafia boss who’s getting out of prison after serving 13 years. He intends to be part of his daughter’s life and be a positive influence on her. This means getting her a legitimate job, first at a sweatshop then as his personal chauffeur. She’s the daughter of his longtime mistress Lenore (Wiest, The Lost Boys), a woman he’d love to marry if only his bitter wife Bunny (Vaccaro, Zorro the Gay Blade) would grant him a divorce.
Dino wants a great deal of money that’s owed to him, but it soon becomes clear that his old friend Carmine (Gazzo, The Godfather Part II) swindled him out of it. With Cookie’s help, Dino devises a plan to set things right. As an added complication, ambitious prosecutor Richie Segretto (Gunton, The Shawshank Redemption) is determined to catch Dino in the act of committing a crime so he can send him back to jail. There’s also a bit of romance as Cookie and a young criminal associate (Pasdar, Carlito’s Way) start to fall for each other.
I enjoyed Cookie. It’s not a great movie, but it has a lot going for it. Mr. Falk was a funny guy; he could have read tax laws and I’d still laugh. He had a very unique way about him that served him well in all of his performances. It definitely serves him well in Cookie. It makes his character all the more memorable by placing him slightly to the left of off-center. He and Lloyd have palpable chemistry together although it’s reported that they didn’t get along at all off-camera.
Siedelman brings her quirky sensibility to the movie with its funky New York locations and oddball characters. For example, Bunny runs a dog-boarding business out of her home and always has one of her four-legged clients hanging around. The supporting cast includes Jerry Lewis (The King of Comedy) as an Atlantic City mobster and Lionel Stander (1941) as a Mafia don. A pre-weight loss Ricki Lake shows up as a friend of Cookie’s.
Cookie succeeds in the most crucial area, it’s funny! It’s not as cartoonish as the previous year’s Mob-themed comedy Married to the Mob. It’s more of a slightly daffy look at the lighter side of the Mafia. It’s a lot of fun in the right frame of mind. It even has a pretty good soundtrack; I love the closing song (“I Should Be So Lucky” by Kylie Minogue). It’s the perfect song to end this movie. It has its own unique beat, yet you can still dance to it.
