''Cookie'' is a 1989 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Susan Seidelman starring Peter Falk,

Emily Lloyd Emily Alice Lloyd-Pack (born 29 September 1970), known as Emily Lloyd, is an English actress. At the age of 16, she starred in her debut and breakthrough role in the 1987 film ''Wish You Were Here'', for which she received critical acclaim an ...

and

Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986’s '' Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994’s ''Bullets over Broadway'' (both of which were directed by Wood ...

Plot

Cookie Voltecki jumps the turnstiles at a public transit station with her friend and is caught by transit security who fine her and bring her to court. There she is defended from her charges by a lawyer she does not know. She is subsequently taken to her estranged father, Dino Capisco, who is about to finish a thirteen-year prison sentence. To straighten Cookie out he sends her to work with Carmine, an old associate of his. Dino is successfully paroled and goes home with his wife Bunny, but shortly after goes to visit Cookie's mother Lenore Voltecki, Dino's longtime mistress. Cookie is disgusted with the way the married Dino treats her mother\ and Dino grows frustrated with Cookie, but at Lenore's urging, the two go to a Christmas party at Carmine's. At the party, Cookie and Dino fight and leave early. Aware that he is being followed by federal agents who want to put him back in prison, Dino has Cookie abandon their security detail. When photos of them are in newspapers, Dino tells his wife that Cookie is his driver and begins using her as such.\ Dino reveals to Cookie he is actually angry with Carmine, who sold out his shares in a business they had together when Dino was in prison and now refuses to give him the money from the sale. Seeking revenge, Dino calls the

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

on Carmine's

sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...

and also has some of his men ransack trucks containing Carmine's merchandise. Retaliating, some of Carmine's men shoot at Dino's car while Cookie is driving it and later plant a bomb in Dino's car. However, no one is harmed. A worried Cookie contacts the FBI. She offers to testify against her father's associates as long as he is put in

witness protection Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...

. Dino vetoes the idea since he thinks Carmine's men will never stop hunting him down, but Cookie suggests they fake his death so that Carmine will not bother looking for him. Dino and Cookie leak information that Dino has millions of dollars and is planning to retire to Italy. Carmine decides to steal the money and then kill Dino, but the plan goes awry when the money is stolen. Carmine goes to confront Dino and is blown up in his car. The district attorney is horrified that he accidentally killed Carmine, but Cookie tells him he still needs to honor his agreement to put Dino in witness protection, lest she divulge that he murdered someone. Dino and Lenore leave to go to witness protection. Cookie hugs her father and takes a picture of the three of them as a family. Cookie attends Dino's funeral while elsewhere Dino and Lenore marry and make plans to spend their lives together with their new identities.

Cast

Reception

The film received negative reviews from critics upon its release and has a 13% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

from 15 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The film was said by Roger Ebert to be funny and pleasant in some sense, but he felt it " asn'tvery memorable probably because the filmmakers didn't have a clear vision of it themselves."

Music

"Slammer" by

Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); '' The Sh ...

is the opening theme. "

I Should Be So Lucky "I Should Be So Lucky" is a 1987 song performed by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue from her debut studio album '' Kylie'' (1988). Released on 29 December 1987 by Mushroom Records and PWL Records, the song became a wo ...

", performed by Australian actress/singer Kylie Minogue, is played over the end credits.

Home media

Warner Archives released the film on made-to-order DVD in the United States on May 4, 2010.

References

External links

* * * {{Nora Ephron 1989 films American crime comedy films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Susan Seidelman Mafia comedy films Warner Bros. films Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in Atlantic City, New Jersey Films set in New Jersey Films with screenplays by Nora Ephron Films scored by Thomas Newman 1980s crime comedy films Films produced by Laurence Mark 1989 comedy films Films about witness protection 1980s American films