Film Review
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau's legendary on-screen partnership got
off to a cracking start in this typically caustic comedy from Billy
Wilder. The two stars would appear together a few years later in
The Odd Couple (1968) and then a
further seven movies, forming one of Hollywood's most memorable and
best-loved double acts. By this stage, Lemmon had already
appeared in three Billy Wilder films, including the all-time classics
Some Like It Hot (1959) and
The
Apartment (1960), although here he is out-staged and
outclassed by Matthau, who deservedly won an Oscar for his ebullient
portrayal of a cynical money-grubbing lawyer.
The Fortune Cookie is an
old-fashioned morality tale at heart and probably has even greater
relevance today in our litigation-mad, blame-everyone-else
culture. Wilder appears to have more difficulty sustaining the
pace and energy here than in his previous comedies and things do get a
little schmaltzy towards the end, particularly when some soppy
anti-racist sentiment enters the picture. This is compensated for
by the genuine warmth Jack Lemmon and Ron Rich bring to their final
scenes together, providing a suitably downbeat but optimistic
ending. This may not be Wilder's best film, but it makes an
effective satire, all the more enjoyable for its crisp acid-tinged
dialogue and the arresting contributions from the two superlative lead
performers.
© James Travers 2010
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Next Billy Wilder film:
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
Film Synopsis
CBS cameraman Henry Hinkle is covering a football game at Cleveland
Stadium when one of the players, Boom Boom Jackson, runs into him,
rendering him unconscious. Henry is rushed to hospital where one
of his first visitors is his brother-in-law, Willie Gingrich, a lawyer
with a particular aptitude for extorting money from insurance
companies. Although Henry soon recovers from his accident,
Willie is confident that he can win a law suit against the parties
involved. All that Henry has to do is to pretend to have suffered
a crippling spinal injury. At first, Henry is dead against the
scheme but he is soon won around when Willie explains that a large
settlement will enable him to win back his ex-wife. Although
Henry manages to put up a convincing act, the insurance company is not
going to give in without a fight and so hire a private detective to spy on
the supposed invalid. Henry's resolve slowly begins to crack when
he realises the effect that his faked paralysis is having on Boom Boom,
whose fortunes take a sudden turn for the worse...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.