Matrixiole
Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
Kailansorac
Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.
Janae Milner
Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
dougdoepke
No need to recap the plot. Mildly amusing comedy with serious overtones. Considering the talent involved, the film's something of a disappointment. The one-note plot simply can't carry 2-hours of run-time, especially when the middle sags with too much exposition. Then too, the visuals are a dour brand of b&w that clash with the comedic part. Still, I don't know that Technicolor would have been appropriate, but at least brighter shades would have helped. Of course, there's the incomparable Lemmon and Matthau in their first pairing. As a result, I suspect the writers didn't realize the comedic potential they had on hand, and thus couldn't decide whether to play up the sociological element (race relations, bogus litigation) or the funnier parts. Consequently, the movie becomes a stretched out patchwork of the two, despite the intermittent chuckles. I realize my take is a minority, but I'm trying to judge the results strictly apart from the reputations involved.
Petri Pelkonen
Jack Lemmon is Harry Hinkle, a CBS cameraman, who gets injured when football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich) runs into him.Walter Matthau is Harry's lawyer brother-in-law "Whiplash Willie" Gingrich, who realizes they could make some dough with the minor injury by making it look like a bigger injury.In The Fortune Cookie (1966) we have the power trio Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.You just can't go wrong with these three.This movie started the partnership of Lemmon and Matthau, who appeared in 10 films together.And the writer, alongside the director, is I.A.L. Diamond, who wrote 12 films together with Wilder.Other performances in this movie include Judi West, who's fantastic as Sandy.Ron Rich is superb as "Boom Boom".Cliff Osmond, who appeared in four Billy Wilder films, is great as Purkey.Marge Redmond is very good as Charlotte Gingrich.Sig Ruman, who passed away the next year, is terrific as Professor Winterhalter.One of the funniest scenes is with him, where he makes the diagnosis: fake.There are many other funny scenes in this movie.It is also a very intelligent movie of a topic that has some reality basis.There are those sleazebag lawyers out there working on their schemes.Of course those sleazebag lawyers aren't quite like Walter Matthau, who makes the character somewhat likable.Lemmon's character is also very interesting, who is forced to deal with moral issues.It's a real delight to watch Jack and Walter together for the first time.
sijoe22
......and not for the better, either. Movie NOT recommended for anyone under fifty, (I'll tell you why in a minute.).Showing my age here, but I saw this movie in 1966 with my parents. Believe it or not, the premise of this movie was a COMEDY in 1966. I mean, suing the NFL and the City of Cleveland cause a cameraman got knocked down by a running back? A lawsuit like this was considered OUTLANDISH in those days, which was why the picture was almost unbelievable in the 1960s. Nowadays it would considered routine, and that's why no one under 50 should see this film- they'd say, "What's wrong with that?" Great acting by Matthau, almost every line hysterical.Always a pleasure to watch, again and again........
kenjha
A greedy lawyer convinces his cameraman brother-in-law to sue after the latter is inadvertently hit by a football player while filming an NFL game. In the first of several films to pair Lemmon and Mathau, the actors play roles typical of their collaborations, with the former a decent, neurotic fellow and the latter a shyster. After "The Apartment," Wilder never quite achieved the success he experienced earlier in his great career as he was churning out one classic after another. This is a product of his declining years - not bad but not very funny either and far too long for a comedy. Whatever happened to West, the attractive actress who plays Lemmon's ex-wife?
