Cookie (1989)

A Disappointing Continuation

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

I watched this movie as a kid (when I was about 10 or 11 yrs old) and it was always my favorite movie because of Emily Lloyd's Madonnaesque style and her bad girl attitude in this film . At the time, I had no idea who Peter Falk or Emily Lloyd were, but have since learned they are both great actors. I saw "Wish You Were Here" with Emily LLoyd years later after seeing "Cookie". I had a huge crush on Adrian Pasdar after this movie also( didn't know who he was, or how great of an actor he was until years later either). The Kylie Minogue song "Lucky in Love" that plays at the end of the movie, has stuck in my head for years and I still love it to this day. FYI Trivia -I just read on Wikipedia that supposedly Emily LLoyd and Peter Falk did not get along while filming this movie and he reportedly slapped her because he got frustrated with her. I also had no idea Emily LLoyd was English. Every movie I ever saw her in, she always seemed to pull off a really good American accent.

The movie starts with Carmela 'Cookie' Voltecki (Emily Lloyd) mourning at the funeral of Dominick Capisco (Peter Falk) and then it flashbacks a few months earlier. Cookie is a wild rebellious teen. Her mother Lenore (Dianne Wiest) is the secret mistress of imprisoned gangster and her father Dominick Capisco. He's getting paroled and forces Cookie to get a mob job. She eventually becomes his driver. Bunny (Brenda Vaccaro) is his unhappily mob-marriage wife. He wants his money and get out of the business but his partner Carmine (Michael V. Gazzo) has squeezed him out. U.S. Attorney Richie Segretto (Bob Gunton) has set his sights on Dominick mistakenly assumes him to have returned as a mob boss.This is directed by Susan Seidelman and written by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen. This female group has created a mob movie with a few quirks, little tension and even fewer surprises. It's led by two mannered performances from rebellious Emily Lloyd and old tough guy Peter Falk. I like both actors but the movie is rather forgettable. It's not as quirky or funny as it thinks it is. The writing really doesn't have an edge. It has a few action scenes but the intensity is not terribly high. There are better mob comedies elsewhere.

I am glad that I'm not the only one who is intrigued by Adrien Pasdar (Near Dark). He is very good looking, and has talent a good deal of talent, even though in these type of stereotypical comedies it is difficult to see.Adrien Pasdar can presently be seen as the D.A in the CBS drama Judging Amy, which is a much better example of his talent and depth. But Adrien Pasdar aside, this is a good comedy. The definitive word here is COMEDY. Don't watch this movie looking for a deeply moving, world changing experience, because you aren't going to find it. Watch instead for a fondness of Peter Falk humor, and enjoy the story of his illegitimate daughter Cookie. Emily Loyd is quite possibly the perfect choice for the role of Cookie, having never seen her before myself, it made it even easier for me to believe she truly was a Brooklyn tough-chick, who's estranged and imprisoned father was a gangster known on the street as Dapper Dino.At first she's a bit off putting, for one it was the 80's, and the wardrobe chosen for her is made to fit that era and age of the character. But it is still garish and goofy at times. One example, the white dress that she wears to the mafia Christmas party-what was that all about? I suppose they were trying to show her immaturity and to make her final outfit-which is a major improvement-be all the more attractive and satisfying. The actress Emily Loyd is not a raving beauty, which works out for the best because I couldn't see the character Cookie being model gorgeous, but there are several unique elements to her features that give her a strange sort of beauty that is lovely none-the-less. The character Vito (Adrien Pasdar) notices this about Cookie the first time he sees her. Vito is a character I think you'll enjoy. He is that bad boy with a good heart type that strikes a chord in many American women's hearts. I enjoyed the romance element between Vito and Cookie the most, second only to the hilarious events that occur between she and her father throughout the film. There are some things that could have made this film better, but few films are perfect so why split hairs? Enjoy the movie for what it is, an 80's comedy/romance, with the handsome and pleasing Adrien Pasdar...shame he's married.

The story was just O.K. as an action comedy. Peter Falk did O.K. job as a boss of Mafia but not as good as his famous role, Columbo.What I want to emphasize here is that I found Emily Lloyd, who played the hidden daughter of the boss, is an incredible actress. She is genius! I instantly became a big fan of hers as soon as she came up to the screen. I hope she appears on lots more movies.