A WHOLE LOTTA NOTHIN' GOIN' ON.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

Casual is the word for Robert Altman's latest ensemble comedy, ``Cookie's Fortune.''

It's a murder mystery with no murder (nor, for that matter, any mystery) set in a tiny Mississippi town. What little plot there is here is just window dressing; the whole enterprise is just one big excuse for a bunch of fine actors to run Dixie riffs off of one another, which some do more successfully than others.

This could well be Altman's least-demanding film, and perhaps his most pleasant. The director's infamous misanthropy is reserved for just a few of the eccentric characters that sprout like kudzu in this particular corner of the Delta, and those unfortunates' primary sin is the pretty venial one of pretentiousness. The vast majority of sleepy Holly Springs' residents are showered with directorial affection, which results in a film that's consistently amusing but rarely very involving.

Top performance nods go to Charles S. Dutton, Julianne Moore, the legendary Patricia Neal and the surprisingly natural Liv Tyler. Dutton plays Willis Richland, a likable middle-age guy with a taste for Wild Turkey and no fixed profession. He does, however, take excellent care of the town's wealthiest widow, Jewel Mae ``Cookie'' Orcutt (Neal), with whom he also enjoys a warm, almost mother-son kind of relationship.

Still, Cookie misses her departed husband big time, and in an Easter eve funk takes her own life. The body is discovered by her snooty, low-rent Blanche DuBois of a niece Camille (Glenn Close, overacting), who by some dubious plot logic thinks it's important for the family's reputation to make the death look like a murder rather than a suicide.

Camille easily convinces her slow-witted sister Cora Duvall (Moore) to go along with the ruse, since Cora's limited brain power already is overloaded with the demands of her leading role in ``Salome,'' a travesty of which Camille is directing down at the Presbyterian church.

Lacking anything else that resembles a suspect, the local sheriffs (Ned Beatty and Danny Darst) arrest Willis, though they know that their fishing buddy couldn't possibly be guilty. Cora's daughter Emma (Tyler), recently returned to town after some semi-illegal activity in Biloxi, knows her pal Willis is innocent, too; she demands to be arrested for unpaid parking tickets so she can keep Willis company in his unlocked cell. As a bonus, Emma's former flame Jason (Chris O'Donnell) looks good in his new deputy uniform and is working the station's holiday skeleton shift.

More characters wend their way through the leisurely proceedings, none to any particular effect beyond adding a wry note or two. There's some good music at a nearby blues joint (former Eurythmic Dave Stewart provided the unobtrusive, rootsy score), something is kind of said about race relations in the New South, fun is made of Oscar Wilde, and fish-catching techniques are discussed at length.

Indeed, it often seems like the whole film has gone fishing, that the camera was left on with a few actors in front of it with no one around to shape what went on. But like a pleasant afternoon wasted away by the creek, ``Cookie's Fortune'' has an easeful, lollygagging way about it. It feels like time well-spent accomplishing next to nothing.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Cookie's Fortune'' (PG-13; language, sex).

The stars: Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Charles S. Dutton, Liv Tyler, Chris O'Donnell, Patricia Neal, Ned Beatty, Courtney B. Vance, Donald Moffat.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Robert Altman. Written by Anne Rapp. Produced by Altman and Etchie Stroh. Released by October Films.

Running time: One hour, 58 minutes.

Playing: United Artists, Westwood; AMC Century 14, Century City; Laemmle Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Laemmle Playhouse 7, Pasadena; Landmark NuWilshire, Santa Monica.

Our rating: Three stars.

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Photo

Photo: Donald Moffat, left, Charles S. Dutton, Liv Tyler and Ned Beatty are among the stars in the ensemble comedy ``Cookie's Fortune.''