Here in Dallas today, the temperature is 95° and the heat index is a brutal 108°.
When it is that hot outside, nothing makes me feel cooler than thoughts of a football game.
No games are being played today, so I'm going to stay inside tonight and watch "The Fortune Cookie" on Turner Classic Movies at 7 p.m. (Central).
It's one of my all–time favorite movies. Walter Matthau plays Whiplash Willie, a lawyer who represents his brother–in–law, Jack Lemmon, in a million–dollar lawsuit after Lemmon, a TV cameraman, is run over while covering a pro football game. Even though the fans in the stadium, not to mention the TV audience, saw the whole thing, the defendants in the lawsuit are convinced that it is a hoax, and they make every effort to catch Lemmon and Matthau in the act before the suit can come to court — or before they have to agree to a costly settlement.
The film, which was directed by the legendary Billy Wilder, was made a couple of years before "The Odd Couple" and many years before "Grumpy Old Men." In fact, I believe it was the very first pairing of Lemmon and Matthau.
Even if it wasn't, though, it was hilarious. Everyone should see it.
Settle in and watch it tonight.
