The Cooler (2003)

As Golden Age perceptions uneasily change hands with New Money in today's Las Vegas, a casino owner with nostalgic leanings towards the city's heyday finds himself caught up short by the new corporate blood; worse, his favorite "cooler" (or, gambler's jinx) has fallen in love with a cocktail waitress, which has turned his luck around. Despite a snazzy design, some fine acting, and an apparent love for film noir, "The Cooler" doesn't seem to have anything new up its sleeve. The broads are still tough, the mobsters are still busting kneecaps in back alleys, and the sad sacks and wiseacres are still hanging around, hoping to get lucky. The ubiquitous Alec Baldwin does well with a complicated character (the casino boss with a soft spot who still has to play the heavy), but there's too much of him--and when Baldwin gets a head of steam going, rattling off at the mouth with fill-in-the-blank profanities, he's not showing us anything fresh or exciting. Ditto Paul Sorvino as the drug-addicted lounge lizard past his prime, or Ron Livingston as a smug Harvard stooge who wants to take over. William H. Macy has some terrific moments as the self-proclaimed loser who gets a new lease on life via working girl Maria Bello (a second generation Sharon Stone), but I'm not sure how convincing that finale is. The movie's point seems to be "Casinos don't appreciate it when a gambler wins", yet the bittersweet finish belies this, probably for the sake of the box-office. ** from ****

Fmovies: Maria Bello is mesmerizing in this movie! After I watched this for the first time, I couldn't get her beauty and her character out of my head. She has caught my eye once before on the movie "Payback" with Mel Gibson, and then this movie and the other movies I have seen with her in were somewhat disappointing. Yet, in "The Cooler", she gives the kind of performance that should bust her career wide open, but I don't think it ever happened, which is very sad. Looking at many of the leading ladies in the current state of movies, and all I see is perfect stars that don't have any depth of character. Yes, I know many actress are doing good stuff, but Maria has something special, something thats hard to explain, but there is no doubt in my mind that she has a lot of it. In conclusion to my boast of Maria Bello...I truly believe that a woman with her talent and beauty should be the lead actor in movies! I think the era of Julia Roberts is over...all hail Maria Bello! ;)

I enjoyed this movie. Wonderful performances all over, especially by Baldwin and Macy. Also, I felt intrigued by the character that Baldwin portrayed - a bad guy for whom you feel sorry. You don't see that every day, in your typical run-of-the-mill Hollywood movie. So why didn't it receive more than a six from me? One word: Predictability. All the supposedly interesting little plot-twists, you could see them coming a mile away. Also, the dialogue was at times somewhat cliché ("You don't have any real friends" or "I think I love you. No, wait. I'm *sure* I love you." - lines like these are going to come out goofy, even from the mouths of great actors.

The Cooler fmovies. This film directed by Wayne Kramer has a more realistic approach to what goes on in casinos and other seedy gambling places, a far cry to the new Disneylike-Las Vegas of today.

Just to think that this poor loser Bernie can attract the gorgeous Natalie is enough for him to think: Gee, what's wrong with this picture?...Bernie hasn't scored with a babe in quite a while, so when he gets so lucky in bed, it's the moment to call it quits and take the next Greyhound out of town because things like that can only happen to schmucks, or in this case, to this 'cooler', as his boss calls him. One has to really have an open mind to even think this Natalie will fall in love with Bernie.

The idea of how people can be jinxed by these casino reptilians is a thing not to be believed. If it exists, I don't know, not being into gambling, but then, the world of gamblers are full of superstitions.

William H. Macy is an actor that is always interesting to watch. His Bernie is a flawed character, but inside he is a decent person who wants to get out of his present occupation. Maria Bello is excellent as the woman who will stand by her man.

The real surprise of the film is Alec Baldwin. This is, without a doubt, the best role in quite a while for him. His Shelly is a man without scruples who is ruthless with those that dare to cross him. He actually deserves better material where he can excel.

This film was a pleasant surprise because of the acting that Mr. Kramer has elicited from his cast.

"The Cooler" has really divided viewers. Some, definitely not all, are taken with William H. Macy's first-ever sexy role where he shows his buns (and a bit more) as Bernie the Cooler, a key employee at the Shangri-la, a Las Vegas casino a bit shopworn and out of touch with the latest and hottest on the Strip. A cooler is a guy who shows up by the side of a punter on a long winning streak and, somehow, extinguishes his luck merely by hanging around the table and acting like a klutz.

Maria Bello is a cocktail waitress, Natalie, relegated to the low end of the casino where elderly day trippers bet small amounts. Feeling sorry for her, and perhaps a bit attracted, Bernie gets her transferred to the big spender zone where, presumably, tips are better. One thing leads to another and - wow - Macy is, according to a few of my female friends, a heck of a lot sexier than, say, a wannabe babe magnet like Brad Pitt.

Running the casino is Shelley, Alec Baldwin. Shelley has a problem: the casino's investors (a euphemism) want to tear down the place and build a new, modern joint that will pack in the younger high rollers. A sentimentalist at heart, as well as a gangster, Shelley wants Shangri-la - which does turn a profit as he points out to the guys demanding change - to stick it out as the last classy, old style casino. This is the stuff of eyeball to eyeball confrontation.

Natalie is the catalyst for a change in Bernie's luck - and lust. From an initially awkward conjoining, the two fall deeply in love and find they're in synch in the sack. So she's no longer a catalyst, she's the Significant Other.

Bernie has some family issues with his lackluster son and Natalie has to deal with problems with Shelley that would merit a lawsuit about a hostile workplace . Shelley - poor guy - really needs a dedicated cooler, Bernie is the best and he knows, he thinks, how to insure renewed employee dedication.

No Nevada gaming authority or cops here - this casino seems to be in a parallel universe where the honchos make their own rules independent of even the semblance of regulation. There can't really be a Shangri-la like this place in Las Vegas (I'm sort of sure).

Macy delivers a terrific performance as a schlepp who finds he has the heart of if not a lion at least a fierce tabby. Bello handles the shifting moods of her character very well-she's a good actress. And very pretty. Baldwin turns in a predictably dependable job as a tired mobster/businessman who holds true to values rejected by the new generation of Organized Crime wiz kids (one persistent pest sent to remake the casino is dismissed as a "Harvard turd").

All in all, a good movie especially because it showcases Macy in an unexpected role where he demonstrates the depth of his enormous acting ability.

WARNING: Very explicit sexuality and some in-your-face brutality. Not for kids.

7/10.

William Macy's Bernie Loots is a full-time loser. His luck is so bad that it rubs off on anybody around him. Lootz is a cooler - a guy who circulates around in a casino run by Alec Baldwin, cooling off winning streaks. If this sounds improbable, you've rented the wrong DVD, because it only gets moreso. This film is a somewhat unique Vegas fantasy film where luck and love play the starring roles. It's a Las Vegas love story, but unlike the disturbing Leaving Las Vegas, it's not a story of hopelessness and redemption, but rather, an adult fairy tale.

Maria Bello turns in an excellent performance as Lootz' romantic interest - the woman who changes everything for him, turning his luck around and, therefore, threatening his livelihood. Alec Baldwin, an obsessed and beleaguered casino manager, will stop at nothing to keep Lootz around.

I'm not a big fan of Vegas, or Vegas-oriented films, but the cast and the unusual themes of The Cooler made it a must see for me. The script was good, and the cinematography was good, but nothing special. Baldwin is terrific and so is Maria Bello. Macy's performance was not quite up to his usual par, and the direction occasionally seemed a little directionless, but all in all, this is an interesting film and well worth seeing.