The Cooler
The Plot:
Bernie Lootz (Macy) is the unluckiest man in Las Vegas... he's so unlucky, it's contagious. Looking to knock out their highest rollers, one of the last mob-run casinos in town, the Shangri-La Hotel and Casino downtown, decides to use Bernie as a "cooler" to defuse their lucky streaks. The scheme goes fine until Bernie falls in love with a cocktail waitress, Natalie (Bello), who becomes his "lady luck", much to the chagrin of the casino's crooked director (Baldwin) who aims to break up the romance, and Bernie's newfound luck. (From Yahoo Movies)
My Thoughts: (Reviewed by Big Pun)
The Cooler…a fun little film that snuck into theatres this past winter staring William H. Macy, Maria Bello and Alec Baldwin, who earned an Oscar nod for his role as the casino director. In fact, if not for Baldwin’s nomination, I wonder if many people would have ever found this small, independent film….Directed by Wayne Kramer, who also co-wrote the script, The Cooler brings us the story of a really, really down on his luck loser, Bernie Lootz (Macy) who’s fortune is so bad, it’s infectious. Bernie works as a “Cooler” for the Golden Shangri-La Casino in Las Vegas, one of the last mob-run joints in town headed by crooked shyster, Shelly Kaplow. What is a “cooler” you ask? Well, put it this way, if you happened to walk into the Shangri-La Casino, a winning streak would be out of the question…Bernie’s luck is so bad that his mere presence at your black jack table or near the roulette wheel will put a halt to your hot streak and swing the odds back in the houses favor faster than a Vegas desert jackrabbit….
What’s the inside joke here?...Well its that this guy is about the biggest loser there is….and that kind of shitty luck in life can be contagious….basically, everything this guy touches can and will turn to shit at some point….He can’t even get cream in his coffee for Christ’s sake….and for Shelly, this is the best racket going…he uses Bernie to always keep the odds in is favor….
As the movie takes shape, we learn that Bernie and Shelly have a history…and that Bernie is working too pay off a gambling debt owed to his boss. He’s got five days left in this personal hell of his, and he is itching to get out….but Shelly is getting pressure to give in to the corporate bosses that want to modernize his casino and take away his “old school” way of doing things….Shelly will do anything to insure he is still king, and losing the best “cooler” in Vegas isn’t going to happen on his watch….
But as is with all best laid plans….no one counted on our lovable loser falling in love….”Lady Luck” enters Bernie’s life in the form of cocktail waitress Natalie (Bello) and things begin to change for our hero….slowly, but surely, his luck begins to change…and when those 3 magic words are spoken by our beautiful female lead, Bernie’s transformation is complete….life couldn’t be better, heck even his cat comes home….but as in every good story, not everything is as it seems….
I mean, do you really think that Shelly is just going to stand for this, to stand for Bernie’s new lucky streak while he watches millions just walk out the door?????
Well, you’ll have to rent it to find out….but I can tell you this, there are lots of little twists and turns along the way that makes this a fun movie and very enjoyable viewing experience.
I love movies like this….why?...cause they are all heart and soul man….this guy made this thing in like 21 days with a limited budget. He had a great story, got some stellar actors on board and then delivered the goods.
The story is great because it is so layered. I mean, it’s not a just about the casino, or about Bernie’s bad luck….it’s how that luck translates to the casino and the people in it. And how luck can change…how life can change….is luck real? Is it a bunch of bs?....is it just a state of mind? I mean, do we think we are experiencing bad luck when actually we are just afraid to change what is wrong in our lives?...I think each person can determine that for themselves….
The story also works for me because the director brings together two unlikely people and makes me believe in them….I mean, Macy’s Bernie is a LOSER!....and for him to find Bello’s Natalie (she is super, super hot by the way), you buy into the whole luck factor…..
Macy does a fine job as the loveable loser, a role he seems to be pretty good in. (Fargo, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, etc…)…I buy him, his look and his transformation in this movie….Bello is smoking hot….the only other thing I have seen her in is Coyote Ugly, and that blew monkey balls….but tell you what, she does a fine job here, and when she falls for Bernie, I buy every second of it…
Baldwin is the real star here…the Oscar nod was very deserving….I have knocked a lot of this guys work before, and definitely thought his best stuff was behind him…I mean, he was pretty good in Pearl Harbor, but his best stuff in my opinion was in Beetlejuice, Hunt for Red October, Working Girl, Malice, The Getaway….He is very good in the film…his bad ass, ruthless casino boss is very believable….and you see him get crazier and crazier as the one thing he lives for slips further and further from his grasp…..great job Alec.
There is also a few other performances worthy of note here….Ron Livingston, better known from his roles in OfficeSpace and Swingers…is excellent as the young, hotshot casino developer honing in on Shelly’s turf….Legend Paul Sorvino does a brief stint as a drugged out lounge singer…and there is a brief appearance by Backside Boy, Joey Fatone….
This movie is good…really good…but not great….there are some flaws with the ending….one too many twists if you ask me….the film feels kind of cartoony at times in the way his luck plays out…
The music is very Vegas fitting, featuring songs like “Luck be a Lady” and “My Funny Valentine” and “Almost Like Being in Love”…The score however, is more hit and miss and seems a bit off….it evokes feeling of like an old seedy dark ally, where a detective comes around the corner in the rain, lighting up a smoke with a narrative over the background. It’s ok, but not great….I guess he is going for the loser feel, but it missed with me….
As for the DVD extras, there is a very informative short called Anatomy of a Scene that was produced by the Sundance Channel….but no commentary….some deleted scenes, a story board, but that’s about it….pretty standard…
All in all, this a good film, worthy or a Friday night rental….check it out…..
Starring:
William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Ron Livingston, Paul Sorvino
Directed by: Wayne Kramer