THE COOLER (2003)
ContentFilm

By Désirée I. Guzzetta

In The Cooler, William H. Macy plays Bernie Lootz, a consummate loser, such the embodiment of bad luck that his mere touch "cools" off the hot streaks of players at the Shangri-La casino in Las Vegas.

Bernie is beholden to the casino's manager, Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin), a brutal man clinging to the "old" Vegas ways (the Shangri-La is downtown, not on the famous Vegas Strip). Once he pays off his debt to Shelly, Bernie can leave Vegas, which is good because he's desperately unhappy there. That is, until he meets the casino's new cocktail waitress, Natalie (Maria Bello), and falls in love with her. Suddenly, Bernie is the luckiest guy in town.

Naturally, true love is fraught with dishonesty--and peril. Bernie's change of fortune causes problems with Shelly, whose past brutality--shattering Bernie's kneecap and giving him a permanent limp--is nothing compared to what's to come. Throw in Bernie's ne'er-do-well son and the son's pregnant girlfriend, and you get a volatile mix waiting to explode. The best part of the mix is that it doesn't explode in a predictable way.

Despite the outbursts of violence, The Cooler has a great, adult love story that doesn't pander to the lowest common denominator, a refreshing change from the usual Hollywood "romance." As always, Macy is the consummate professional in his role, bringing a sadness to Bernie without making him pathetic. Bello's Natalie is sexy yet vulnerable. Ron Livingston is also good as Larry, who is the kind of suit his Office Space character would hate, and who has been brought in by Shelly's bosses to modernize the Shangri-La.

But it's Baldwin's turn as Shelly that is the most remarkable. At turns subtle and overt, Baldwin is excellent at showing a man resisting the encroachment of the future, not ever realizing his time may well have past.

The Cooler is well worth leaving the house to see--or renting if you missed it.

Official Cooler Site

ContentFilm
Director: Wayne Kramer
Screenwriters: Frank Hannah, Wayne Kramer
Starring: William H. Macy (Bernie Lootz), Alec Baldwin (Shelly Kaplow), Maria Bello (Natalie Belisario), Shawn Hatosy (Mikey), Ron Livingston (Larry Sokolov), Paul Sorvino (Buddy Stafford), Estella Warren (Charlene)
Running Time: 1 hour, 41 minutes
Rated: R

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