The Cooler

The Cooler is an odd but ultimately satisfying mixture of real feelings, unexpected violence and improbable situations set against of the backdrop of a Las Vegas nearly gone from this world.

William H. Macy plays Bernie, the Cooler of the title. He is a man whose luck is so bad that it not only infects his own life, but can be rubbed off on unsuspecting gamblers at the Golden Shangri-La casino where he works. By merely touching the table where a winner is betting he can change their luck to bad, thereby cooling off their winning streak. It is in this capacity that he meets a cocktail waitress named Natalie (Maria Bello) who begins a relationship with him after he cools the luck of a customer who gets fresh with her. As the unlikely couple begin to form a strong bond, Bernie's luck begins to change. It is when Shelly (Alec Baldwin), the casino manager and boss to both Bernie and Natalie imposes his will on the situation that Bernie's newfound luck and love are tested.

Macy has spent his career playing hapless losers and hard luck characters. In Bernie, he hits the jackpot, delivering a well modulated, brave performance. Brave because he allows Bernie to be shown for what he really is, a not overly attractive, middle aged loser in both body and spirit. Macy shows us a lot of himself both literally and figuratively and it is that which brings a sense of truth to the performance.

Baldwin, who is being billed as a mere co-star is actually a major player in the story. Shelly is a character who utilizes more brute force than the usual steely-eyed verbal barrages that Baldwin excels at. But Shelly is a great character for Baldwin, a man so sure of his place in life and even in Vegas history that he will not bend under any amount of pressure. The Golden Shangri-La is, according to Shelly, the last of the old-style Vegas casinos. The proposed remodel of the casino threatens Shelly at a deep level, making him all the more inflexible. This is definitely bad news for anyone Shelly comes into contact with who would try to thwart his will in any way, including Bernie and Natalie. It is a tribute to Baldwin that the Shelly is someone the audience can never find it in their hearts to dislike completely, despite his intolerable actions.

If in the end, the improbabilities of the story overshadow the ending, it is a fairly minor consideration. This is a movie of performances more than storytelling. Macy's performance is so fine and delicate that one is hard pressed to see how difficult it must have been to do. Bello, as Natalie, shows an underlying fragility that draws the viewer to her and shows us why Bernie would love her. And Baldwin is the hurricane force wind that rages and storms through the proceedings. And it is the audience who is lucky enough to see it all.

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! ;)

A "cooler" is a guy who stands next to you in a casino when you are having a winning streak that is suddenly interrupted. It is someone who has such a bad luck that people around him are influenced; he could be pretty important for casino bosses. The cooler here is Bernie and the face of William H. Macy is perfect for him. The casino boss is Shelly in a wonderful performance from Alec Baldwin. Soon Bernie will leave, but not before he has met and fallen in love with Natalie, played by Maria Bello (for me only known from 'Payback' and 'Coyote Ugly'), a third terrific performance. She seems to like him also and suddenly that means Bernie is lucky. This will give, unfortunately for Shelly and therefore himself as well, results on the casino floor. Things are getting complicated.

The story is pretty original and entertaining on itself. A sub-plot that deals with the idea of remodeling the casino into a more modern one, not if it is up to Shelly, gives him a reason to be annoyed and show his more cruel side. Baldwin is at best in these scenes. The performances take the film to the next level. Baldwin won an Oscar nomination and it is pretty clear why. You believe him the entire time, no matter what he does. From Macy we expect a good performance, he is one of the best character-actors out there. I was also pleasantly surprised with Bello, an Oscar nomination would not have been strange here; she is very good, even great in the scenes with Macy. In the end 'The Cooler' is a good film, becoming better through performances, entertaining all the way through.

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.

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.