The Cooler Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
When your life depends on losing... the last thing you need is lady luck.
Love ...you have to play to win
The Cooler is Bernie Lootz, and THE COOLER is a love story about the changing fortunes of this down-at-heels loser who has made a career out of spreading his virulent bad luck on the floor of Las Vegas' aging Shangri-La casino. When Bernie falls for a gorgeous cocktail waitress his bad luck is thrown into reverse.
| 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 |
| Arthur J. Nascarella | Nicky Fingers Bonnatto |
| Joey Fatone | Johnny Cappella |
| M.C. Gainey | Highway Officer |
| Ellen Greene | Doris |
| Don Scribner | Lou |
| Tony Longo | Tony |
| Richard Israel | Marty Goldfarb |
| Timothy Landfield | The Player |
| Wayne Kramer |
7.00 out of 10 (12555 votes)
Visitor Reviews
"Everything's different now..."
posted on 02 Aug 2009As Golden Age perceptions uneasily change hands with New Money in today's Las Vegas, a casino owner with nostalgic leanings toward 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 look, some very 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 idiot 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 final reel is. The movie's point seems to be "Casinos don't appreciate it when gambler's win", yet the bittersweet finish belies this, probably for the sake of the box-office. ** from ****
I liked this movie a lot
posted on 29 Jul 2009The cooler is a great movie but,first of all,I'll say it's not for everyone.The slow development the movie has will bore some persons but the people who likes to see a movie which takes its time to develop slowly the characters(like me) will like this great movie a lot.The great William H.Macy has a perfect performance,Alec Baldwin had a very deserved Academy Award nomination and the entire cast has excellent performances.Wayne Kramer showed here,on his directorial first movie,he has a lot of potential and tomorrow I'll rent Running scared,his second movie.I recommend The cooler with the warning that it is not for everyone.
great look at the old guard of las vegas
posted on 15 Jul 2009saw the movie and loved it. it might drag a little to some but i thought the movie was great. must see movie if you like vegas type movies with a little mafia tones thrown in. it really gives you a sense on how the old guard used to run things. it also shows you how they really messed a good thing up. alec baldwin does a great job of showing the respect they had on running it the old way, and struggling to let go to give way to the new and modern casino. funny isn't it on how we have come full circle with the vegas image. remember what happens here stays here. i also liked that nicky character. his name is arthur nascarella.you can see more of him in the up coming episodes of the soporanos
Another skilled director thinking he's a good writer as well...
posted on 09 Jul 2009I would have rated this much higher if the screenplay wasn't so poor. Some lines are so cheesy or plain stupid and unnecessary that it's even laughable at times. Sad, as the story itself definitely has an edge, playing with noirish concepts in a very interesting way.The direction is mostly excellent and drives the film towards a very "high quality" feeling that almost makes one disregard the poor writing. The clash between the excellent execution and the poor dialog even creates, in the beginning, a surrealistic "Lynch-like" feeling that is fascinating, until one realizes that sadly, this feeling was not intended and only accidentally results from the incoherence between the two layers... embarrassing.This is so well-made at the film-making level, and the underlying concept is so interesting, that the end product definitely has its moments. [*minor spoiler ahead*] If only they had just avoided some very questionable lines (like the awful Macy's line just following the car crash).As it is, this movie is only good entertainment for those who like classy direction and lively acting, or are interested in studying the concepts at the story level. A missed opportunity. Next time, hire a competent screenwriter and you can come up with a very good movie.
Very satisfying movie (minor spoilers)
posted on 03 Jul 2009This movie is very possibly one of the best that I have seen so far this year. When I walked into the video store, I was considering renting Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or possibly seeing American Wedding again. I passed right by "The Cooler", a movie that I had never before heard of, when an old man standing next to me said, "That movie. The Cooler. I loved it. A great performance by Kevin Spacey". I looked at the cover, it said "William Macy", but I didn't say anything.I get home, throw it in the DVD player, and immediately notice the fantastic soundtrack on the entry screen. Feeling optimistic, I press "Play Movie" button.What I received when watching the movie was surprising, not having been a movie that I had heard of before. The movie was humorous, dark, and touching, all in the span of 2 hours.One of the interesting side-themes of the movie is the chain-smoking bartender, who alternately had and did not have cream for Macy's coffee depending on what sort of luck he was having that day, based primarily on the state of his relationship with Maria Bello.The character of the movie was both dark, and satisfying, and managed to, at the end, make the audience feel that things worked out the way they should have, not by some sort of Deus ex Machina, but because it was like real life.I highly suggest that you see this movie.**** 1/2 out of *****
Lucky in Love
posted on 13 Jun 2009if you can overlook a script that's a little over the top, "the cooler" provides a great breakout role for maria bello, another "terrific-so-what-else-is-new" turn by william macy and the best work alec baldwin's done on the big screen since "glengarry glen ross"...the movie is not really about the city itself so the comparisons to "casino" or "leaving las vegas" sorta miss the mark...if you're comparing apples to apples, "the princess bride" or "shrek" would make better touchstones...the story is a parable about the power of love and the l.v. setting is just backdrop....the director makes mention on the DVD that the film was shot in 21 days, to which i can only say "3 weeks well spent"...Oscar caliber performances by the 3 principals...
stealing ideas from other films
posted on 07 Jun 2009This it typical Hollywood fare. Baldwin and Macy are predictably good, the love affair is of course fare-fetched, but it's done well-enough. But keep it simple, not too complicated...Good for watching video at home, but don't expect too much.Once again, Hollywood doing what it does best...stealing original ideas from others, and remaking it for a larger audience. For a different and more interesting take on the same phenomenon (only here people have the ability to steal other people's luck, to their advantage) search out a a Spanish film from 2001 called Intacto, with Max von Sydow.The premise is dealt with here in a meatier, more complex way.
Jewel Shepard in The Cooler
posted on 05 Jun 2009I am a big fan of Jewel Shepard. When I heard she had a part in The Cooler, I was on top of the world. The Cooler never played here so I had to get the DVD when it came out. What a let down this movie was. Her part was cut down so much if you blinked, you missed it. She played a hooker leaving the market as Macy walked to his room. Not much of a part. I think everyone did a good job on the film but felt it could have been a much better film. I like William Macy but don't care for Baldwin. I side with the other posters who gave this film a thumbs down. I can't put my finger on why this film doesn't cut it. The filming was good, acting was good, sets, music, everything was well done. I think it was too slow. I sat there with the fast forward on the remote helping it along. The idea and story were good. I think the problem was it needed to be fine tuned in the script department. It was almost a good film.
An Unpleasant Fantasy
posted on 04 May 2009No motivation, absurd hypothesis. I'm sorry to see Wiliam H Macy involved in trash like this. If he didn't use a body double in the nude scenes, I hope he got some kind of kick out of them.Do you really believe that bad luck is involved in losing money in Las Vegas? That luck is contagious, so that standing beside an unlucky person can affect your bets or the sequence of cards in blackjack? Do you really believe a Nevada Casino lets anyone run up a debt of $150,000? That they would beat up a winner who did nothing more than shoot craps with the house's dice? If you can answer yes to any of the questions, Nevada is looking for YOU!
William Macy is outstanding!
posted on 22 Apr 2009The Cooler was much better than I expected. Wm. Macy is a wonder, as a man whose luck is so incredibly lousy, it rubs off on other people! So, he's used as a "cooler," a guy who's called to certain casino tables that have a lucky streak going. Once there, his mere presence causes the luck to turn 180 degrees and everybody loses.Enter Maria Bello (whom I'd never heard of, but is a regular on "E.R." and has extensive TV credits, plus some films). He's nuts about her, she reciprocates, and his bad luck turns to the good variety! This annoys the mob-connected boss/bad guy, Alec Baldwin and all sorts of stuff begins. To try to explain, would be to spoil it, so...William Macy plays the penultimate loser so well, he should have gotten an Oscar! Bello is a Sharon Stone type bleach blonde and very charismatic. I liked her. Baldwin is, well...Baldwin. It's a very good movie, for what it is, with a couple of twists that are genuine surprises. Warning: Lots of language (worthy of Scorcese), lots of nudity, with some pretty graphic sex stuff. All in all, I recommend it, but with caution.
great look at "Vegas insiders," better loser's love story
posted on 20 Apr 2009this movie is definitely worth seeing. thinking back, all the buzz around Baldwin's performance is worthy. I thought Bello was good, just not so good as to garner all the praise for the role. of course Macy is always great, and this seems like a role written just for him. it's great to see him in a lead role.without giving away anything, the story is got some interesting turns, but I kind of expected the ending from the flow of the movie. maybe not precisely, but the gist of it... there was one loose end i would've liked tied up. with the time spent on the specific sub-plot, you'll probably also wonder.great old school Vegas casino. it adds a fun background, especially if you like playing the odds.
Very cool indeed!
posted on 16 Apr 2009I saw this movie and was wondering what all the hubub was about. A Vegas gambling movie seemed very "been there done that" to me. How wrong was I.The movie was quick paced, smartly written, humorous at times with a shockingly original ending. The acting from the principal actors is top notch as evidenced by the nominations they've garnered recently from the Academy and Golden Globes.Do yourself a favor, see this little gem.
Starts well, throws craps.
posted on 08 Apr 2009What a terrific setup: Macy, the man who turns hot gamblers cold just by being in their midst; Baldwin, the tough-as-nails old-school casino boss; Stone, the hard-bitten cocktail waitress with a fondness for likable losers and getting naked. Alas, despite a fine cast and some genuinely erotic moments, the movie takes a disastrous turn about halfway in, becoming melodramatic, sentimental, and--worst of all-- predictable. But it's worth seeing if only for the phenomenon of Baldwin as DeNiro pitted against Stone as Stone in an eccentric replay of "Casino."
Watching "the cooler", or having your face run over by a car. Decision of a lifetime.
posted on 27 Mar 2009No, I'm just kidding. It's not that hard of a decision. To this choice I say "Car Face"! "Car Face"! "Car Face"! Am I exaggerating? Well, maybe it wasn't that good of a movie.I would like to state that the sole reason I decided to register on IMDb, was to warn the people of this movie. It is one of my top 3 worst movies of all time.This one pulls out all the stops: -Asanine plot that makes absolutely no sense. -Terrible "charachters" -Horrific, chunky sex scenes. -Poor production values Etc. Etc.I really find it hard to believe that anyone, like the people who will come and tell me how I'm wrong, could like this movie. But that's OK, I didn't write this comment for those people. I wrote this for the people who are considering watching this joke of a film for the first time:READ: Do not, under any circumstances, view, or go near this film or allow a loved one to do the same. You will regret it every day for the rest of your life.
The Cooler - common themes found in a very uncommon place.
posted on 15 Mar 2009I missed the first few minutes of The Cooler. My plan was to see Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, but when the showing was switched to a regular seated room versus the room with the oversize plush seats, with glossy wood paneling cup holders, I decided to see The Cooler, instead. I will see LOTR-Return of the King when it shows in the oversized seated room, so that I can really experience the feel of its grandness.As I sat down to watch The Cooler, right away, I noticed its starkness and lack of soft screen enhancements. The crisp picture added to the gritty, dark and severe nature surrounding the two main characters, Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) and Natalie Belisario (Maria Bello), who live in Las Vegas and work at the seedy Shangri-La gambling casino. Bernie might sum up this movie by saying, `A lot-a stuff goes down, down the hard way, and it ain't pretty and it ain't legal.' Alec Baldwin plays Shelly Kaplow, the violently psychotic casino manager. Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston) is the young, savvy, and yes heartless, new business man in town, who determinedly plans on convincing Shelly, to make a deal to tear down the old, and build a new palatial casino. Shelly says he does not want his casino, one he perceives, with charm and character, turned into `some Epcot center.'
Shelly has hired Bernie to be the casino's cooler. A cooler is a person who magically turns a gambler's good luck into bad. Bernie quietly and dutifully does his job, with a limp in his step, given to him years back, from Shelly. Shelly relishes in verbally and physically abusing people.
Sadly, he even supplies what appears to be heroin, to his casino entertainment, singer, Buddy Stafford (Paul Sorvino). What Buddy really needs is a psychiatrist, dietician, and personal trainer. To keep Bernie content at work, Shelly, without informing Bernie, hires Natalie to be Bernie's friend and bed companion. For Natalie, it begins as a simple way to make a buck, but after her first night of having sex with him, she tells him that she honestly loves him. To his surprise, he feels the same way. Woven into the main story, is Bernie's wreck loose son, Mikey (Shawn Hatosy), who makes a surprise visit to Dad, whom he calls Bernie. Mikey pleads that he needs money for Charlene (Estella Warren), his wife's, nourishment, during her last few days of her pregnancy. He probably plans to refurbish his drug supply, as we see Charlene walk out of the bathroom, wiping the white powder from her nose. Shortly thereafter, Mikey is gambling with Dad's money to win more. He wins $150,000. When Shelly learns the news, it's the match that sets fire to another ballistic tirade.
Shelly demands that Bernie be good for $150,000. Bernie agrees with it, and pretty much anything that will appease Shelly's violent fits. Suddenly, after falling in love, Bernie's `cooler' nature turns warm, meaning he seems to be bringing people luck, rather than stealing it away from them. Again, it is the perfect time to see Shelly in a fanatical fit, over all the money his casino is losing. It is a rough and life threatening road Bernie and Natalie pave, to freeing themselves from the evil spell, of their wicked employer, Shelly Kaplow. For the first quarter of this movie, I really could not identify with any of these characters, but half way through the film, I really began to feel the emotion expressed between Bernie and Natalie. They bring us into a dark life, fraught with scams, threats, physical and verbal abuse. Love is found in a most unsuspecting place. Likewise, Baldwin really becomes a vicious small time casino operator, the kind of guy, who you hope to never encounter, in a life time. This sinister, sexual, and bleak movie shapes up into a substantially solid film for two reasons. First, its plot centers around a universal theme, falling in love, played so well in the script's context, by Macy and Bello, and second, there is a frighteningly evil villain, allowing us to root for good over evil. See The Cooler, and experience common themes, found in a very uncommon place.
Predictable, but entertaining
posted on 11 Mar 2009The Cooler is hardly one of the best films of the year but it does manage to hold your interest, and entertain. It's a underdog movie all the way; William H. Macy convincingly plays a likable loser who passes on his bad luck to all around him, a talent, you can imagine worth a lot of money to a casino owner! Indeed Macy isn't on his own in portraying believable characters; Baldwin, as the casino owner, is at times a terrifying individual, one of his best roles he's played in quite some time. However, although the characters are mostly believable, the plot isn't. Things fit in a bit too smoothly, which leads to a very predictable movie, a pity really because the idea behind the script is something new. It's a film I'd recommend, but don't expect to be challenged. Good acting (with the notable exception of Shawn Hatosy), nicely shot, and with a feel-good, cheer for the under-dog vibe, make it hold up.
A rhinestone
posted on 09 Mar 2009In "The Cooler", Macy, the biggest loser in Vegas, works as a casino cooler for an old school casino boss (Baldwin) by bringing his bad luck to hot gaming tables thereby saving the casino money in gambling losses. When he falls for a cocktail waitress (Bello), his luck changes, at least temporarily, leading into an engrossing, unpredictable, and fun can-love-conquer-all drama which pits Macy against bone breaking Baldwin who wants his bad luck back. Pound for pound, this creative little indie delivers more entertainment than most Hollyweird studio flicks with the three principals turning in excellent performances in a gritty noir motif imbued with a ubiquitous presence of kismet. Kudos to the makers of this gem who exhibit abundant talent...or maybe just luck. (B+)
A Marvelous, Unexpected Treat
posted on 04 Aug 2009'The Cooler' sort of flew under the radar in its initial run. It deserves a much wider audience than it received in theatrical release. Writer/director Wayne Kramer has achieved something remarkable here--a love story within a love story: an unlikely romance between a professional loser and an aging cocktail waitress cast against an almost reverent paean to the old Las Vegas, when Frank, Deano, and Sammy reigned supreme and there wasn't a pirate ship or roller coaster to be found. Kramer also brings out some amazing performances, especially by Alec Baldwin as Shelly Kaplow, arguably his finest performance ever, and easily his best since 'Glengarry Glen Ross' or 'Malice.' The plot itself hinges on an old, all but forgotten Vegas tradition: William H. Macy is Bernie, a professional 'cooler'--a guy whose luck is so bad it's contagious, and who is paid to sidle up to any table where a gambler is on a run of luck and cool the action with his mere presence. The film's opening scene has an almost surreal quality, as hang-dog Bernie paces the floor, magically passing his bad luck with nothing more than a subtle touch of green felt or brass.Bernie works at the Golden Shangri-La, a bastion of Vegas traditionalism managed by Shelley Kaplow (Alec Baldwin), who runs his casino with religious fidelity to the old ways, idealizing the Rat Pack-era Vegas, the days before Sin City became, in Shelley's words, a "Disneyland mookfest." But Shelley is under pressure: longtime club headliner Buddy Stafford (Paul Sorvino) is way past his prime and carries a dark secret. The casino's investors have grown reluctant to hold on to the old ways at the expense of the record-breaking revenues being brought in by the newer, flashier, family-friendly casinos, and Shelley finds himself in a power struggle with Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston), a Harvard-educated wunderkind brought in to revitalize the struggling Shangri-La. Last but not least of Shelley's troubles is that Bernie the Cooler has announced his intention to leave town. Shelley has owned Bernie for years (Bernie's crippled shuffle is a souvenir from his days of gambling addiction administered by Shelley for non-payment of a massive debt), but Bernie is now in the clear and wants to put Vegas behind him.But Bernie finds himself reconsidering after he falls into bed with Natalie (Maria Bello), a failed showgirl-turned-cocktail waitress who propositions Bernie after he notices her being groped by a gambler on a hot streak and promptly cools the offending customer's luck. Unfortunately, Bernie's first dose of good luck in ages comes with a particular liability: having unexpectedly found happiness, Bernie finds his talent for passing on bad luck has reversed itself--to the chagrin of Shelley Kaplow.William H. Macy has long been respected has a character actor, and it's a treat to see him bring his talents to a rare lead role for a middle-aged actor of average appearance. His Bernie is truly pathetic, and yet his charm and growing confidence make his affair with Natalie believable and inspiring. Bernie is a loser, but he has courage and character, especially when confronted with his failure as a father when his dead-beat hustler son (Shawn Hatosy) appears with a pregnant, coke-snorting girlfriend (Estella Warren) in tow. Maria Bello gives an astonishing, award-worthy performance as Natalie. It's just a mystery to me that she is not a major star. She is stunningly beautiful but also persuasively real, and her moments of honesty and vulnerability in this film stick with you. Natalie is not without considerable flaws, but her love for Bernie is absolutely believable, and I found myself feeling deeply invested in them.Much of the small buzz around this film was generated by Macy and Bello's sex scenes, which are genuinely remarkable--visceral and explicit without seeming the least bit pornographic or gratuitous. This is attributable to the investment of the actors in their characters and their craft. The ardor feels totally genuine. Bello and Macy look not like actors playing roles, but like two people in love, going at it like they're never going to get another chance.But inasmuch as Bernie and Natalie are the clear hero and heroine, in certain respects, the film belongs to Alec Baldwin's Shelley. Baldwin hasn't had such a plum role in ages: Shelley is both a malicious sociopath and a tender, affectionate father figure. His loyalty to the old-school ways and his refusal to accept that Sinatra's Vegas is gone forever is genuinely tragic. Baldwin owns some of the film's finest moments: a rip-roaring tirade against the crassly commercialized Vegas embodied by his younger rival; a surprisingly tender moment with the aging crooner Buddy Stafford, where Shelley appears in Buddy's dressing room and tries to stroke the singer's flagging ego by presenting him a pair of panties he claims to have found hanging on the door-handle outside, only to have the harrowingly tragic Buddy point out that he knows Shelley bought the panties in the casino's lingerie shop, along with the services of the 'groupie' who'll be arriving shortly after Shelley leaves; a drunken catharsis after a confrontation with Bernie over Natalie that ends with Shelley smashing the architectural model of the new Shangri-La Larry plans to build, complete with shopping mall, food court, and roller-coasters.Perhaps the strongest statement of the film comes as the credits roll: a montage of video featuring the demolition of four legendary old-school casinos--the Aladdin, the Landmark, the Dunes, and the Sands, which, of course, was the Vegas home of Sinatra and the Rat Pack. It's a haunting lament at the end of a surprisingly fine film.