The Cooler (2003)

In an old school Las Vegas casino, its top gambling jinx breaks his curse when he falls in love, much to his boss' consternation.

Director:

Wayne Kramer

Writers:

Frank Hannah, Wayne Kramer

Stars:

William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Alec Baldwin

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as MC Gainey)
Ellen Greene	...	Doris
Don Scribner	...	Lou
Tony Longo	...	Tony
Richard Israel	...	Marty Goldfarb
Timothy Landfield	...	The Player

Storyline

The unluckiest man in Vegas - a guy whose bad luck is contagious - is used by the last of the old time mob run casinos to kill high rollers' action. That is, until he falls in love with a cocktail waitress and gets "lady luck," which throws the situation into reverse. Things turn nasty when the casino director tries to break up the romance.

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Plot Keywords:

casino | girl in panties | public nudity | leg spreading | female pubic hair | 

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Taglines:

Love ...you have to play to win

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence, language and some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Maria Bello and William H. Macy also appeared on the 4th season of the tv show E.R. as Dr. Anna Del Amico and Dr. David Morgenstern.

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Goofs

When Bernie plays craps, he is shown placing two stacks of chips side-by-side on the pass line. This is incorrect - a player's entire bet must be placed in one vertical stack. AFTER a point is established, a player make "take the odds" by placing a second stack of chips BEHIND the original pass line bet. A second stack of chips on the pass line next to the player's bet would be assumed by the crew to be a toke - a bet for the dealers.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Casino employee: Where's Bernie, they're killing us. Yeah, we need him right away.

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Crazy Credits

Maria Bello's face is reflected on the side of the "Lady Luck" hotel.

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Alternate Versions

The film was cut by the MPAA to achieve an R rating.

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Connections

Featured in Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Elijah Wood/Estella Warren/Liz Phair (2003)

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Soundtracks

My Funny Valentine
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart
Arranged by Mark Isham
Performed by Tierney Sutton

User Reviews

more and more chance all the time

Too many movies set in Las Vegas have gone along with the glitzy image that we always see, so it's good to see one take a grittier approach. William H. Macy plays a gambling jinx who falls in love right before he's supposed to leave the city, so there's the issue of how this might affect things. Some people might observe how the movie looks at this relationship, but I noticed how it looked at chance, especially with what happens at the end. Overall, I view it as one the many movies from a new generation of directors (sort of like what got released in the late '60s and early '70s). Definitely worth seeing, with a very effective script and all. Also starring Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy and Ron Livingston.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Cooler

Filming Locations:

Landmark Hotel - Convention Center Drive and Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$128,973, 30 November 2003

Gross USA:

$8,291,572

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,464,788

Company Credits

Production Co:

ContentFilm, Pierce/Williams Entertainment, Furst Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1