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
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Title: The Cooler (2003)
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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 | |
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Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
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. Written by Anonymous
Taglines:
When your life depends on losing... the last thing you need is lady luck. See more »Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for strong sexuality, violence, language and some drug use | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
16 January 2004 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Cooler See more »Filming Locations:
Landmark Hotel - Convention Center Drive and Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$3,200,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$128,973, 30 November 2003, Limited ReleaseGross USA:
$8,243,880, 21 March 2004Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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Casino employee: Where's Bernie, they're killing us. Yeah, we need him right away.
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Written by Bobby Caldwell & Henry Marx
Produced by Kevin Antunes
Performed by Joey Fatone
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Ron Livingston based his character on guys he knew, that worked in the corporate world. Livingston's approach was to make his character exist as if he were the New Vegas taking over Old Vegas. See more »Goofs
When Bernie is unlucky at the blackjack table, an empty table is shown with the cigarette butts quickly accumulating in the ashtray. However, this would imply there were people at the table for a long period of time, which wouldn't have been the case if people weren't winning. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Casino employee: Where's Bernie, they're killing us. Yeah, we need him right away.
See more »
Soundtracks
TomorrowWritten by Bobby Caldwell & Henry Marx
Produced by Kevin Antunes
Performed by Joey Fatone
See more »
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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.