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 | sex in bed | girl in panties | public nudity | leg spreading | 

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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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

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, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$8,243,880, 21 March 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

ContentFilm, Pierce/Williams Entertainment, Furst Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The casinos demolished in the closing credits are: the Aladdin, the Sands, the Landmark, and the Dunes. The Dunes was bought and demolished in a giant pyrotechnic display begun by Steve Wynn when he fired a mock cannon from Treasure Island; in part he did it to insult The Dunes' former owners; the property became the Bellagio; Wynn has since sold all of his Mirage Resorts properties to MGM Grand and bought the Desert Inn, which he demolished to build Wynn Las Vegas. The Sands was where the Rat Pack held The Summit, a series of shows they did for fun while filming the original Ocean's 11 (1960), an epoch that helped to define the Las Vegas that Shelly Kaplow mourns in The Cooler; The Venetian now stands on the Sands' lot. The Aladdin was rebuilt, but has performed poorly due to its similarity to all the other megacasinos, overbuilding in Vegas, and the slower economy. The Landmark's demolition can be seen in Mars Attacks! (1996); the property was used to expand parking for the Las Vegas Convention Center.

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Goofs

During the opening credits, the croupier of a roulette table which Bernie has cooled puts the win marker on (00) double zero. However, the ball is still in motion and hasn't yet landed in any slot.

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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

Referenced in Primeval: Episode #2.2 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Blue Shelly
(2003)
Written and Performed by Mark Isham

User Reviews

Oddly compelling story of luck and love

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.