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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

When your life depends on losing... the last thing you need is lady luck.

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

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

When Bernie pulls up to his motel room, just prior to discovering Natalie's injuries following Shelly's visit to their room, the faulty neon sign for the EZ Mini Market is reflected in his car's windscreen. At one point it displays EZ Mark, a reference to the earlier story about how he and Shelly used to identify potential victims for a con, marking them with chalk. At the point Natalie confesses to having been paid by Shelly to get close to him, she calls Bernie an Easy (EZ) Mark.

---

Goofs

In the rooftop "Las Vegas" scene, the green lights of the Silver Legacy in Reno are plainly visible.

---

Quotes

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

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Connections

References Intacto (2001)

---

Soundtracks

Can I Steal a Little Love
(1953)
Written by Phil Tuminello
Arranged by Kevin Antunes
Performed by Joey Fatone

User Reviews

Terrific performances

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.