The Cooler (2003)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Very best movie i ever watch

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

But maybe this disappointment has to do with expectations. For example, I though this movie would provide greater insight into the mind of a gambler and the way a casino operates, but it doesn't; on the contrary, it seems to be propelled by the outdated notion that all casino bosses are gangsters and killers. The trailer also makes it look relatively lighthearted, but it has some bursts of violence that are both disturbing and unnecessary. Stylistically, with one exception (the scene where Baldwin "x-rays" the hand of an unusually lucky guy), "The Cooler' plays like an R-rated TV movie. The basic idea is clever, but the plot doesn't do much with it: first Macy is unlucky, then he gets lucky, then unlucky again, then lucky, and so forth. Although Macy and Bello must be one of the most unlikely erotic pairings in recent memory, they are otherwise well-cast in their roles; Baldwin gives the film edge, and deserved his Oscar nomination and other awards for this role. ** out of 4.

For the uninformed, Coolers are those who supposedly bring bad luck to the gambling table and are an old fashioned ploy by the casino bosses to make sure that the money of the house stays in the house. They are used to cool the hot winning spree of the players. The Cooler is a story which revolves around three characters, the casino boss Shelly (Alec Baldwin in his only Oscar nominated role), his cooler Bernie (William H Macy) and the woman he falls in love with, Natalie (Maria Bello). Shelly is being pestered by his other partners to have the casino renovated because they feel it is too old fashioned. In particular there is a Harvard graduate (Ron Livingston) who is giving him advice about how to run the casino. To compound matters for him, the cooler begins to lose his touch when he falls in love with a waitress who works at the casino. Shot stylishly this is a delightful movie. The jazz throughout the film gives it a nostalgic flavor. The songs playing in the background are excellent. The real strength of the film is the acting. Baldwin is intense, mean, foul mouthed and scary which is a new act for him but he pulls it off pretty well. Bello is very good as the woman who inadvertently falls in love with Macy. But this is Macy's movie out and out. He is excellent as the crippled, tense and afraid of his own luck cooler and you will find yourself rooting for him. 4 out of 5. Watch this for Macy. He will end up mesmerizing you.

As Golden Age perceptions uneasily change hands with New Money in today's Las Vegas, a casino owner with nostalgic leanings towards 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 design, some 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 fill-in-the-blank 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 finale is. The movie's point seems to be "Casinos don't appreciate it when a gambler wins", yet the bittersweet finish belies this, probably for the sake of the box-office. ** from ****

It's a real travesty that the TV guide has this film listed in the Drama genre because "The Cooler" was clearly conceived as a comedy. . . maybe. I don't know. Perhaps this was supposed to be written seriously in the beginning and the writers ran out of plot points and had to switch at the last minute. I doubt it because, with everything else that counts--dialog, playing to classic noir tropes, and coming up with great comedic moments of comeuppance for these beat-down characters--they hit the screenplay out of the park.What further helps sell the film is the acting, lead by William H. Macy, whom I feel is the next Cary Grant. While Grant was continually typecasts as the suave protagonist, Macy constantly gets the role of the loser whether it be this or "Magnolia". They both play to their strengths excellently, but both also has the ability to step and prove themselves outside of these roles (Macy did wonders in "Andersonville"). Alec Baldwin and Mario Bello don't really step out that much, but they are given great lines and deliver them with equal greatness as Macy.But, as far as the story goes, yeah, I think this plays out better if you take it with a grain of salt. Macy's character's strength in this film is luck, and whenever you add a bit of magic, it also comes with a bit of silliness. This magic, however, is handled great in the final battle, which brings something completely new to the table (no pun intended) by making it completely dependent on that luck and out of the hero's hands.Even with it's great execution, the very end does drag its feet a bit and I'm pretty sure I laughed at some moments I wasn't supposed to (at least I don't think you're supposed to laugh at expositional confessions about lost children. . .) Anyway, those are only minor nitpicks for a fun film of which I consider essential lazy Sunday evening viewing. Don't miss it.