Review: Cooler, The (2003)

"The Cooler"

A man stands at the roulette table at the Shangri-La
casino in Las Vegas and is cleaning out the house with
win after win. Like an apparition, Bernie Lootz
(William H. Macy) appears next to the guy and brushes
his hand as he places a bet. Suddenly, the winner is a
loser and Bernie moves on to stop the next lucky
gambler in "The Cooler."

First time helmer Wayne Kramer brings us into a
throwback world of a Las Vegas of long ago. Shelly
Kaplow is the headman at the Shangri-La, an
old-fashioned casino that eschews the family oriented
entertainment world that the city has become. Shelly
jealously guards his hold on his establishment and
resists changing with the times, especially since he
makes a big profit using the talents of his cooler,
Bernie. Lootz, it seems, has such a knack for bad luck
that he only has to stand near a gambler to change the
fellows luck. Bernie was in to Shelly for a hundred
grand and is near the point where he will finish
paying off the debt and leave Vegas forever.

As the end of Bernie's indentured state of being draws
to a close, things happen that could threaten it all.
He meets a pretty, timeworn waitress named Natalie
(Maria Bello) and the two begin to fall in love. This
has the negative effect, for Shelly and the casino, of
causing Bernie to lose his magical powers to turn
winners into losers. Suddenly, Lootz's worth, and his
ability to finish paying off his debt, are in
jeopardy. Then, Bernie's ne'er-do-well son, Mikey
(Shawn Hatosy), and his floozy girlfriend, Charlene
(Estella Warren), arrive at his door and they plan on
sponging as much as they can from the hapless man.
Trouble is brewing for Bernie.

"The Cooler," written by Kramer and Frank Hannah,
tries to do too many things and loses focus because of
it. There is the budding romance between Bernie and
Natalie, two people who have suffered the hard knocks
of life and, finally, appear to have found their soul
mate in the each other. Then, there is the hard-boiled
Vegas gambling flick with Shelly running a tough but
fair gambling house that is on the verge of being
taken over by the greedy front office boys, rep'ed in
the person of Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston). And,
then, there is the sleazy son come home to introduce
even more friction into Bernie's already tough life.
Too many balls are being kept in the air here.

William H. Macy has always been a favorite actor of
mine and proves, once again, his ability to create a
three-dimensional character. Bernie, you can tell at
glance, is a likable loser. When his debt piled up at
the Shangri-La, Shelly had one of his kneecaps
smashed, leaving Bernie with a permanent limp. But,
business is business and, being practical, Lootz
agreed to become the casino's cooler - to great
success. Macy is best, though, with Maria Bello and
their oddball little romance carries the strongest
resonance in "The Cooler." Bello is also a likable
character and displays the vulnerability beneath the
tough exterior her life forced her to build. There is
nice chemistry between the two characters.

Alec Baldwin is developing into a skilled character
actor and does a 3-D job with Shelly Kaplow. The
casino boss is a holdover to the mob-controlling days
of a Las Vegas of long, long ago. He is not averse to
busting heads for infraction of the rules but there is
a melancholy kindness under the surface. He cares
about his casino and is proud of his stance against
the juggernaut of family entertainment that is
invading his beloved Vegas. While I thought their
characters and their story line a distraction, both
Shawn Hatosy and Estella Warren are suitably sleazy as
Mikey and Charlene - cheap, white, trailer trash, for
sure. A strong supporting cast is underutilized though
Paul Sorvino garners sympathy as the junkie, has-been
lounge singer Buddy Stafford. Joey Fatone gives a funk
stage act as Buddy's up-and-coming replacement song
and dance man, Johnny Cappella.

Tech credits are good with Toby Corbett's production
design giving the Shangri-La casino a nostalgic, early
80's feel when gambling was gambling and family
entertainment was relegated to Disney World. Lensing
by James Whitaker is tight and fast moving, lending to
the excitement and hubbub of the casino and its
clientele. 

"The Cooler" is a pretty fair calling card for
first-timer Kramer. The script is too busy and could
have been pared down and tightened but it is
entertaining on different levels. I give it a B-.


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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1223745
X-RT-TitleID: 1127399
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X-RT-RatingText: B-