The Cooler Review
by Rose 'Bams' Cooper (bams AT 3blackchicks DOT com)January 20th, 2004
'3BlackChicks Review...'
THE COOLER (2003)
Rated R; running time 101 minutes
Studio: Lions Gate
Genre: Drama
Seen at: Celebration Cinema (Lansing, Michigan)
Official site: http://www.thecoolermovie.com/
IMDB site: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318374/combined Writer: Frank Hannah, Wayne Kramer
Director: Wayne Kramer
Cast: William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Alec Baldwin,
Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston, Paul Sorvino,
Estella Warren, Arthur J. Nascarella, Joey Fatone
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2004
Review URL:
http://www.3blackchicks.com/2004reviews/bamscooler.html
"Keeping an optimistic eye" being one of my new year's resolutions, I'm happy that for every TORQUE I have to endure at the beginning of every new movie year, there's a THE COOLER waiting in the wings for me.
THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**)
Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) is the epitome of the term "hard luck schleprock". His plants died on him, his cat ran away, and the closest he came to any Hot Monkey Love, was the whiplash he got from being on the wrong side of a hooker's headboard. If it weren't for bad luck, Bernie'd have no luck at all.
Bernie's bad luck is his boss' good fortune. Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin), who runs the old-school Shangri-La casino in Las Vegas, takes advantage of the dark cloud permanently hanging over Bernie's head by using Bernie as his number one COOLER - someone used to cool off the hot streaks of casino patrons, just by their mere approximity. Shelly needs all the help he can get; as one of the last remaining traditionalists in a city turning into The Epcot Of The Desert, Shelly is under pressure by his bosses, represented by Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston) and Nicky "Fingers" Bonnatto (Arthur J. Nascarella), to modernize the Shangri-La and make it more appealing to the masses.
Bernie wants nothing more than to escape his indentured servitude in Vegas, but obligations to Shelly keep him trapped in Sin City. Bernie's bad luck starts to change, when he falls for Natalie (Maria Bello), a superstitious cocktail waitress at the Shangri-La. Are all bets off for the Shangri-La, or is Bernie due for a streak of good luck for a change?
THE UPSHOT
THE COOLER is full of such goodness, it's hard to know where to begin. William H. Macy is on the short list of "he can read the phone book, and I'm There" actors I adore; and except for one notable exception (STATE AND MAIN, which, coincidentally, both he and Alec Baldwin were bad in), he has yet to disappoint me. Macy's great, but thankfully, he didn't have to carry this movie on his own. Alec Baldwin plays Old School Mob-types like few others; truth be told, he may have even stolen THE COOLER away from Macy. And I was pleasantly surprised at how well Bello and Macy (castmates on NBC's ER for a time) meshed, as unlikely lovers here. There was a sweetness to their affair, accented by the lush sax tones in the soundtrack, that made me smile as their story unfolded.
One of the best things about THE COOLER is its true-to-life feel for the realities of Las Vegas. I'd have more in common with those "e-ticket" holders that Shelly despised, than with the Old Money that he wanted to cater to; but anyone who has frequented Las Vegas over the last few decades, has to agree that it's more a glorified amusement park than someplace that really resembles that "what goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas" commercial. Through Baldwin's Shelly (and the "nostalgic" artifacts that are destroyed in the closing credits), we get a real sense of the truth that the old-timers are telling about paradise lost.
This is not to say that THE COOLER was without fault; fault almost to the point of distraction, in fact. It suffered under the weight of too many characters given short shrift (for instance, the dissonance between new jack Johnny Cappella, played by Joey Fatone, and Paul Sorvino as lounge lizard Buddy Stafford). The payoff scene at the end had me rolling my eyes. The so-called Controversial Sex Scene that was included, left me wondering what was cut (though, to be fair, that is more a fault of the MPAA, than the filmmakers). And the lack of subtlety ("EZ Mark...et"? "Johnny Capella"? "Bernie Lootz", for goodness sakes?!) on the part of writers Frank Hannah and Wayne Kramer, was rather irritating.
Still, an easy, almost natural chemistry between Macy and Bello, an electrifying performance by Baldwin, and a wonderful musical score by Mark Isham, more than makes up for any missteps. I'm betting that come Oscar night, THE COOLER should have at least one nod on the tables; for Alec Baldwin, if no one else.
BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE
William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, and Maria Bello create heat in a film that deserves a high place on anyone's "Best Of" list.
THE COOLER rating: greenlight
Rose "Bams" Cooper
Webchick and Editor,
3BlackChicks Review
Entertainment Reviews With Flava!
Copyright Rose Cooper, 2004
EMAIL: [email protected]
http://www.3blackchicks.com/
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