First I should say that I saw an Oscar screener of this film, the unrated version, and I was glad I had the opportunity to consider it.
"The Cooler" is a delight. Pure and simple. It tells the story of the quintessential lovable loser falling in love with the proverbial hooker with a heart of gold, and even though you see everything coming a mile away you root for the good guys all the way through.
Macy is Bernie, "the cooler," a man with a knack for losing who's stuck in a rut. He's working off a debt by cooling tables, sitting next to people, or betting on their roulette games and radiating his bad luck onto them, insuring the house will make a profit. in short, Bernie is the ultimate loser.
He works for Shelly, played by a brilliant Alec Baldwin, a hardass casino tycoon who wants to keep his casino, the shangri-la, forerver in the days of vegas yore. Shelly is at first a sympathetic, albeit tough, boss. overtime his true colors shine through the vegas glitter he casts. and of course, in time, shelly gets what's coming to him.
Maria Bello breaks through as the love interest, the movie's lady luck. She's the gal who grabs Bernie by the heart and turns him from winner to loser. An Oscar nomination might be overdoing it a little for this role, but on the other hand it might usher a new actress into the spotlight.
Ron Livingston, Paul Sorvino, and Joey Fatone have memorable roles as well.
I watched "The Cooler" just minutes after seeing the devastating "21 Grams," and the stark contrast in ideologies may have contributed to its hokey, sentimental appeal. So check it out on a bad day when you need something to smile about.
"The Cooler" is a delight. Pure and simple. It tells the story of the quintessential lovable loser falling in love with the proverbial hooker with a heart of gold, and even though you see everything coming a mile away you root for the good guys all the way through.
Macy is Bernie, "the cooler," a man with a knack for losing who's stuck in a rut. He's working off a debt by cooling tables, sitting next to people, or betting on their roulette games and radiating his bad luck onto them, insuring the house will make a profit. in short, Bernie is the ultimate loser.
He works for Shelly, played by a brilliant Alec Baldwin, a hardass casino tycoon who wants to keep his casino, the shangri-la, forerver in the days of vegas yore. Shelly is at first a sympathetic, albeit tough, boss. overtime his true colors shine through the vegas glitter he casts. and of course, in time, shelly gets what's coming to him.
Maria Bello breaks through as the love interest, the movie's lady luck. She's the gal who grabs Bernie by the heart and turns him from winner to loser. An Oscar nomination might be overdoing it a little for this role, but on the other hand it might usher a new actress into the spotlight.
Ron Livingston, Paul Sorvino, and Joey Fatone have memorable roles as well.
I watched "The Cooler" just minutes after seeing the devastating "21 Grams," and the stark contrast in ideologies may have contributed to its hokey, sentimental appeal. So check it out on a bad day when you need something to smile about.