The Cooler

Released 2003
Stars William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Rong Livingston, Paul Sorvino, Estella Warren, Arthur J. Nascarella
Directed by Wayne Kramer

Bernie, played by William H. Macy as another of his gloomy everymen, is a professional loser: A "cooler" is what his boss Shelly (Alec Baldwin) calls him. He is employed by the Shangri-La casino to wander the floor, bringing an end to winning streaks. But now modern Las Vegas is catching up with Bernie and Shelly. A group of investors have brought in a hotshot from business school to update the Shangri-La, which is the last of the old-style casinos. Shelley hates this idea; taking a dig at Steve Wynn's vision for the new Vegas and saying his place is "not for the stroller crowd" but for old-timers with real money.

"The Cooler" is old-fashioned in the way the Shangri-La is old-fashioned, and I mean that as a compliment. This is a movie without gimmicks, hooks or flashy slickness. It gives us characters who are worn and real, who inhabit a world that is seen with unforgiving perception, whose fates have more to do with their personalities than with the requirements of the plot. The acting is on the money, the writing has substance, the direction knows when to evoke film noir and when (in a trick shot involving loaded dice) to get fancy.

Summary by Roger Ebert

I love Las Vegas, and I enjoy movies where two broken people find each other. Of course, this one has both, and I loved it. It's full of interesting characters who really come to life, and William Macy and Alec Baldwin are in top form. Shelly (Alec Baldwin) gives a great speech about old Vegas and the new Disneyland version. I was laughing, because I'm one of the mooks that loves the new Vegas. I love the mega-casinos, and I don't like the old, dirty downtown at all. It's true some of the new casinos are like an ugly hooker with garish makeup (Excalibur), but others like the Bellagio, Venetian, Mirage, etc. are gorgeous. I liked the idea of the proposed Shangri-la, but I can empathize with the old timers who remember Vegas from the Sinatra period. For better or worse, that period is gone, and so is the mob (at least overtly). Shelly and the rest of the mob characters were a lot of fun--violent and unpredictable, but at least the owners were trying to get with the new program. I'm not sure I bought Shelly's resignation to go out with a bang, but it fit well with the lion analogy. Then there was Bernie's character who was walking bad luck, and I definitely bought his resignation to being the unluckiest person on earth. It was fun to watch his luck turn 180 degrees when he fell in love, and everyone on the floor became very happy. That luck continued to the end in what could be described as poetic justice. This movie is a real treasure. --Bill Alward, May 7, 2004