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| | Salesrank: 225523
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| Our Price: $32.98 |
| Used Price: $12.50 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The premise of this swinging Vegas picture is enough to carry it over its narrative rough spots. The unluckiest sap on the planet (William H. Macy) is employed as a "cooler" at a casino; his very presence can chill the hot streak of any patron on a roll. He's valued by the old-school manager of the place, a role given a two-fisted, bourbon-swilling incarnation by Alec Baldwin. Macy means to quit, but then he falls for a waitress (the excellent Maria Bello, from Permanent Midnight)--might his luck be changing? The subplots are pretty much a mess, but the frank sex scenes between Macy and Bello give the movie a truly offbeat feel. The tawdry air of a second-rate casino is also nicely done: This is not the new family-friendly Las Vegas, but a tough place of superstitions, sinister back rooms, and shabby motels. The characters are perfectly at home. --Robert Horton
The Cooler Reviews:
Excellent ! 
2009-12-14 - You know the plot, you know the actors.
Now go buy this film unrated.
You won't be disappointed.
Ruined by the ending 
2009-08-08 - The ridiculously contrived 'happy' ending is totally out of character with the noir spirit of the rest of the movie, and the viewer is left to wonder what was the point of the story. Worse, a wonderfully ironic ending was right before the writers' eyes and they missed it. When Alec Baldwin's character comes over and begins watching Macy at the craps table, Macy should continue losing, then walk over to Baldwin and say, "You don't need me anymore. You have a new cooler. More of a loser than I ever was." And walk off. Baldwin's life is now worse than Macy's and he has taken over the role as the contagious loser.
Engaging character piece 
2009-07-17 - The Bottom Line:
A fine showcase for the talents of William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin, as well as an atmospheric look at the non-Disney side of Las Vegas, The Cooler is recommended to anyone who likes relatively quiet and intense dramas.
3/4
The Cooler
2009-01-30 - Great action, actors and entertaining. Violence at times. Tells it like
it could have been there then.
Average 
2008-09-19 - Maria Bello is 1 of the sexiest & most interesting actresses around. She's not a superstar, but consistently delivers the goods in films not worthy of her talents. Perhaps the only vehicle I've ever seen that did her talents justice is the cult tv series Nowhere Man- where she appeared in an episode as the lead character's love interest. In The Cooler, she portrays Natalie Belisario- a Vegas cocktail waitress at the Shangri-La casino, hired by casino boss Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin) to seduce the casino's `cooler'- fellow hired to bring bad luck to people on hot streaks- Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) into not quitting his job at the end of a week, after paying himself out of Kaplow's debt.
Basically, Bello's the only real reason to watch the film- her acting as the waitress who falls in love with Bernie is believable, given the somewhat convoluted tale. Her background of being treated like crap makes her easily fall for the luckless, but decent Bernie, thus into Shelly's bad graces. At the Oscars this year Baldwin boasted of stealing his tough Mafioso performance from Ben Kingsley's turn as Don Logan in Sexy Beast, & it's true. Baldwin's character is acting throughout, not Baldwin. There isn't an ounce of true menace in his character, whereas Kingsley's character exuded it from the back of his bald head.... Although the film's main character is Macy's Bernie, & Baldwin got the Oscar nod, the only thing likely to stick in your mind about this mediocre film is Bello's performance, for- unlike the other characters- hers is the only 1 which rises above its characterization. If only the film could have kept pace.
