The Cooler (2003)

Director:

Wayne Kramer

Writers (WGA):

Frank Hannah (written by) &
Wayne Kramer (written by)

Release Date:

27 February 2004 (Turkey)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

When your life depends on losing... the last thing you need is lady luck.

Plot:

In an old school Las Vegas casino, its top gambling jinx breaks his curse when he falls in love, much to his boss' consternation.

Plot Keywords:

Luck | Casino | Bad Luck | Cooler | Waitress

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

William H. Macy	...	Bernie Lootz
Alec Baldwin	...	Shelly Kaplow
Maria Bello	...	Natalie Belisario
Shawn Hatosy	...	Mikey
Ron Livingston	...	Larry Sokolov
Paul Sorvino	...	Buddy Stafford
Estella Warren	...	Charlene
Arthur J. Nascarella	...	Nicky Fingers Bonnatto
Joey Fatone	...	Johnny Cappella
M.C. Gainey	...	Highway Officer (as MC Gainey)
Ellen Greene	...	Doris
Don Scribner	...	Lou
Tony Longo	...	Tony
Richard Israel	...	Marty Goldfarb
Timothy Landfield	...	The Player

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence, language and some drug use. (edited version)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:16 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (edited for re-rating) | Canada:A (Ontario) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:R(A)

Filming Locations:

Landmark Hotel - Convention Center Drive and Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

ContentFilm

Trivia:

Bernie's Room 104 is located at the Town House Motor Lodge, 303 West Second Street, in Reno, Nevada. The film crew put another motel sign ("Bettor Life") over the Town House sign for filming the movie. The EZ Mini Market where Bernie shops is also at the Town House Motel. The Room 104 interiors were shot at the studio. The pool is still empty, even in the summers. The Town House is a quarter mile from the Golden Phoenix, at Second Street and Arlington in Reno.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Bernie plays craps, he is shown placing two stacks of chips side-by-side on the pass line. This is incorrect - a player's entire bet must be placed in one vertical stack. AFTER a point is established, a player make "take the odds" by placing a second stack of chips BEHIND the original pass line bet. A second stack of chips on the pass line next to the player's bet would be assumed by the crew to be a toke - a bet for the dealers.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Casino employee: Where's Bernie, they're killing us. Yeah, we need him right away.

Movie Connections:

References "MADtv" (1995)

Soundtrack:

(You May Not Be an Angel, but) I'll String Along with You

ALEC BALDWIN

The Cooler is worth seeing just for Alec Baldwin's performance alone. An old style casino boss, his inability and unwillingness to accept the new Vegas sends his volatile nature over the edge. Baldwin has always been an underrated actor- at the start of his career, the big studios made the mistake of trying to market him as a star, rather than as the quality actor that he is. He is also helped by working alongside another great actor, William H Macy, who can do more with a look than most can do with 6 OR 7 pages of dialogue ( See the scene when he realizes Maria Bello is still in his flat ). See this film for the acting. It's good to see that films like The Cooler and 21 Grams are doing well and being recognised - it is a triumph for acting and strong scripts as opposed to continual FX and CGI in modern cinema.