Review of The Cooler (2003) by Edith N — 04 Dec 2007

The funny thing is, I have a certain degree of sympathy for what happens to William H. Macy's character in this--the reason, boys and girls, that I didn't get a review to you yesterday was that the apartment belonging to some friends of mine, which happens to be below ground level, flooded. Now, their complex did have a vacant (sort of--people are supposed to be moving into it in a few days) three-bedroom they could switch into, but it did still entail moving all their belongings in a bit of a hurry. I "helped"; mostly, I provided moral support and Graham. Still, I was over there until past midnight, and that's just part of the second-hand drama in my life. So spare a few good wishes for Moses, Sam, and Brynn, huh?

Anyway. William H. Macy plays Bernie, who works as a "cooler" for the last old-school casino in Vegas. He has bad luck. Just astonishingly bad. So bad, in fact, that it rubs off. Alec Baldwin has hired him to wander around breaking people's streaks, and it actually works. Until Bernie falls in love with Natalie, a waitress at the Golden Shangri-La where he works.

Alec Baldwin is the last vestige of the old Vegas--the bad old Vegas, the Vegas of [i]Casino[/i]. He actually by God breaks kneecaps. Personally, even. He is trying to keep that little slice of the old days, and Bernie is his secret weapon. He can keep control over the Shangri-La so long as he keeps it profitable, and Bernie makes sure that happens. (The fact that the odds of casinos are stacked in favour of the house doesn't hurt, either!).

On the other hand, there is Ron Livingston, who actually seriously and without irony suggests a roller coaster as an important part of a casino. He is the new Vegas, the family Vegas. No kneecap breaking, thank you. He's astonished to find that Shelly, Baldwin's character, still employs coolers, though not to find out that they exist.

Bernie is trapped between them. He just wants to be happy; one gets the feeling he never has been before, and it's a new and exciting experience for him. He'll do whatever he can to keep that happiness, but if he can't, at least he had it for a while. This isn't exactly a happy movie, but the characters are realistic, and the story actually ends sort of happily, for a given definition of "happy." And, of course, I love William H. Macy, and he's quite good in this.