The Cooler (2003)

“Lootz is kryptonite on a stick. ” – Shelly

Number of Times Seen – 1 (15 Nov 2016)

Brief Synopsis – A lonely jinx who works at a top casino in Las Vegas has his life and luck turned around when he falls in love with a waitress.

My Take on it – This is a wannabe Martin Scorsese gangster film that just doesn’t work as well as it thinks it could.

The plot is very uneven and things jerk around too quickly to really seem plausible.

The characters are all stereotypes and it’s easy to figure out what they will do or react each and every time.

The acting is either over-the-top terrible (Alex Baldwin) or non-existent and laughable.

The one nice spot here is William H. Macy who always helps things shine when he is around.

Unfortunately, as great as he is, his chemistry with co-star Maria Bello is completely off and it’s hard to even root for theim to stay together.

This is a shame because Bello is also a great actress and can do much better than what she had to deal with here.

Bottom Line – Feels too much like a Scorsese wannabe film and doesn’t do the genre justice. Macy is the only truly great thing about this film. The plot seems a bit too weird. The characters are completely uneven and the acting is either over the top or non-existent. As great as Macy is, he has little to no chemistry with Bello which is a shame because she is normally a great actress.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – William H. Macy said that when the film was shown in European film festivals, afterward people mostly discussed the script and the characters, but when the film was shown at American film festivals, people mostly discussed how good Maria Bello looked in her nude scenes. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy

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