ernie Lootz (Macy) is such a loser that his horrible luck is contagious. For the last few years, Bernie has been working as "cooler" in the Shangri-La casino in Las Vegas. He need only stand next to a hot table and winners instantly become losers.
The Shangri-La is run by Shelly Kaplow, an old-school boss whose idea of kindness was to break Bernie's kneecaps and let him work off his extensive gambling debts instead of killing him. But Shelly's Vegas is slowly fading away as the city's casinos grow ever more family-friendly. Wanting a piece of the new Vegas, the owners of the Shangri-La have brought in Larry Sokolov (Livingston), a "numbers man" who seeks to overhaul Shelly's beloved casino into a theme-park-like establishment.
The timing couldn't be worse for Bernie's contract with Shelly to be running out. With only a few days of his obligation left, Bernie is ready to hit the road and leave Vegas behind him forever. That is, until he meets Natalie (Bello), an attractive cocktail waitress with more than her share of bad luck. When the unlikely pair falls in love, both of their fortunes change for the better and Bernie suddenly finds himself on the winning streak of his life. But Shelly isn't about to let the best cooler in Las Vegas get away that easily.
A modern fable for the romantic at heart
The Cooler isn't the most thematically rich film of the year, but it may be the most heartfelt. The uncomplicated premise leaves room for first-time director Kramer to explore the characters and their relationships to each other in a world where love is precious and rare.
At the heart of this small but endearing film are three outstanding performances from the lead actors, Macy, Bello and Baldwin. The always reliable Macy brings his characteristic earnestness and amenity to Bernie, a character that was written with him in mind. He and Bello generate palpable chemistry together, especially in their sweetly realistic love scenes. Baldwin has been handed his best role in recent memory, and he clearly knows it. He manages to give even the seemingly heartless and sadistic Shelly a certain empathetic quality.
First-time director Wayne Kramer uses some clever cinematic tricks to mark Macy's transition from mopey sad sack to charismatic hero gradually but definitively. Every aspect of the film, from the lighting to the costumes to the music, changes when Bernie finds his lady luck. But Kramer unfortunately falls into the trap of many first-time directors, oversimplifying the film's message. The dialogue is often stilted, and while it may hit the right notes, it hits them so hard they're nearly out of tune.
In the end, though, The Cooler leaves the audience with a warm feeling and a belief in both the self-fulfilling prophecy and the transforming power of love. And any film that can do that is a pretty safe bet.
