Cady's Take:

"The Cooler" tries to be too many things; a character study; a crime drama; a love story; a portrait of the dirty dealings within a casino and a study on the mysticism of fate and chance. The Cooler comes at you from a variety of different angles and loses focus because of it. It is a good thing the performances are so strong because the storyline is very simple and the subplots are a little contrived (the old estranged son scenario).

I might recommend this movie if you are a fan of Macy. If you thought he had explored every nook and cranny of loserville in such movies as "Fargo" and "Magnolia," think again: He makes Bernie into someone brand new. William H. Macy is always enjoyable to watch.

The actors in this film are very good, you want their characters to find happiness, but even more you want them to find better scripts.

All I have to say is HELLO ALEC BALDWIN! What a completely fabulous performance! I rented “The Cooler” ready for some serious William H. Macy action and Baldwin blew me away.

“The Cooler” is the story of Bernie Lootz (Macy), a loser in Vegas who makes his living “cooling” tables at casinos. His luck is so bad, he needs only to stand next to a winner on a hot streak before the dice come up wrong or the dealer wins the table. He works at the Shangri-La Hotel and Casino, run by Shelly Kaplow (Baldwin). Bernie is about to pay off his debt to Shelly and become a free man (Shelly had Bernie kneecapped for a bad debt, paid off his medical bills, and indentured Bernie as a cooler for his casino) when he meets Natalie (Maria Bello) and his luck begins to change. While Bernie is having sex and being happy, Shelly is trying to save his casino from a new breed of developers who think the Shangri-La needs a serious upgrade.

Then Bernie’s son Mikey shows up and some real trouble begins brewing. I won’t give away any plot points, except to say that once Shelly, Bernie, and Mikey are in a room together it is easy to see who each character really is. I like that “The Cooler” develops strong storylines around each of its characters: Shelly, Bernie, and Natalie all have their own agenda and each is given its own weight, and time to develop. The film is perfectly paced with a rich supporting cast who balance the intricacies of the main plotlines with believable performances. Most notably: Paul Sorvino as an aging, heroin-addicted lounge singer.

Macy is the king of the screen losers and while his onscreen chemistry with Maria Bello is undeniable it is Alec Baldwin who steals the show – his Shelly is at once kind and cruel, sentimental and brutal. This is a must-see movie.