The Cooler
Encyclopedia
The Cooler is a 2003 romantic drama film directed by Wayne Kramer
Wayne Kramer (filmmaker)
Wayne Kramer is a South African screenwriter, film producer, storyboard artist and film director.Kramer has written and directed films such as The Cooler, Crossing Over, Blazeland and Running Scared...

. The original screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...

 was written by Kramer and Frank Hannah
Frank Hannah
Frank Hannah is a Scottish-born screenwriter and filmmaker.Francis Michael Hannah was born in Clydebank, Scotland. He wrote the film The Cooler with friend and mentor Wayne Kramer...

. In gambling parlance, a "cooler" is an unlucky individual whose presence at the tables results in a streak of bad luck for the other players.

Plot

Unlucky Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...

) has little going for him: He lives in a dreary studio apartment
Studio apartment
A studio apartment, also known as a studio flat , efficiency apartment or bachelor/bachelorette style apartment, is a small apartment which combines living room, bedroom, and kitchen or kitchenette into a single room...

 in a rundown motel on the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...

, he's indebted to Shangri-La casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

 boss Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...

), who years earlier cured him of a gambling habit by destroying his kneecap, and he can't recall the last time he had physical contact with a woman. His success as a "cooler" is jeopardized when cocktail waitress Natalie Belisario (Maria Bello
Maria Bello
Maria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...

) seemingly takes an interest in him, and his luck — and that of those around him — takes a turn for the better. What Bernie doesn't know is that Shelly has paid the woman to seduce him into staying in town. What Shelly doesn't know is that Natalie actually has fallen in love with Bernie, and vice versa. Additional complications arise when Shelly, an old-timer who resents the Disneyfication
Disneyfication
Disneyfication is a term which describes the transformation of something, usually society at large, to resemble The Walt Disney Company's theme parks. The latter term appears in Sharon Zukin's book, The Cultures of Cities , and was popularized by Alan Bryman in a 2004 book, The Disneyization of...

 of Vegas, resists the efforts of new Shangri-La advisers, including Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 graduate and condescending upstart Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston
Ron Livingston
Ronald Joseph "Ron" Livingston is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a sardonic writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries...

), to update the property and bring it into the 21st century.

Cast

  • William H. Macy
    William H. Macy
    William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...

     as Bernie Lootz
  • Alec Baldwin
    Alec Baldwin
    Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...

     as Shelly Kaplow
  • Maria Bello
    Maria Bello
    Maria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...

     as Natalie Belisario
  • Shawn Hatosy
    Shawn Hatosy
    Shawn Wayne Hatosy is an actor with over 40 film and television credits to his name.-Personal life:Hatosy was born in Frederick, Maryland, the son of Carol , a loan officer, and Wayne Hatosy, a graphic designer and event planning director...

     as Mikey
  • Ron Livingston
    Ron Livingston
    Ronald Joseph "Ron" Livingston is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a sardonic writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries...

     as Larry Sokolov
  • Paul Sorvino
    Paul Sorvino
    Paul Anthony Sorvino is an American actor. He often portrays authority figures on both sides of the law, and is possibly best known for his roles as Paulie Cicero, a portrayal of Paul Vario in the film Goodfellas and Sgt. Phil Cerreta on the police procedural and legal drama television series Law...

     as Buddy Stafford
  • Estella Warren
    Estella Warren
    Estella Dawn Warren is a Canadian actress, former fashion model, and a former synchronized swimmer. Her swimming career includes time on the National Canadian Team including 3 national titles. Her work in modeling is known through publications such as Sports Illustrated as well as working for...

     as Charlotte
  • Arthur J. Nascarella
    Arthur J. Nascarella
    Arthur J. Nascarella is an American actor who has appeared in dozens of films, most often playing a mobster or police officer. Among his notable film credits include a corrupt cop in Cop Land , a hypocritical ambulance captain in Bringing Out The Dead and a fed-up casino boss in The Cooler; he has...

     as Nicky Fingers Bonnatto
  • Joey Fatone
    Joey Fatone
    Joseph Anthony "Joey" Fatone, Jr. is an American singer, dancer, actor and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband, 'N Sync, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars...

     as Johnny Cappella
  • Ellen Greene
    Ellen Greene
    Ellen Greene is an American singer and actress. Greene has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actor and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many films – notably Little Shop of Horrors...

     as Doris
  • MC Gainey as Highway officer

Production

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

. It was shown at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events....

, the Toronto Film Festival, and the Deauville Film Festival, among others, before going into limited release in the United States.

In an episode of the Sundance Channel series Anatomy of a Scene
Anatomy of a Scene
Anatomy of a Scene is a television series produced by and aired regularly on Sundance Channel since 2001. As a tagline for the series notes, each 30-minute episode "dissects the art of filmmaking" of a scene from a specific film, often a film previously showcased at a Sundance Film Festival.An...

, director Wayne Kramer and members of his cast and crew discussed various aspects of the film. In order to show Bernie's evolution from loser to winner, costume design
Costume design
Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...

er Kristin M. Burke dressed him in suits that progressively became better fits. Early in the film, the character resembles a boy dressed in his father's oversized clothing. By the end, he not only is wearing the right size suit, but he has accessorized it with a brightly colored shirt and tie that represents his sunnier disposition. Lighting schemes designed by cinematographer Jim Whitaker also contributed to documenting Bernie's progression. In early scenes, his face is kept in the shadows, but later he is filmed in a spotlight and backlit to make him stand out from everything behind him.

The Golden Phoenix Reno, which was scheduled for a total refurbishment, was used as the interiors of the Shangri-La. The Golden Phoenix was closed in 2006, and since then has been undergoing a conversion to condominiums, named The Montage. The hotel buildings demolished during the closing credits
Closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the...

 are the Aladdin, the Sands
Sands Hotel
The Sands Hotel was a historic Las Vegas Strip hotel/casino that operated from December 15, 1952 to June 30, 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, the Sands was the seventh resort that opened on the Strip....

, the Landmark
The Landmark Hotel and Casino
The Landmark Tower was a hotel/casino located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Landmark opened on July 1, 1969 and closed on August 8, 1990.The Landmark played host to famous celebrities such as Danny Thomas, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Freddy Fender's first appearance.With just 525 rooms, the...

, and the Dunes
Dunes (hotel and casino)
The Dunes Hotel was a Paradise, Nevada, hotel and casino that operated from May 23, 1955 to January 26, 1993, and was the tenth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The Bellagio now stands on the former grounds.-History:...

 hotels.

The song "Almost Like Being in Love
Almost Like Being in Love
"Almost Like Being in Love" is a popular song published in 1947. The music was written by Frederick Loewe, and the lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner....

", used to mark Bernie's transition from sad sack to winner, was written by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...

 for the stage musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 Brigadoon.

According to the 2006 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 This Film Is Not Yet Rated
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
This Film is Not Yet Rated is a 2006 independent documentary film about the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system and its effect on American culture, directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Eddie Schmidt. It premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released limited on...

, the MPAA originally rated the film NC-17 because of a glimpse of Maria Bello's pubic hair
Pubic hair
Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area, the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region....

 during a sex scene. An edited version rated R was released in theaters. A director's cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...

 has been broadcast by the Independent Film Channel
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...

 and Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...

.

The film, budgeted at $4 million, grossed $8,291,572 in the United States and $2,173,216 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $10,464,788.

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews and with considerable praise to Baldwin's performance. Writing for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, A.O. Scott said, "The setting ... is a little tired, and the premise is pretty hokey. Mr. Kramer, rather than trying to discover anything new, is content to recycle familiar characters and story lines. The script ... and the direction are skillful, if occasionally gimmicky ... Luckily this picture is rescued from cliché by the quality of the acting, and Mr. Kramer wisely gives the actors room to work."

Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 gave the film a 77% "Fresh" rating with the consensus: "A small movie with superb performances."

Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

 of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...

said the film "has a strange way of being broad and twisted at the same time, so that while we surf the surface of the story, unexpected developments are stirring beneath ... This is a movie without gimmicks, hooks or flashy slickness ... The acting is on the money, the writing has substance, the direction knows when to evoke film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...

 and when ... to get fancy."

In Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

, Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...

 rated the film 3½ out of a possible four stars and added, "Wayne Kramer, who co-wrote the scrappy script with Frank Hannah, makes a potent directing debut and strikes gold with the cast... Top of the line is Baldwin, whose revelatory portrayal of an old Vegas hard-liner in thrall to the town's faded allure is the stuff Oscars are made of. From James Whitaker's seductive camerawork to Mark Isham's lush score, The Cooler places all the smart bets and hits the jackpot."

Mark Holcomb of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...

said, "Taking a page from the Sin City cinema revisionist's handbook, The Cooler mimics the Vegas insider's perspective of Casino
Casino (film)
Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...

(without Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...

's fetishistic attention to detail), the seedy/saccharine insouciance of FX's Lucky
Lucky (TV series)
Lucky is an American dark comedy television series which ran for one season on FX Networks in 2003. The show starred John Corbett as Michael "Lucky" Linkletter, a professional poker player and gambling addict. The series was created by Robb Cullen and Mark Cullen...

(devoid of quirky chutzpah
Chutzpah
Chutzpah is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad, but it is generally used negatively. The Yiddish word derives from the Hebrew word , meaning "insolence", "audacity". The modern English usage of the word has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in...

), and the couch-potato glitz of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's Las Vegas
Las Vegas (TV series)
Las Vegas was an American television series broadcast by NBC from September 22, 2003 to February 15, 2008. The show focuses on a team of people working at the ficticional Montecito Resort & Casino dealing with issues that arise within the working environment, ranging from valet parking and...

 ... What's left never gels as fantasy, drama, or romantic comedy... [the] film never amounts to more than a cute idea stretched to poker-chip thinness."

Awards and nominations

Wins
  • National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor
    National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor
    The National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the annual film awards given by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.- 1950s :- 1960s :- 1970s :- 1980s :-1990s:- 2000s :-2010s:...

     (Alec Baldwin
    Alec Baldwin
    Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...

    , winner)
  • Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
    Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
    The Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture is one of the Satellite Awards presented annually by the International Press Academy.- 1990s :Best Supporting Actress – Drama*1996: Courtney Love - The People vs...

     (Maria Bello
    Maria Bello
    Maria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...

    , winner)
  • Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
    Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
    The winners of the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor are listed below.- 2000s :- 2010s :...

     (Baldwin, winner)
  • Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
    Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
    The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award given by the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association to honor the best achievements in filmmaking.-2000s:-2010s:-References:...

     (Baldwin, winner)


Nominations
  • Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
    Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
    The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year....

     (Baldwin, nominee)
  • Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
    Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
    Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...

     (Baldwin, nominee)
  • Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
    Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
    The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year....

     (Bello, nominee)
  • Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
    Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
    The Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama is an annual award given by the International Press Academy as one of its Satellite Awards.- 1996–1999 :- 2000–2009 :-2010–2019:...

     (William H. Macy
    William H. Macy
    William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...

    , nominee)
  • Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
    Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
    The Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the annual Satellite Awards given by the International Press Academy.-Drama :2000: Bruce Greenwood – Thirteen Days*Jeff Bridges – The Contender as Jackson Evans...

     (Baldwin, nominee)
  • Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay
    Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay
    The Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay is an annual award given by the International Press Academy.- 1990s :*1996: Lone Star*1996: The People vs...

     (Frank Hannah
    Frank Hannah
    Frank Hannah is a Scottish-born screenwriter and filmmaker.Francis Michael Hannah was born in Clydebank, Scotland. He wrote the film The Cooler with friend and mentor Wayne Kramer...

     and Wayne Kramer
    Wayne Kramer (filmmaker)
    Wayne Kramer is a South African screenwriter, film producer, storyboard artist and film director.Kramer has written and directed films such as The Cooler, Crossing Over, Blazeland and Running Scared...

    , nominees)
  • Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture (Baldwin, nominee)
  • Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture (Bello, nominee)
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