One character in "The Cooler" is so fascinating that it's hard to take your eyes off him. And you want to see more of him.
Unfortunately, that's not the film's title character, played by William H. Macy. It's second-billed Alec Baldwin, who's not in "The Cooler" nearly enough.
And that's a huge problem for this character study. (It should be noted that there is a lengthy sex scene here, which pushes the film's R rating even though it has been trimmed from the version seen at last year's Sundance Film Festival.)
Macy stars as Bernie Lootz, possibly the unluckiest gambler in Las Vegas. Bernie is so unlucky that he's been employed by a casino as a "cooler," someone who can infect other gamblers with his bad luck.
Bernie's fortunate to have the job, which helps him pay off his huge gambling debt. And the casino manager, Shelly Kaplow (Baldwin), has put him up in a hotel and sees that his needs are taken care of.
But Bernie desperately wants to get out.
So Shelly pays one of his waitresses, Natalie (Maria Bello), to start showing an interest in Bernie. But, of course, she falls for this gambling albatross, and the two of them start pooling their resources and prepare to leave Vegas when the time is right.
Filmmaker Wayne Kramer (who co-wrote the screenplay) has some interesting ideas here. But he wastes too much time on go-nowhere subplots, such as the one about Bernie's estranged, drug-addicted son (Shawn Hatosy). Baldwin is really the film's only compelling element, and he almost wills the movie to be better. (Bellow also brings depth to an otherwise underwritten character.)
That Baldwin's supporting turn so outweighs the usually watchable Macy is a bit surprising. But Macy has played this kind of lovable-loser character so many times that he seems to be coasting.
"The Cooler" is rated R for excessive use of strong sexual profanity and crude sexual slang terms and references, a particularly graphic scene of simulated sex, strong scenes of violence (brutal beatings and violence against women), full male and female nudity, simulated drug use (cocaine), and use of racial epithets. Running time: 101 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com