Toronto

This could have been a great movie, with some heavy tweaking. The story was somewhat... different, depicting a man so unlucky that his misfortune can be transfered to other people. All the characters in the movie are superstitious fools, but it works well within the context of the movie. Macy is the down-on-his-luck, but likeable chap Bernie. Maria Bello plays his love interest and she has a great performance here. Alec Baldwin does the antagonist with a deliciously nasty growl. His role is the most entertaining in the movie. The problem with The Cooler is that it starts getting out of control about two-thirds of the way through. The main point is repeated and repeated until it just becomes monotonous, and Alec Baldwin's Shelley goes from being a realistic scumbag to a cartoony maniac. Not to say it isn't entertaining when he is over the top--it is--but it seems out of place. When there is violence, it is of the Good Fellas/Reservoir Dogs variety, cringe-inducing and graphic, and it seems just a wee bit strong for this movie, not that I'm complaining, but it's just a little out of place. And the sex scenes, while tastefully and realistically done, are not for those who like to use their imagination, let's just put it that way. Overall, The Cooler is a good movie if you like casino pictures and have a tolerance for superstitious mumbo-jumbo, and while it is entertaining, it just tries too hard to be something that it isn't to be taken seriously.

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