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3.0 out of 5 stars
MUDDLED, BUT WORTHWHILE, Jul 16 2004
The Cooler is a dark tale of luck and free will. It is loaded with brilliant performances. Yet it falls well short of its potential.The best thing about The Cooler is Maria Bello. She is among a handful of the most beautiful women on the screen these days. As Natalie she exudes an emotional depth and an aching honesty that almost makes this movie something great. Almost. Despite similarly wonderful performances from Baldwin and Macy, this dark comedy drowns in its "dark" (dank to be more precise). The Cooler can't figure out if it wants to be a gangster flick, a romantic comedy, a dark comedy, or an elegy for the old ways of Vegas. That the movie almost pulls this off is a credit to the actors involved. The Cooler misses its mark though. I found it enjoyable, but I have the feeling that most of my friends would either have their patience tested or balk at the heavy violence and sexual content. People watching a slightly more humorous version of Leaving Las Vegas still have to deal with the existential goo of Leaving Las Vegas--no matter the outcome or humor along the way. That said, if you feel you're up to the challenge, The Cooler, for all its scattershot befuddlement, does sing a strain of the greatest song of all: the song of Love and its power to save and transform--a song well worth listening to--in any form. "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it."
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