By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: Wayne Kramer
Starring: Alec Baldwin | Joey Fatone | Maria Bello | Paul Sorvino | William H. Macy
Country: united_states
Year: 2003
Running time: 103
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318374/combined
Hilary says: “In this formulaic yarn William H. Macy plays Bernie Lootz, the unluckiest fella ever. Lootz is a ‘cooler’ working to spread his bad luck to the patrons of The Golden Shangri-La, an old-school Las Vegas casino run by Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin). Kaplow struggles under pressure from a Harvard-educated consultant (Ron Livingston) who has teamed with the local muscle to transform the Shangri-La into a more ‘family-friendly’ corporate-ized destination. Meanwhile Lootz is planning to leave within a week’s time so Shelly plots to keep him around.
“Unless you’re looking to fit in another film before the end of the week, I’d wait for rental on this one. Macy, an indie mainstay, can’t rise above the cheesy script and is wasted. However, Baldwin’s performance is well worth mentioning. Except for a few brilliant moments on SNL, I haven’t seen anything remarkable from him in several years but here he reminds us that he used to
be considered a talented actor. And, I daresay, handsome to boot. This guy can wear the hell out of a suit and some middle-age bulk only gives him presence.
“If you’re looking for a good casino movie, stick with CROUPIER or CASINO, but eventually rent this one to see Baldwin and some amusing moments from the supporting cast, a range of performers from Maria Bello to Paul Sorvino and Joey Fatone (late of N*SYNC) sporting one of the ugliest shirts ever made.”
Diane says: “Hilary was right when she warned that Bill Macy ‘can’t rise above the cheesy script and is wasted.’ His character,
who cools the luck of high rollers in a Vegas casino, is rarely credible. I was embarrassed (for him and co-star Bello and myself, the reluctant voyeur) by the explicit sex scenes. A poorly conceived second half contributes to the film’s badness. But Baldwin does come through with one of his good perfs. Some are predicting he’ll take the Oscar on this one!”