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Verdict: A generally winning film about a loser.

By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE
Cox News Service

Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) is a loser whose job is to make other people losers, too. Employed at the cheesy Shangri-La casino in Las Vegas, Bernie merely touches a roulette wheel and a hot streak goes cold. He brushes by a crap table and the dice turn snake eyes.

In the ever-superstitious gambling world, Bernie is known as a cooler. Hence the title of Wayne Kramer's debut film. Set on the tattered side of Vegas, away from the "Disneyland mookfest" --- as one character dubs it --- the town has become, "The Cooler" is an essentially goodhearted fable straight out of Damon Runyon.

Bernie's bad luck has piled up some bad debts all over Vegas. Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin) has bought up Bernie's markers; in return, Bernie brings his lethal unlucky vibe to the Shangri-La, which Shelly manages. Of course, Shelly had to kneecap Bernie, to remind him of his transgressions, but it was just business, nothing personal.

Meanwhile, Shelly is feeling the heat from his own bosses, who've brought in a Harvard hotshot (Ron Livingston) to "revitalize" the Shangri-La and make it more attractive to the stroller crowd Shelly disdains.

Then Bernie meets a cocktail waitress named Natalie (Maria Bello), and all bets are off.

Kramer, who co-wrote the script, is clearly ga-ga for all gamblers great and small --- the unlucky schlubs who can't get a break and the little old lucky lady who hits the jackpot on her first try. He loves the Vegas that was, the one Shelly holds dear --- the ring-a-ding-ding home away from home for Frank and Dean and Sammy.

The plot itself is fairly banal, with a major plot twist concerning Bernie's son especially uninvolving. Away from the Shangri-La, the movie lacks punch, though there are some steamy sex scenes between Macy and Bello that almost got the film an NC-17.

Luckily, Kramer has a full house of talent to play with. Bernie is the apotheosis of all the soulful sad sacks Macy's ever played. In a way, Bernie doesn't mind being a loser, because that's all he's known. Every morning for the past six years, the Shangri-La bartender has run out of cream for his coffee and Bernie has always muttered, "Oh, it doesn't matter." Watch Macy's face when, miraculously, there's finally enough cream in the pitcher. We see Bernie's restored dignity, his uncomprehending joy, all in the mere flick of an eye.

For Baldwin, Shelly is a royal flush of a role. With his beefy swagger and earthy vernacular, Shelly is a sentimental brute who longs for the long-gone booze-and-broads days of the Rat Pack. Baldwin uses his bulk to great effect, especially in the violent scenes where the nostalgic smoothie turns sadistic. It's the sort of visceral performance that could give Baldwin a dark-horse shot at a best supporting actor Oscar nomination.

"The Cooler" as a whole doesn't have Baldwin's guts. Unlike "Leaving Las Vegas," the movie never goes for broke. By the not-entirely-satisfying end, the film's luck's run out.

But it's pretty winning for a long way, reminding us that everything in life is a kind of gamble, and if you don't play, you'll never win.