‘Cooler’ is coolly offbeat, ‘Monster’ is Oscar material

JOHN DEPKO

Genre-defying flick is worth watching

“The Cooler” is a strange, offbeat and very grown-up film that

defies categories. There’s a violent crime thriller with strong

mobster themes and “Goodfellas” overtones. There’s a very unlikely

romance between middle-aged losers living on the tawdry fringe of Las

Vegas glitter. There are subplots with genuine humor, intrigue and

enough surprising twists to detour our expectations of what should

happen next.

William H. Macy has the sad-sack face and personality that was

born to play Bernie, the professional loser whose gambling debts got

his kneecap broken with a baseball bat. Alec Baldwin is outstanding

as the old-time gangster Shelly Kaplow. He’s the edgy casino boss who

imposed the painful punishment, but still hires Bernie as a “Cooler”

to use his bad luck energy against customers on winning streaks. All

Bernie has to do is to touch or stand near the winner, and the win

streak comes to an end. The many gambling scenes are true to life for

anyone who’s been in the old casinos before renovation hit Vegas.

Working in this capacity, Bernie meets Natalie, a cocktail

waitress with her own checkered past, struggling to make a living in

the same casino. Their friendship leads to an improbable affair with

sexual escapades that are not glamorous but all too real and even

hilarious at times. But always looming over their relationship is the

tightly wound Shelly, who is in turmoil over the mob’s attempts to

upgrade his aging operation using corporate culture techniques. The

conflicts intensify as newfound love starts to change Bernie’s luck

for the better.

Under director Wayne Kramer, “The Cooler” becomes a poignant,

small gem of a film with a sharp screenplay and great character

studies by the entire cast. It will appeal to those of us who have

been around long enough to know that real life and love can be

complicated, messy, dangerous and a lot of fun all at the same time.

* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator

for the Orange County public defender’s office.

‘Monster’s’ strength lies in storytelling

Most little girls dream of becoming movie stars, as did Aileen

Wuornos, but life’s hard-knock journey turned her on to the road of

prostitution and killing.

The powerful delivery by Charlize Theron as Wuornos in this

true-life story takes you into the hideous, scary and heartbreaking

world that no one wants their little girl to follow.

In the opening scene, we see Wuornos under a freeway on a rainy

night contemplating suicide with a gun to her head. Due to rape and

abuse from the time she was small, sex was of a most casual nature to

her. She found out that she could make a buck early on when curious

young boys wanted to “see,” but, unfortunately, the world of adult

males became a different vile story.

Flash to a gay bar just steps away from the freeway and in walks

the sopping wet, hitchhiking fleshy prostitute Wuornos meeting imp

Selby Wall (Christina Ricci), who has been sent to Florida to stay

with her Bible-banging relatives since her family caught her kissing

another girl. The hefty Wuornos proclaims, “I ain’t gay” in her gruff

way when Selby tries to befriend her. Not having much use for men

anymore, Wuornos lets the infatuated Selby buy her drinks.

A romantic relationship develops and the two soon are out on their

own. Love-starved Wuornos now vows to give up prostitution and find

“real” work. Not being realistic, Wuornos’ first choice is to be a

veterinarian. With no experience, education or skills, the interviews

turn sour. Selby becomes whiny, wanting “food and to have a party” as

she was promised, so Wuornos has no other choice than to return to

hooking to finance the two of them.

In the late 1980s, the inevitable happens and one of her tricks

brutally turns on her, beating her to a pulp, but she finds his gun.

Bang! The downward spiral begins. She assures herself she is “OK with

God” as she continues to kill her next six tricks even with the last

one “offering to help and shelter her.” With her arrest in 1991, she

was tried and on death row until her execution in 2002.

Theron’s acting was so real. Most do not know she gained more than

35 pounds for the role, undergoing a complete physical transformation

to become the “monster!” She gave us an Academy Award performance

never once leaving character.

For Patty Jenkins, first time writer/director, we look forward to

the Academy voting “Monster” as “Best” in many categories,

considering that two skilled performers took away the tabloid flash

and grabbed the audience by telling an excruciating story of life

where most movies haven’t dared to tread.

* GAY WASSALL-KELLY is the editor of a Balboa newspaper and is

active in the community. BILL KELLY is an industrial engineer.