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• Casino Movie Cast Who Plays Shelly Miller
• Casino Movie Cast Who Plays Shelly Cox

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Casino Movie Shelly

The Cooler is a 2003 American romantic drama film directed by Wayne Kramer. The original screenplay was written by Kramer and Frank Hannah. In old-school gambling parlance, a casino 'cooler' is an unlucky individual, usually a casino employee, whose mere presence at the gambling tables usually results in a streak of bad luck for the other players.

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Plot[edit]

Unlucky Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) works at the Shangri-La casino as a 'cooler' - a man with professionally bad luck designed to stop people from winning. A cocktail waitress, Natalie (Maria Bello), takes no notice of Bernie, who is smitten with her. The casino manager, Shelly (Alec Baldwin) prides himself on running a 'classically' Vegas casino and resents the new places that attract a lower clientele. The owners, however, hire an advisor named Larry (Ron Livingston) to help bring in more money with techniques contrary to Shelly's outdated policies. Bernie informs Shelly that he's leaving town in a week.

After an encounter during which Bernie rescues Natalie from an aggressive customer, she appears to take an interest in him. They begin dating, but Bernie is apprehensive due to his bad luck. He reveals that he used to be a gambling addict in huge debt to several casinos. Shelly 'saved' him by breaking his kneecap and paying off his debt in exchange for Bernie's work as a cooler for 6 years, which ends at the end of the week. Bernie and Natalie run into his estranged son Mikey and his pregnant wife Charlotte who are scamming a diner by faking labor. Bernie tells Mikey to stop by sometime.

Bernie is happy with his relationship and his 'cooling' abilities fade, much to Shelly's chagrin. Mikey and Charlotte come by and Bernie gives them $3000, but Natalie is skeptical of Charlotte's behavior. When Bernie reveals to Natalie he intends to leave Vegas, she says she won't go with him, and Bernie is upset. Now unhappy, his luck turns again and he begins cooling effectively. When he intentionally fails to cool a hot table which is being cheated by Mikey, Shelly takes Mikey and Charlotte upstairs and begins beating them. Bernie promises to pay the $150,000 Mikey was up, but Shelly breaks Mikey's knee and reveals Charlotte's pregnancy was fake anyway. Though distraught, that night, Natalie and Bernie confess their love for one another and Bernie again becomes a good luck charm.

Shelly calls Natalie to his office and reminds her that he hired her to date Bernie so he wouldn't leave Vegas, not to fall in love with him, which has made him both happy and lucky. He forces her to leave town abruptly, which hurts Bernie and ruins his luck. She does truly love Bernie, though, and returns, restoring Bernie's luck. Shelly goes to Bernie's motel room and begins packing for Natalie and hits her, cutting her face. After a tense exchange wherein she claims Bernie is the closest thing Shelly has to a friend and he doesn't want him to leave, he simply leaves her there. When Bernie comes home, she reveals Shelly hired her to pretend to like him, but she actually fell for him.

Banking on his good luck brought on by Natalie's devotion, Bernie confronts Shelly and calls him a coward with nothing in his life but the casino. Shelly lets him go on the condition he pay back the $150,000, which Bernie tries to win at craps. Bernie leaves and he and Natalie drive away from Vegas. He pulls over and reveals that he won a lot of money, but a cop approaches and readies to kill them. Shelly gets in his car and finds his partner waiting for him. On Larry's behalf, he whacks Shelly, presumably for letting Bernie go with his winnings. A drunk driver hits and kills the cop, presumably sent to whack Bernie, and Natalie and Bernie drive off.

Cast[edit]

• William H. Macy as Bernard 'Bernie' Lootz
• Alec Baldwin as Sheldon 'Shelly' Kaplow
• Maria Bello as Natalie Belisario
• Shawn Hatosy as Michael 'Mikey' Lootz
• Ron Livingston as Larry Sokolov
• Paul Sorvino as Buddy Stafford
• Estella Warren as Charlotte
• Arthur J. Nascarella as Nicky 'Fingers' Bonnatto
• Joey Fatone as Johnny Cappella
• Ellen Greene as Doris
• MC Gainey as Highway Patrol Officer
• Michelle Lopez as the Red Headed Craps Player 'cooled' by Bernie
• Timothy Landfield as The Player

Production[edit]

The film premiere was at the Sundance Film Festival. The Cooler was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Deauville Film Festival, among others, before going into limited release in the United States. During that limited release, The Cooler was primarily shown in Reno, Nevada. The Cooler was mainly filmed in Reno at the Golden Phoenix Reno in Reno. The Golden Phoenix Hotel Casino is now a completed condominium project called The Montage.

In an episode of the Sundance Channel series Anatomy of a Scene, director Wayne Kramer and members of his cast and crew discussed various aspects of The Cooler. In order to show Bernie's evolution from loser to winner, costume designer Kristin M. Burke dressed him in suits and clothes that progressively became better fits. Early in the film, the character resembles a boy dressed in his father's oversized clothing. By the end, Bernie is not only wearing the right size suit, but he has accessorized it with a brightly colored shirt and tie that represent his sunnier disposition. Lighting schemes designed by cinematographer Jim Whitaker also contributed to documenting Bernie's progression. In early scenes, his face is kept in the shadows, but later he is filmed in a spotlight and backlit to make him stand out from everything behind him.

The Golden Phoenix Reno, which was already scheduled for a total condominium refurbishment, was used as the interior of the Shangri-La. The Golden Phoenix was finally closed for building rehab in 2006, and since2006 there has been a complete conversion to condominiums, which are named The Montage. Golden Phoenix Reno casino employees and Reno locals were used extensively in the filming of The Cooler. The hotel buildings demolished during the closing credits are the Aladdin, the Sands, the Landmark, and the Dunes hotels.

The song 'Almost Like Being in Love', used to mark Bernie's transition from mournful sad sack to winner, was written by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner for the stage musicalBrigadoon.

According to the 2006 documentary filmThis Film Is Not Yet Rated, the MPAA originally rated the film NC-17 because of a glimpse of Maria Bello's pubic hair during a sex scene. An edited version rated R was released in theaters. A director's cut has been broadcast by the Independent Film Channel and Cinemax.

The Cooler, budgeted at under $4 million, grossed $8,291,572 in the United States and $2,173,216 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $10,464,788.^[1]The Cooler earned about $40 million more with DVD and online sales.

Critical reception[edit]

Casino Movie Cast Who Plays Shelly Miller

The film received generally positive reviews from critics with considerable praise for Alec Baldwin's performance. Writing for The New York Times, A. O. Scott said, 'The setting ... is a little tired, and the premise is pretty hokey. Mr. Kramer, rather than trying to discover anything new, is content to recycle familiar characters and story lines. The script ... and the direction are skillful, if occasionally gimmicky ... Luckily this picture is rescued from cliché by the quality of the acting, and Mr. Kramer wisely gives the actors room to work.'^[2]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film a has a 77% 'Certified Fresh' approval rating based on 174 reviews, with an average rating of 6.75/10. The site's consensus reads: 'A small movie elevated by superb performances.'^[3] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 69 out of 100 based on 36 reviews, indicating 'generally positive reviews'.^[4]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the film 'has a strange way of being broad and twisted at the same time, so that while we surf the surface of the story, unexpected developments are stirring beneath ... This is a movie without gimmicks, hooks or flashy slickness ... The acting is on the money, the writing has substance, the direction knows when to evoke film noir and when ... to get fancy.'^[5]

In Rolling Stone, Peter Travers rated the film 3½ out of a possible four stars and added, 'Wayne Kramer, who co-wrote the scrappy script with Frank Hannah, makes a potent directing debut and strikes gold with the cast... Top of the line is Baldwin, whose revelatory portrayal of an old Vegas hard-liner in thrall to the town's faded allure is the stuff Oscars are made of. From James Whitaker's seductive camerawork to Mark Isham's lush score, The Cooler places all the smart bets and hits the jackpot.'^[6]

Mark Holcomb of The Village Voice said, 'Taking a page from the Sin City cinema revisionist's handbook, The Cooler mimics the Vegas insider's perspective of Casino (without Scorsese's fetishistic attention to detail), the seedy/saccharine insouciance of FX's Lucky (devoid of quirky chutzpah), and the couch-potato glitz of NBC's Las Vegas ... What's left never gels as fantasy, drama, or romantic comedy... [the] film never amounts to more than a cute idea stretched to poker-chip thinness.'^[7]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Casino Movie Cast Who Plays Shelly Cox

Wins

• National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor (Alec Baldwin, winner)
• Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture (Maria Bello, winner)
• Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor (Baldwin, winner)
• Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor (Baldwin, winner)

Nominations

• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture (Baldwin, nominee)
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Baldwin, nominee)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture (Bello, nominee)
• Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama (William H. Macy, nominee)
• Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture (Baldwin, nominee)
• Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay (Frank Hannah and Wayne Kramer, nominees)
• Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture (Baldwin, nominee)
• Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture (Bello, nominee)

References[edit]

1. ^The Cooler at TheNumbers.com
2. ^Scott, A. O. (26 November 2003). 'FILM REVIEW; To a Guy Who Banks on Bad Luck, Good Luck Can Be Bad'. The New York Times.
3. ^The Cooler at Rotten Tomatoes
4. ^'The Cooler'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
5. ^Ebert, Roger. 'The Cooler movie review & film summary (2003)'. Chicago Sun-Times.
6. ^'Rolling Stone review'. Archived from the original on 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
7. ^'Village Voice review'. Archived from the original on 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-03-02.

External links[edit]

• The Cooler on IMDb
• The Cooler at AllMovie
• The Cooler at Box Office Mojo

The House Bunny is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Fred Wolf and written by Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz. It stars Anna Faris as a former Playboy bunny who signs up to be the 'house mother' of an unpopular universitysorority after finding out she must leave the Playboy Mansion. Also starring Colin Hanks and Emma Stone, the film was released on August 22, 2008. It received mixed reviews, but was a box office success, making $70.4 million on a $25 million budget.^[2] The film and its soundtrack have a cult following.^[3][4][5]

Plot[edit]

Shelley Darlingson (Anna Faris) is an aspiring Playboy Playmate living the life of luxury in the Playboy Mansion. The day after her 27th birthday, she awakes to find a note, seemingly from Hugh Hefner, asking her to pack up and leave. (The note is later revealed to be a forgery by jealous rival Playmate Cassandra (Monet Mazur)). Shelley happens to stumble upon a group of girls who remind her of herself: beautiful and fun. She follows them and sees that they live in luxury too. They turn out to be the Phi Iota Mu sorority, and snobbishly reject her when she tries to join them.

She makes her way down to the Zeta Alpha Zeta house, which appears to be far less luxurious than the first sorority she visited. The members of the Zeta house are dowdy, socially awkward, and caught off guard by Shelley's bubbly nature, prompting them to initially reject her. Once they see Shelley's ability to attract boys, the Zetas change their mind and take in Shelley as their new 'house mother', hoping that she can save them: their sorority is in danger of being shut down unless they can get thirty new pledges to join.

During her time spent with the Zetas, Shelley meets and becomes attracted to an intellectual, altruistic guy named Oliver (Colin Hanks), who works at a retirement home. Shelley goes out on a date with Oliver, and while her flirty tactics work with most guys, they fail with him, for he is a guy who actually wants to get to know Shelley rather than just sleep with her. To impress Oliver on their upcoming second date, Shelley starts attending classes and reading books, and tones down her appearance. The second date is also a disaster because she wears glasses that are not meant for her, and brings along note cards to help her sound smart.

Having gotten a makeover and lessons on how to attract guys and be popular, the Zetas throw a party, which is a huge success. Later, the Zetas are reviewing the girls who are hoping to pledge to Zeta, but their new popularity has made them conceited, forgetting the true value of sisterhood. When they realize what they have become, they blame Shelley—just as she returns from her unsuccessful date.

Although Shelley had just been invited back to the Playboy Mansion (after Hefner had learned of the forged dismissal) and decided to stay with the Zetas, the unexpected attack from them makes her reconsider, and she calls back to accept the invitation. The Zetas then feel guilty, and decide to give themselves a second makeover, this time being 'Half-Shelley and Half-Themselves'. They also decide to draw the pledges out at random, instead of judging them for their physical looks and popularity. They show up at Shelley's photo shoot and ask for her to come back, to which she agrees, having changed her mind about her dream of being a centerfold.

The rival Phi Iota Mu sorority intercepts the invitations and prevents them from being mailed out, so the Zetas are again in danger of being shut down at the campus meeting of the Panhellenic Council. Shelley crashes the meeting and gives a heartfelt speech about what her experience with the Zetas has taught her about love and acceptance, and asks for pledges on the spot; gradually thirty students agree to pledge, and the sorority is saved. Oliver and Shelley reconcile, and Shelley explains that she likes Oliver a lot and was trying too hard to impress him. They decide to start over with their relationship and Oliver is looking forward to getting to know the 'real' Shelley.

The film ends with the Zetas and their new pledges celebrating. Shelley has remained in close contact with Hefner and her friends at the Playboy Mansion.

Cast[edit]

• Anna Faris as Shelley Darlingson, an orphaned 27-year old former Playboy bunny who is forced to find a new home.
• Colin Hanks as Oliver Hauser, Shelley's love interest who works at a retirement home.
• Emma Stone as Natalie Sandler, a Zeta sister who is nerdy and intellectual, but open about new experiences.
• Kat Dennings as Mona Rita, a Zeta sister who is cynical and sarcastic. She wears drab clothes and has many piercings. She is standoffish towards men and attractive women.
• Katharine McPhee as Harmony Bowels, a Zeta sister who wears hippie clothing and is pregnant.
• Rumer Willis as Joanne Davis, a Zeta sister who has for years perpetually worn a body brace.
• Kiely Williams as Lilly Marsen, a Zeta sister from England with social anxiety severe enough that it renders her incapable of anything but whispering to Natalie.
• Dana Goodman as Carrie Mae Staten, a country Zeta sister who has masculine mannerisms and matching deep voice and clothes. She slouches and does not wear deodorant.
• Kimberly Makkouk as Tanya, a Zeta sister who is of diminutive stature. She stands at least a foot shorter than any of the other sisters.
• Monet Mazur as Cassandra, a new Playboy bunny who schemes to evict Shelley and claim stardom for herself.
• Sarah Wright as Ashley, the main antagonist, the selfish and manipulative leader of the Phi Iota Mu sorority who regularly bullies the Zeta sorority.
• Rachel Specter as Courtney, Ashley's long-suffering assistant.
• Beverly D'Angelo as Mrs. Hagstrom
• Hugh Hefner as himself
• Tyson Ritter as Colby Emmett, Natalie's love interest.
• Owen Benjamin as Marvin Dixon, the mixologist at the Playboy mansion.
• Christopher McDonald as Dean Simmons
• Matt Barr as Tyler

Cameos

• Justin Baldoni as Waiter
• Allen Covert as Waiter
• Dan Patrick as Cop
• Nick Swardson as Playboy Photographer
• Jonathan Loughran as crossdressing prisoner
• Holly Madison as herself
• Kendra Wilkinson as herself
• Bridget Marquardt as herself
• Shaquille O'Neal as himself
• Matt Leinart as himself
• Sara Jean Underwood as herself
• Lauren Michelle Hill as herself
• Louise Cochrane as herself
• Hayley Fisher as herself

Production[edit]

Faris had pitched the film's concept to a few companies and Adam Sandler's company, Happy Madison picked it up. The working title of the film was I Know What Boys Like. The film was made during summer 2007. Anna Faris had a nude scene, originally meant to be shot with a body double, but she decided to do the scene herself. Faris and Hanks were later reunited in Faris' show Mom.

Reception[edit]

Critical reception[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 43% based on 123 reviews, with an average rating of 5.16/10. The site's critical consensus reads, 'Anna Faris is game, but she can't salvage this middling, formulaic comedy.'^[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating 'mixed or average reviews'.^[7] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of 'B+' on an A+ to F scale.^[8]

Variety's John Anderson stated that the film is a 'Blissfully broad comedy that should catapult Anna Faris into a singular kind of stardom.'^[9]

Box office[edit]

On August 22, 2008, The House Bunny was released in the US. It debuted at #1 on its first day of release making $5.91 million, but ultimately landed in second place for its opening weekend, making $14.53 million,^[10] behind Ben Stiller's action-comedy film Tropic Thunder, which made $16.2 million. The film had grossed $70 million worldwide ($48 million at the North American domestic box office and $22 million internationally)^[2] as of March 22, 2009. The film debuted in the UK chart at #1 grossing almost $1 million in its first weekend.

Home media[edit]

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 19, 2008. It was released in a 6-movie collection called The Laugh Out Loud Collection with other Happy Madison films in 2013.

Music[edit]

Though a soundtrack was not released, a single was released to iTunes on July 16, 2008.^{[citation needed]} The single was a cover of The Waitresses song, 'I Know What Boys Like' (produced by Chad Hugo of The Neptunes) as performed by Katharine McPhee (featuring Kat Dennings, Emma Stone, and Rumer Willis). The film also featured songs by artists including:

• Bow Wow Wow – 'I Want Candy'
• The All-American Rejects – 'I Wanna'
• Altered Images – 'Happy Birthday'
• Madonna – 'Like a Virgin'
• Rihanna – 'Take a Bow'
• The Pussycat Dolls – 'When I Grow Up'
• Katharine McPhee (feat. Kat Dennings, Emma Stone, and Rumer Willis) – 'I Know What Boys Like'
• Ashlee Simpson – 'Boys'
• Metro Station – 'Shake It'
• DJ Colette – 'Think You Want It' produced by Tim K
• The Cab – 'I'll Run'
• Elizaveta – 'Like Water'
• Yael Naim – 'New Soul'
• The Kills – 'Sour Cherry'
• Boys Like Girls – 'The Great Escape'
• The Ting Tings – 'Great DJ' and 'Shut Up and Let Me Go'
• Ingrid Michaelson – 'Be OK'
• Avril Lavigne – 'Girlfriend'
• Mercedes – Better Than a Psychic
• P!nk – 'U + Ur Hand' (Trailers)
• Jennifer Lopez – 'Do It Well' (Trailers)^[11]

References[edit]

1. ^'The House Bunny (2008) - Financial Information'. The Numbers (website).
2. ^ ^abc'The House Bunny (2008)'. Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
3. ^The House Bunny cult and classic movie on www.instyle.com
4. ^Christopher Luu (August 23, 2018). 'It's Been 10 Years Since The House Bunny and the Movie's Stars Are Getting Nostalgic'. Yahoo.com.
5. ^The House Bunny cult and classic movie on www.decider.com
6. ^'The House Bunny (2008)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
7. ^The House Bunny reviews at Metacritic
8. ^'Cinemascore'. CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
9. ^Anderson, John (August 21, 2008). 'The House Bunny'. Variety. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
10. ^John M. Guilfoil (2008-08-24). The Hollywood Charts, Aug. 24. BlastMagazine.com. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
11. ^ReelSoundtrack – Music Soundtrack – The House Bunny (2008). Retrieved 2010-11-27.

External links[edit]

• The House Bunny on IMDb
• The House Bunny at AllMovie
• The House Bunny at Box Office Mojo