Bernie is so unlucky at glambling that he is hired as a “cooler,” someone to gamble next to high rollers and give them some of his bad luck to stop them from winning. His ruthless boss, Shelly, is happy with the arrangement. But Bernie finds unexpected happiness when he meets waitress Natalie.

Wayne Kramer’s dark debut is a scintillating portrait of the neon-lit, mob-run casinos of Las Vegas which thrills like a classic noir. Featuring a superb performance from Alec Baldwin, and NSYNC’s Joey Fatone performing as a lounge singer, The Cooler was selected for competition in Sundance.