starring William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Paul Sorvino.
written by Frank Hannah & Wayne Kramer
directed by Wayne Kramer

An ingenious set-up is sadly wasted in this unsatisfying film. The setup? Macy plays a loser who transfers his bad luck to anything he comes into contact with; he works at a Vegas casino “cooling” any lucky streaks. A brilliant idea that could have been developed many ways: a cynical rumination on fate; a goofy satire of Vegas; even a sweet-natured fairy tale (he meets a waitress and falls in love). Instead, the script makes the very uninteresting choice of having every character a stereotypical cipher, chained to the contrived machinery of a predictable plot. Which could very well have worked as a comedy (think Preston Sturges, or even Frank Tashlin). But instead we’re treated to nasty, unecessary bouts of violence and swearing. So the film ends up neither here nor there. The actors certainly can’t be faulted: Macy, Balwdin and especially Bello dig into their parts with relish and consistently contribute interesting bits. But the film just doesn’t gel. An “oh come on” ending doesn’t help either. Oh well. Stick with “Hard Eight,” “Casino,” or even “California Split” if you want to see it done right.