The Overlooked OWNING MAHOWNY Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary

Despite positive critical notice including a 4 star review from Roger Ebert who also listed it among 2003’s best films, Richard Kwietniowski’s OWNING MAHOWNY has been pretty overlooked in the decade since its release. I mean, if one thinks of Philip Seymour Hoffman in the early to mid Aughts, his roles in PUNCH DRUNK LOVE, 25TH HOUR, RED DRAGON, LOVE LIZA, and, of course, his real breakthrough CAPOTE will most likely will come to mind before his turn as the gambling addicted Canadian Dan Mahowny.

The character is based on Brian Molony, a clerk who embezzled millions from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to fund his gambling habit in the early ‘80s. Hoffman’s portrayal of Mahowny is one of a well dressed schlub who appears to only be comfortable when he’s sitting at a table in a casino playing blackjack, baccarat, roulette, or craps.

As a Atlantic City casino manager who wants to take full advantage of Hoffman’s habit, John Hurt observes that Mahowny only has the one true vice: “No sex, no booze, no drugs…our little roller is a purist. All he cares about is the next hand.”

That’s certainly the case when it comes to Hoffman’s girlfriend, Minnie Driver in a bad blonde wig, who is kept in the dark about his addiction until he takes her to Las Vegas and she realizes that his purpose there isn’t to propose to her.

OWNING MAHOWNY is shelved next to Wayne Kramer’s THE COOLER in my mental movie database for a couple of obvious reasons: they’re gambling movies that came out the same year, and they both star guys who were in Paul Thomas Anderson’s BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997). Both are also veterans of late ‘90s Coen Brothers’ movies (Hoffman in THE BIG LEBOWSKI; Macy in FARGO), which I bring up because Macy’s Jerry Lundegaard character in FARGO and Hoffman’s Mahowny have both gotten themselves entangled in huge financial problems. Macy isn’t a gambler in the gamer sense, but his poorly planned solutions involving his wife’s kidnapping and a sketchy real estate deal constitute some high stakes no matter which way you look at it.

However, Macy’s roles in FARGO and THE COOLER couldn’t be more different. His Lundegaaard is a conniving immoral jerk, while THE COOLER’s Bernie Lootz is a lovable yet extremely unlucky everyman. Hoffman would know immediately to steer clear of Macy the second his eyes fell upon him walking in the door of the fictional Shangri-La. Odds are that Alec Baldwin’s casino boss wouldn’t be as fascinated as Hurt is by Hoffman.

But let’s get back to the film in its own right. So as Hoffman’s Mahowny gets deeper and deeper into a hole, investigators are monitoring his every move. All the while Hoffman’s nonchalance and cold indifference to everything but the game is reflected in the cold sterile surroundings of the casinos and the bank’s board rooms. Thrown in the mix is Maury Chaykin in a great role as a sleazy bookie, who’s too stupefied by Hoffman’s business practices to resort to violence, even though he’s owed over 10 grand.

Mahowny never admits he has a gambling problem. “I have a…financial problem. A shortfall” is all he says about it when under interrogation. Hoffman well conveys the nature of a man who lives inside his head, taking his time to answer people’s questions in an aloof yet not awkward manner. The character could be seen as a comment on the unassuming, plainspoken personalities of Canadian gamblers, but the loneliness of this slave to the game is pure Hoffman,

OWNING MAHOWNY isn’t a masterpiece or even one of the best gambling movies out there, but it’s a well acted, neatly plotted, little sleeper that deserves a viewing. With its backdrop being that of the Canadian gambling industry we see the flashy side of the wheeling and dealing from behind the scenes where players are monitored by drably dressed men in charge. These elements are better seen as background fodder from one’s cozy safe home, rather than really experienced by risk takers in the raw.

Hoffman’s portrayal of Mahowny isn’t a star making turn or a revelation for the actor, but it’s a stepping stone of a role that led to greater heights – there’s little bit of the cold calculation of this character in his performance of the L. Ron Hubbard-ish Lancaster Dodd in last year’s misunderstood Paul Thomas Anderson epic THE MASTER for instance.

Hurt’s part as the on top of his game (and everyone else’s) casino kingpin is also pleasing, albeit in a very different tone and demeanor than Hoffman’s. It’s telling that the actor worked with writer/director Kwietniowski on the films LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND (1997) and REGRET NOT SPEAKING (2011) before and after this production. A solid working relationship appears to be on ample display here.

OWNING MAHOWNY is a different kind of gambling movie than the usual razzle dazzle – one that breaks down the obsessive methods behind putting everything on the line.

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The Way-Back Machine Movie Of The Month: THE COOLER (2003)

Since all my posts lately have been reviews of current movies, I’m starting this new monthly feature in which I’ll highlight a movie from the past I haven't covered before.

This first entry of this series is a movie that came out in 2003: Wayne Kramer’s THE COOLER (I originally reviewed it here).

THE COOLER isn’t the best of the genre of casino movies set in Las Vegas, but it’s one of the most memorable and touching due to an excellent invested performance by William H. Macy in the title role. Simply put, a “cooler” is someone that is so cursed with bad luck that it’s contagious, so if they show up while a player is on a winning streak – the player immediately starts losing.

Look up the term online, and nobody will confirm that while casinos have, in the past, hired shills to keep games going, the existence of coolers appears to be just a myth or an urban legend.

One of the joys of this film is how well this conceit is pulled off.

Macy’s character, Bernie Lootz, is employed by the fictional Shangri-La casino to reverse the fortunes of high-rolling gamblers just by being next to them when they play. When we first see Macy do this, wearing an over-sized suit with his patented droopy hangdog face, it’s both amusing and convincing.

He strolls through the casino, gently running his fingers along the side of a roulette table as he walks by, then brushing against the backs of a couple playing Baccarat, spreading his bad luck in swift little instances that result in choruses of disappointed ‘awws’ every time.

Alec Baldwin plays Macy’s hard-ass boss, Sheldon “Shelly” Kapow, who is old-school Vegas through and through. Baldwin rejects a young consultant’s (Ron Livingston) ideas about modernizing the Shangri-La, because he considers the Strip to now be a “Disneyland mookfest.”

What with his outlandish work as Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock, as well as his suave goofball persona on Saturday Night Live and the Oscars (also those damn commercials for Capital One), it’s easy to forget how sinister the man can be. Baldwin’s “Shelly” is a great reminder of his dark side; his powerful intimidating performance garnered his only Academy Award nomination to date for Best Supporting Actor.

Another often intimidating actor, Paul Sorvino, plays the Shangri-Lai’s house lounge singer Buddy Stafford who is well aware that his spotlight has faded, and that Baldwin is lying to him about women leaving their panties on his dressing room door knob. When accused of this, Baldwin protests: “You’re saying I’m some Buddy Stafford ego pimp?” That’s that kind of spiel Baldwin spews through the whole film – he nails what’s going on by transparently denying it. Another example from a later exchange with Macy: “Jesus, Bernie. Is that what you think? That I would fuck with your happiness?” Yes, Shelly, that’s exactly what he thinks.

So yeah, Baldwin steals the show, but let’s get back to Macy. Bernie Lootz is possibly the most likable of the losers Macy has played throughout his career. He’s a far cry from the sleazy losers from films like BOOGIE NIGHTS or his recent Showtime show Shameless, and the pathetic losers from MAGNOLIA and FARGO, in that Bernie is actually a good decent guy. When Maria Bello as a Shangri-La cocktail waitress who takes a shine to him (something that at first seems more implausible than the whole “cooler” idea) calls him precisely that – “just a decent guy, trying to get back on track” – nobody can dispute that.

Macy and Bello have some explicit sex scenes that almost got the movie an NC-17 because Bello’s pubic hair can be seen, but I doubt that’s anything my readers would complain about.

Macy’s so nice that he gives his skuzzy son (Shawn Hatosy) his savings of $3,000 when the no-good lug shows up out of nowhere with a very pregnant girlfriend (Estella Warren) in tow.

That leads to the film’s most talked about scene, (Spoiler Alert!) in which Baldwin punches Warren in the stomach, revealing a pillow under her shirt - showing that the couple has been scamming Bernie the whole time. In a 2005 interview in the British magazine Uncut, Baldwin spoke about the scene: “First of all, if he’d literally punched a pregnant woman, I don’t think I would’ve done the movie. He punches a woman he knows is not really pregnant. That’s the thing about the man: he has an uncanny, elevated ability to detect fraud.”

It’s a scene that seethes with tension, most of which comes from Baldwin’s unhinged ,yet in-control-of-everything attitude. His dark sarcasm: “Break out the Champagne, everybody. Bernie’s a grandfather!” as he hands a shocked Macy the pillow, is as disturbing as it is funny. I believe it was for this scene alone that Baldwin got the Oscar nom.

Before I visited Las Vegas for the first time in 2009, I didn’t know the difference between the Strip and the Downtown area. On one of 2 commentary tracks that the DVD has, cinematographer James Whitaker speaking about the opening montage of aerial footage of Vegas landmarks at night points out: “It’s a great progression from upscale Las Vegas, then, as you’ll see in a second, we move into the Downtown portion where the film takes place.”

Obviously, the 4.2 mile Strip is the upscale Las Vegas, while the Downtown is the seedier area where all the main action used to be – the original gambling district. As I saw in 2009, the Downtown still looks like it did in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER or just about any other old Vegas movie or TV show. Incidentally, several of the hotels featured in the opening, including the Aladdin and the Sands) have since been demolished. 

It’s this old-school Vegas that Baldwin is trying to preserve with the Shangri-La, but that Macy and Bello don’t care about. They’ve found love, they don’t have to romanticize a dying ideal – they have actual romance, and that’s something Baldwin can’t stand.

Because of Bello’s love, Macy no longer functions as a cooler. His luck has changed and suddenly everyone around him is winning at all the casino games in exaggerated displays of cheers, hugs, and dancing in showers of coins. That’s another thing that Baldwin can’t stand.

It’s going to take a craps table climax for Macy to settle up with Baldwin, and leave the damn town that’s been dragging him down. Sure, it’s a big winning game ending is a sports movie cliché but here it feels earned.

THE COOLER is far from perfect. A scene in which a mafia boss Arthur J. Nascarella nearly beats to death a backwards baseball hat wearing dickhead tourist on the casino floor has a forced GOODFELLAS-feel to it, and gag shots like the one below are maybe a little too obvious.



Also Ellen Greene (who appeared in one of my favorite films TALK RADIO with Baldwin back in '88) is only around to pour coffee for Macy.

These flaws aside, THE COOLER holds up quite nicely. This movie initially seems to be questioning whether you can really tell good luck from bad luck in the long run, but it's more interested in lending a loser a hand.

It so wants Macy to win that it makes some convoluted concessions for that outcome, yet because I wanted that too, I could accept them because, like just about everything else here, they were amusing enough to be convincing.

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More DVD Delights & DVD Disses: THE COOLER, THE BIG EMPTY, & STUCK ON YOU

Here's a few DVD reviews, one I delighted in and two that I'm dissing:

THE COOLER (Dir. Wayne Kramer, 2003) 

William H. Macy puts in another sturdy performance as Bernie Lootz, the unluckiest man in Las Vegas who has actually made a successful career out of his losing streak. You see, the a Shangra La casino owner named Shelly (Alec Baldwin) employees Macy to simply approach gamblers who are on a winning roll and his presence alone will sour their game. 

"A cooler?" a slick corporate Ron Livingston breathing down Shelly's neck questions his old fashioned methods. Seems to be a good solid system until Lootz falls in love with a friendly waitress played by the emotionally effective actress Maria Bello and his luck changes. This enrages Shelly and he attempts to sabotage their budding romance. 

A good story with nice appropriate touches of humor, drama, and a thoughtful edge, THE COOLER doesn't try too hard or go too far.

The sex scenes are even well done and have an unusually (unusual for the movies that is) realistic feel to them mainly because we actually believe in Macy and Bello as real people. Another unique element especially within a movie made up of what are normally stock elements - Shelly's hired thugs barely speak but exchange telling looks at the sticky situations and each other. 

Baldwin hasn't had a role as good as Shelly in years and he does it justice. Small parts by the always reliable Paul Sorvino and Ellen Greene are also nice touches in a movie filled with nice touches. Luck be a lady tonight indeed. 

Special Features: Not much, a pre-release memo said this disc would have deleted scenes and even an alternate ending - the only thing that accompanies this flick is a Anatomy of a Scene featurette. Too bad. 

THE BIG EMPTY (Dir. Steve Anderson, 2003)

The lure of doing a simple delivery job for a gigantic payoff, a carrying bag that may or may not contain a severed human head, a series of cameos from b-list actors, and an underdog wins all mentality. Sound familiar? Only if you've seen any independent movie made from 1994 to today. 

Jon Favreau, who I was hoping would be doing loftier stuff by now, is the underdog in this aptly named pointless piece of...well let's just leave it at piece. Other victims of this stable of indie film cliches are Joey Lauren Adams, Rachel Leigh Cook, Daryl Hannah, Kelsey Grammar, and even HAROLD AND MAUDE legend Bud Cort who all try in vain to give this some flavor.

STUCK ON YOU (Dirs. Bobby Farrelly & Peter Farrelly, 2003) 

Kind of like the Coen brothers without the talent...no wait more like the Zucker brothers without the laughs, the Farrelly brothers again raise tasteless un-funniness to a new level. 

Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear play a pair of Siamese twins - "we're not Siamese, we're American" one of the wall-to-wall witless lines - who decide to pursue their dreams of...oh forget it. If the Farrelly's special brand of stupid scatalogiacal humour, pointless celebrity cameos (Cher! Frankie Munz! Even Meryl Streep for Christ's sake!), un-involving visual style, and insincere sentiment did the trick for you in such 'classics' as THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, SAY IT AIN'T SO, and SHALLOW HAL then you're in for a treat. The rest of us though wish the Farrellys weren't so "stuck on" such immaturity and complete absence of quality material.

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