Shawn Hatosy

A young man goes through a rigorous exercise routine in his bedroom while a small television plays a motivating speech by Tom Brands, the famous American wrestler and Olympic gold medalist. The man is clearly inspired by the fictional character of Rocky, as evident from the posters all over the room's walls, backed by the many small trophies and medals announcing his achievements. But the biggest challenge in the life of this young man, Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome), is that he has had only one leg since birth because of congenital amputation. Irrespective of this disability, though, Anthony dreams of pursuing wrestling as a sport in college, and so the night of the High School Nationals Championship Final is of extreme importance to him. Anthony's coach, Bobby Williams (Michael Pena), prepares him mentally for the fight that is about to come. Anthony represents the Mesa High School, from Arizona. Anthony competes with a single leg in all his bouts. Anthony is evidently a bit distracted by a group of scouts from Iowa University, the college of his dreams, as he hopes to be selected for the university team and also get a fully funded academic package. Bobby brings him back to the present, and as Anthony steps onto the wrestling mat, a rigorous spirit drives him towards success, despite the remarkable fact that he competes in the regular format of the tournament, meaning that none of his opponents have physical disabilities. The young man does not in any way seem to be lacking the strength of his missing leg and uses his mobility and quick reflexes to defeat the opponent wrestler. Despite this great achievement, though, of winning the high school-level championship, Anthony is not able to grab the attention of the Iowa scouts, and they instead go for the safer choice of the fully able wrestler whom he had just defeated. Quite used to such subtle instances of discrimination, Anthony keeps hoping that Iowa State University will grant him a scholarship and is not too keen when his ever-supportive mother, Judy (Jennifer Lopez), is able to arrange for a program from Drexel University. Although Drexel offers him a fully funded college education and a confirmed spot on the wrestling team, he is not as excited as his mother after hearing of the chance. This is not only because Drexel is far away from his home, meaning that he will have to move away from his beloved family, but also because the college does not have a reputed wrestling program. Iowa had produced 73 national champions and Drexel had none. Anthony wants to be trained by the very best coaches so that he can have a good chance at competing in the NCAA championship. As Iowa, or any other better colleges, still do not reach out, Anthony decides to join Arizona State University, where his education will be funded, but he will have to be a walk-on member of the wrestling team, meaning that his position in the team is not guaranteed. When Anthony goes to meet the head coach of the ASU wrestling team, Shawn Charles (Don Cheadle), the latter makes it clear that he will have to prove his worth in order to be selected, and the young man starts to prepare himself for the trials. Meanwhile, he had put in an application at Iowa State University as well, and when they outright rejected his application, Anthony finally joined Arizona State University to train and play under coach Charles. In his freshman year, he goes through all the rigorous training exercises, which are extra difficult for him because of his disability, but Anthony never lets it come in the way of his dreams. Even when the entire roster is made to run around the track field with heavy weights in their hands, Anthony puts a sling around the weights and carries it on his shoulders, as his hands are occupied with the crutches. He does not want to get any unfair advantage over the others in any respect, even though he is technically already at a disadvantage against them. When the rest of the team goes through a very difficult trek, or run, through the Phoenix Mountains, Anthony does not give up, even though he gets injured on the way up and bleeds profusely. Although it is a race up to the peak for the rest of the team, Anthony knows that it would be enough for him to just complete the course and prove his mettle, and he does just that, instantly impressing the coach and the whole team as well. Anthony is very quick at making friends, and he can impress people with ease, both because of his charming personality and also his dedication towards fighting for his goals. The first major setback to his college wrestling career comes at the beginning of sophomore year, when Coach Charles gathers the whole team and announces that wrestling has been cut from the roster of sports to be officially held at the university for the year. With more popular sports like basketball and football bringing in more money for the college, the authorities decide to skip participating in the NCAA wrestling tournament for the year, and this naturally hurts all the students who had been preparing to make it to the team. Anthony was already very close to making it into the team by this time, but there was nothing he could do about the situation. Even Coach Charles tearfully admits to his team that he tried all he could have, but there was simply no way to turn things around. Finally, in the next season, Anthony continues to train and fight for his position on the team when Coach Charles calls each of the players to his office individually and asks them to vote for or against their teammates for the final roster. In this vote, Anthony initially fears that people might have voted against him because of his disability, as some might feel that he would be a liability to the team. However, it is revealed that everyone in the roster had voted in favor of Anthony, wanting him to be a part of the team, as he had not only proven his worth to them but had also become a motivating figure for all of them. In this manner, Anthony becomes a part of the ASU wrestling team. In his first showing at the NCAA national championship, Anthony gets all the way to the finals only to lose to Matt McDonough from Iowa State in the finals. Anthony knew that he had only more attempt left to achieve his dream. Bigger than any personal or institutional setbacks that Anthony Robles has to face in his career are the difficulties at home, originating because of a horrible and insensitive stepfather, Rich (Bobby Cannavale). Being the eldest among all his step-siblings, Anthony is really loved and adored by everyone at home, except for Rich, who has still not been able to get over the fact that he is not Anthony's biological father. Judy has had to go through some really difficult patches in life, during which she got pregnant with someone and had Anthony, before she was left alone to raise him. It was then that she met Rich and decided to start a family with him, and Anthony was made a part of this new family as well. However, Rich always evidently bore a grudge against him, to the point that he even directly told Anthony (when he was just a boy of eight or so) that he was not like his step-siblings and that the boy should just be thankful that someone is taking care of him. Even in his teenage and young adult years, Anthony has to often encounter snide remarks and insensitive comments from his stepfather, who believes that someone with his disabilities cannot pursue wrestling, or any other sport for that matter. Therefore, Rich wants him to just pursue his education without any distractions in the form of sports and try to get a job at the earliest so that he too can start paying the bills for the family. Although some really nasty arguments take place between the father and son, during which Rich's hateful nature makes itself obvious, they are still not the worst harm that Rich does to the family. Instead, it is his disgusting nature of physically abusing and assaulting Judy, all because of his terrible anger issues, that causes the most trouble in the household. Rich is emotionally unstable, and he abandons his family on one occasion, after realizing that his wife and children actually live happier in his absence. But he returns a few weeks later, after he has been fired from his job at the police department, although he never tells anyone about it. On a number of occasions, Anthony finds him to have raged against Judy or to have even physically assaulted her. Despite his anger and concern, he is unable to do anything against Rich only because Judy stops him. However, on one particular occasion, things get really out of hand, and Anthony has to use his wrestling moves on the abhorrent Rich, who is then taken away from the house by the police. Although Rich leaves the family after this, and so the members live in peace, Judy gets distraught when she realizes that the mortgage for the house was no longer being paid, meaning that she and her kids would soon be on the streets. It is Anthony who pushes his mother to stop spiraling out of control and take initiatives to better her position in life, and Judy then finds a way to have the mortgage issue solved. Anthony Robles enters the NCAA wrestling championships as part of the ASU team and remains undefeated throughout the season. He has to face the most difficult competitor in the final round, in the form of a wrestler named Matt McDonough, representing Iowa State University. Therefore, it is not just the winner's trophy that is at stake in this wrestling bout, but also the very prestige of Anthony, as he has to face a wrestler from the very college that he always wanted to attend. After a number of tough rounds, Anthony ultimately wins the bout and the tournament, becoming the NCAA wrestling champion of the year. He was also the first and only athlete to be signed by Nike after his retirement, since he did not pursue wrestling as a profession after college. In 2013, he was even appointed to the President's Council on Fitness, Sport, and Nutrition. In 2022, Anthony Robles took over the job of the wrestling coach at Mesa High School, where his dreams of becoming a wrestler had first taken shape. Judy completed her Doctorate of Education in 2022 and currently serves as the Assistant Dean of Students at Arizona State University.

Paul Morse (Jason Lee) (Brother Pete Morse (Thomas Lennon), friend Jim (Shawn Hatosy), father Buck Morse (David Koechner) and Mother Dorothy Morse (Julie Hagerty)) and Karen Cooper (Selma Blair) (Mom Sandra Cooper (Diana Scarwid) and dad Ken Cooper (James Brolin)) are about to get married in Seattle. During his bachelor party, Paul has a chat with one of the dancers at the party, Becky Jackson (Julia Stiles), and they find that they have an affinity for each other. Paul wakes up the next morning and is terrified to see Becky in the bed next to him. Assuming they slept together, Paul rushes Becky out of his apartment and hopes never to see her again. He tries to cover up the connection for the few days before the wedding. Karen is due to arrive at the apartment and to save himself, Paul hides Becky's underwear in the toilet tank. Unfortunately, Becky unexpectedly shows up around town (she is the toll booth collector) and turns out to be Karen's cousin. Ken is upset that Paul didn't invite him to his bachelor's party. Paul works as a marketing exec in Ken's company. Paul realizes that he has crabs and has horrendous itching in his crotch. He visits the pharmacy to get some medicines. He runs into Sandra at the pharmacy. To save his ass, the pharmacist Jeff (Fred Ewanuick) lies that he is a chef and cooked crabs for Paul. Sandra books Jeff to cook the rehearsal dinner for 20 people. At a general family dinner, Paul sees Becky and realizes she is a cousin of Karen. He tries very hard to hide in the bathroom and escape via the trees but trips the car alarm and can't escape. He pretends to have diarrhea to avoid coming out of the bathroom, but Becky circles back to pick her purse (by then Paul was out of bathroom) and both are introduced to each other. The next day Paul tracks Becky down at a music store where Becky tells him that they didn't have sex (he passed out with his pants around his ankles). Becky also says that Paul didn't get the crabs from her, and maybe from the use of a public toilet seat. Even worse, Becky's malicious ex-boyfriend cop Ray Donovan (Lochlyn Munro) had Becky followed and photographed. Ray confronts Paul and asks him to stay away from Becky and reveals that existence of those pics. Karen finds the underwear in the toilet tank and confronts Paul about it. Paul says that it was a gift for her. Karen points out that the underwear is dirty, and Paul complains that the store sold him dirty underwear. Karen confronts the store, who figure out the issue and lie to Karen that some kids played a prank and put dirty underwear in their underwear bins. Minister Ferris (Larry Miller) is Paul's, neighbor and dislikes him as he saw Becky rushing out of his apartment that morning. He also accuses Paul of corrupting his son with pornographic photos, which Paul hides in his crotch as Karen was in his apartment. Paul tries to burn the photos and throws them out of the bathroom window, only for Minister's son to again pick them up and the minister again confronting Paul with a bunch of half burnt photos. Intermittently it is implied that Pete loves Karen and is in awe of her. Pete is divorced and is jealous that Paul is marrying Karen. Becky and Paul meet again to steal those pictures from Ray's apartment. They are confronted by Ray's dog, and they have to hide in his shower. They manage to trap the dog, find the photos and escape via the fire escape stairs. Paul realizes that he is more adventurous and wilder when he is with Becky, who brings out the best in him. Ray arrests Paul after he drops Becky. But at the station, Paul is taken in by internal affairs people, who want Paul to wear a wire to implicate Ray, whom they have been tracking. Paul goes to his rehearsal dinner and tells Becky that the police have put a wire on him to collect evidence against Ray. Meanwhile Jeff, the pharmacist, whom Sandra hired to be the caterer mixes pot in every dish and the entire party gets high. Pete gives an emotional toast where he betrays his feelings for Karen. Karen and Pete remember how they first met each other at a bar. Pete laments that at the time he was married, and Karen got hitched to Paul. Paul returns to his apartment and finds Ray waiting for him. Ray admits that he planted evidence and the internal affairs team moves in on them. The wedding day arrives, and Paul hyperventilates in the toilet with Pete and recounts all the events of the last 7 days. When Pete leaves, Ken emerges from the bathroom. Ken says, "its a guy thing", it happens and tells Paul to move on. Turns out Minister Ferris is going to marry them as their regular priest got sick at the rehearsal dinner. Ferris is totally against Paul marrying Karen. He asks the gathering is anyone believes Paul and Karen shouldn't get married. Paul himself steps up and recounts the events of the last 7 days. He says he doesn't want to marry Karen. Pete steps up and proposes to Karen. Karen accepts. Paul pursues Becky and they hook up.

We begin with an aerial view of the hotels in Las Vegas, before settling on one called the Shangri-La. Inside one gaming area, the patrons all seem to be winning. Joe, a floor boss, picks up a phone and asks where Bernie is - they need him right away. Moments later, from an elevator emerges Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy), dressed in a seedy-looking ill-fitting suit. As he limps through the casino and passes people, their luck immediately goes sour. Roulette wheels, blackjack cards, crap tables and slot machines all stop paying out. Bernie then wanders over to Doris, the barmaid, who pours him a coffee. He asks for cream, but as she starts to pour it the creamer runs dry. A pretty blonde waitress, Natalie Belisario (Maria Bello) brings a drink order to the bar. Bernie tries to chat with her, but she is clearly distracted. She asks Doris if Shelly left word for her; he was supposed to put her at the tables rather than the nickel slots she's been stuck at. As Natalie leaves, Bernie promises her he'll talk to Shelly but she doesn't seem to notice. Joe tells Bernie he's needed on table 11. Bernie tells Joe to have Natalie bring him a drink - that he talked to Shelly and he wanted her on the tables tonight. Natalie brings him the drink, thanking him for talking to Shelly. Bernie then takes the drink to a player at the crap table who's having a hot streak - which ends immediately. Bernie then plays some blackjack, losing his money and wrecking the luck of all the other players. Next, we see casino boss Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin) in his office. He has a headache and is trying to get a manicure, when a small entourage of men in gray suits barge in . Leading the pack is his casino partner, Nicky Bonnatto (Arthur J. Nascarella). Nicky introduces Shelly to his new VP Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston) and his numbers guy, Marty Goldfarb. After drinks, smokes and jokes, Nicky tells Shelly that Larry has some ideas to revitalize the Shangri-La. Shelly asks why - they raked in $35 million last year. Larry explains that he respects the job Shelly has done the last 16 years, but that things have changed on the strip. Shelly responds in disgust about the "Disneyland" the strip has become. What was once a high class hooker, has now become a cheap, fat whore. Larry points out that other casinos are raking in dough and the Shangri-La just can't compete anymore. Shelly says they're not trying to compete; this is where old-time real money comes to play. Larry counters they only offer nostalgia - fine for museums but not casinos. Later, Shelly meets Bernie on the floor and stops him for a chat. He asks how his knee is and tells him about an orthopedist who can make a kneecap out of titanium. But Bernie reminds him he won't be here past Sunday. Shelly asks him where he's going to go that better than this. But Bernie insists that in seven days he's gone. Bernie goes to his motel room at the Bettor Life motel, a dismal dive. He sits in bed watching TV. He can't even try to sleep because his neighbor is having loud, headboard-banging sex on the opposite side of the wall. Next day, a high roller is on a hot streak. When Natalie brings him his drink, he deliberately takes his time stuffing the money into her cleavage, causing her to topple over into Bernie. She apologizes, but Bernie tells her she might want to stick around. He hands the guy some new dice, and his lucky streak evaporates. The roller sees Natalie smiling at his misfortune, and starts swearing at her, until he is hauled off by security. Natalie smiles at Bernie gratefully. Shelly takes his partner and the new guys out to watch Buddy Stafford (Paul Sorvino), the casino's older, worn-down lounge singer. Larry is clearly not impressed. Shelly goes to see the singer in his dressing room. Buddy is embarrassed about his performance. Shelly tries to pump up his ego, but Buddy is more concerned whether Shelly brought his fix. Shelly did and Buddy quickly shoots up. He tells Shelly about a nature show he saw - how a lion who was once the leader of a pride had gone past his prime and was expelled and left to forage on his own until he died. It would be so much easier, he moans, if he could just walk away with his dignity intact. Shelly disagrees, saying that would be like admitting he was dead already. Bernie walks out to his car and is surprised to find Natalie waiting for him. "Buy you a drink?" she invites. Larry, meanwhile, introduces Shelly to Johnny Capella (Joey Fatone), a new hot singer he thinks should be headlining at the Shangri-La. Shelly tells Larry he already has Buddy signed up for five more years. Johnny is miffed and walks out. Natalie and Bernie are in a diner, where she is reviewing his astrological chart, telling him he is a slow starter when it comes to romance. He tells her it all doesn't matter; he knows what the outcome will be - all bad. He asks if she knows what he does. "You're a cooler", she replies. "You turn winners into losers". He tells her he does it by just being himself. Everyone who's ever been next to him has had their luck turn sour; it's always been that way. That sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy, she retorts. He blurts out that he is leaving in five days anyway, so she suggests they don't waste any time and just go to his place. He nervously tells her he's not sure he can afford her. She is insulted, and he realizes he's made a mistake. I've done it again, he tells her. I've cooled the damn table. But she assures him he hasn't cooled anything yet. They go to his motel room, where she notices his plants are all dead, and he has a cat food dish but no cat. She sits down on the bed, while he dusts off an old record. But as it starts to play the needle scratches across it. He resets it and nervously sits next to her. She tells him to relax - at least one of them has done this before. As the record starts to play, "Luck Be a Lady Tonight", she starts to undress. He notices she has a tattoo of two dice, each reading a two, on her behind. She walks to him coyly and starts to seduce him. But he is nervous, and ends up just rolling on top of her and finishing very quickly. She tells him gently, "It's okay. I've had worse", then gives him other kind reassurances. The next morning Bernie wakes up to find he's alone. Sadly, he picks up her pillow and hugs it. Suddenly she walks out of the bathroom, brushing her teeth, and asks if he wants to go to breakfast. He nods yes with a huge smile. At breakfast, he tells her about his past. He was an out-of-control gambler who built up a huge debt until Shelly broke his legs with a baseball bat. Natalie is horrified, but Bernie says he's actually grateful. His shattered bones are a reminder to keep him from giving into the temptation to gamble. He worked out a repayment plan with Shelly - six years off the books cooling tables, and it's up in five days. The conversation is interrupted as a pregnant girl nearby has labor pains. Bernie sees them and recognizes the husband as his son, Mikey (Shawn Hatosy). Bernie and Natalie escort the pregnant couple, Mikey and Charlene (Estella Warren), to their car. She has settled down and is no longer in labor. When Bernie asks about Mikey's mother, he angrily responds she's getting by as long as she's high. Bernie nervously invites him to come to his motel to "catch up". Mikey says he might do that for the kid's sake. Bernie sits down at a blackjack table with one other player, Mel, who is obviously winning. He bets one hand and the dealer goes bust with it. Afterward, incredibly, the dealer busts on hand after hand, letting Mel rake in the dough. Bernie is perplexed and leaves the table. Shelly wonders if the dealer is cheating, but can't believe it. They run across Larry - who knows Bernie is a cooler. He chides Shelly for sticking to the old ways. He says there are more effective ways nowadays. He shows Shelly a CD with soft music laced with a subliminal message of "Lose. Lose. Lose." Shelly only rolls his eyes. The other partners arrive, and Shelly takes them to Buddy's room only to find Buddy on the floor dead of an overdose. Shelly suggests that the Paradise room stay closed tonight in Buddy's honor, but Larry quickly has Johnny Capella take over and do the show. The partners are impressed, but not Shelly. Bernie and Natalie try the ring toss as a carnival, but she misses all her tosses. They sit down and Natalie looks sadly at a little boy standing next to his dad. She asks Bernie if he noticed the tattoo on her butt: two dice each with a 2 - a Little Joe. She admits she had a son named Joe, but only for a year. She gave him up for adoption ten years ago because she was 17 and wanted her life back. Her family abandoned her after that, and she ran off to become a showgirl. Deep down, she knows she did the right thing, but now feels she was selfish. Bernie stands up as if to leave, and tells her softly, "I think...I could kick your ass at the dime toss". She laughs and they hug tenderly. Afterward, they make love in his motel room. Bernie is now very confident and gives Natalie obvious pleasure. Then with a smile he asks if she'll do something for him. Moments later, it sounds like they are having loud, headboard-banging sex, but the camera pans up to reveal that the two of them are just leaning against the headboard, rocking it and screaming out loudly. Finally, Bernie screams out and the two collapse, quietly laughing as the neighbor yells for them to shut up. "Did we wake you?" Bernie calls out. Later on, Natalie returns to Bernie's apartment to find Charlene and Mikey waiting there. Mikey asks if Bernie is renting her, because he can't figure out how else his loser father could get so lucky. Before she can say something back, Bernie returns from parking his car. He's surprised but happy to see Mikey. Mikey then tells him they're strapped for money and Bernie gives them $3,000 in cash, all the money he has to spare. Meanwhile, Larry presents a model of the new Golden Shangri-La to the partners: 3 floors of gaming, entertainment, boutiques, restaurants - even a roller coaster. Shelly responds by telling them the plot of the movie LOST HORIZON, how Shangri-La was totally untouched by the outside world - a paradise. Thats what the hotel Shangri-La was supposed to be, and you don't mess with that. Shelly insists that someday people will want the old Vegas back and he'll be there to give it to them. Nicky then goes to play some craps but is annoyed by a rude player. After Nick craps out and the guy laughs, Nicky head-butts him and beats him bloody until security, called by Bernie, drags the guy away. Bernie tells Natalie how anxious he is to get out of Vegas and begs her to come with him. She answers that she's done an astrological compatibility chart on them and they're good together - but only if they stay in Vegas. Bernie returns to his job. As he stands by a table, he is appalled to see his son there, playing craps. Natalie finds him and so does Larry, as Mikey rolls two nines and wins big. Shelly arrives in time to see Mike subtly switching back the real dice for his obviously loaded dice. He then throws a losing roll and decides to graciously leave with his winnings. Shelly tells him he doesn't want to lay out that kind of cash on the floor and invites them to come to his office to collect. Mikey agrees, but when Shelly tells him not to bother bringing his chips he knows he's in trouble. Larry suggests they turn them in to the authorities, but Shelly tells Larry to watch him protect his investment the "old school" way. Bernie is torn up, but goes to save his son. Shelly has the couple down in a basement area, about to work Mikey over when Bernie arrives and begs him to stop. Shelly accuses Bernie of being in on the con, but believes him when he denies it. Instead, he tells Bernie they were up 150 grand when they left the table, so he wants $75,000 each for their lives. When they start to punch Mikey, Bernie agrees to cover the 150 G's. Charlene then starts to have contractions and pleads to go to the hospital. Shelly responds by kicking her in the stomach, then pulling up her shirt to reveal that the "baby" was just a large cushion. Shelly mocks the shocked Bernie by cradling the cushion. He gives Bernie a chance to change his mind but the cooler still offers to cover the debt. Shelly then orders Mikey to be put up on the table. Bernie pleads that they had a deal, but Shelly tells him 150 grand buys only their lives. With that he takes a sledge hammer and breaks both of Mikey's legs. Back at his motel, Bernie blames himself for what happened to Mikey. Natalie gently tells him to stop beating up on himself and begins to dance with him instead. Later on, they are in bed together. She sits up and confesses that she knows she loves him. "You blindsided me, Bernie Lootz," she declares. "I never saw it coming". She then tells him there are things about her that he should know, but he doesn't care; it won't change how he feels about her. He's afraid to voice just how he feels about her because of all his rotten luck. But she tells him his rotten luck is all over now, so he admits that he loves her too. As a new day dawns, Bernie awakes to find his cat Trixie has come back, and Natalie has left him a note, "Have a Spectacular Day". He goes off to work with a new confidence. When the waitress pours his coffee, the creamer finally pours out cream for him. As he makes his rounds, people around him start to get very lucky. Even as Shelly takes him aside to find out what's going on, a brand new slot machine rigged for virtually no payouts hits a big jackpot. Bernie tells Shelly theres nothing wrong with him - he's just in love! Shelly has Natalie brought to him. He reminds her he only hired her to be a lover to Bernie, not to actually fall in love with him. Now his falling in love has turned Lootz's bad luck to good and cost the casino at least a million. He demands that she leave him, not even telling him to his face but just leaving a note. She refuses at first until Shelly threatens her life. Bernie returns home to find a note from Natalie that she has left him. Afterward he returns to the casino to find the creamer has run dry again and he is once more bringing bad luck to everyone he touches. He meets Shelly in the lounge and asks if he muscled Natalie into leaving, but Shelly denies everything and acts offended. Bernie comments that the new lounge singer is all flash and no soul and that he misses Buddy. Shelly tells him Buddy was tired and that he gave him an easy way out. He admits that he knew Buddy would never accept the casino buyout. He'd have fought to the end and eventually would have been hurt. So he gave him the overdose instead and let him die peacefully. Bernie is appalled. That night in his motel room, a lonely Bernie hears a knock on the door. Natalie is back, suitcase in hand. He takes her back before she can even say a word. Later, in bed, she suggests they run away together, but he says he can't. He owes Shelly a debt, and if he ran, Shelly would come after him and hurt her as well. At the casino, Bernie is bringing people luck again, so Shelly has Natalie grabbed from the motel. He tells her he could make her disappear and no one would miss her. "Bernie would!" she counters. She tells Shelly it must kill him to know that Bernie loves her. Bernie was your friend, she shouts at him, and you crippled him. Still he stood by you but no more! She and Bernie are leaving tonight and he can't stop them. Shelly slams her face into a mirror which shatters and leaves her face bloody. He then departs quietly. Bernie returns home to find Natalie hiding in the dark. He finds the broken mirror and turns on the light, seeing her with cuts on her face. She confesses that Shelly paid her to get close to him. She thought it was easy money. But as she got to know him, she saw that he wasn't a phony or a hustler but a decent guy. And she loved the way he treated her like a lady. Now Shelly wants her gone because she brought him luck. She just wanted to tell him the truth before leaving him, because she knows he wouldn't want her now. But instead, Bernie rushes her to the hospital, where they stitch up her cuts. He tells her afterward that everything will be all right. And if she ever looks in the mirror and doesn't like what she sees, then don't believe it. Look into my eyes instead, he tells her tenderly, they're the only mirror you're ever going to need. They go back to the Shangri-La. She tells him she lied about his astrological chart that first night - that it was actually the worst she had ever seen. But he assures her that was before he opened his heart to her now he has Lady Luck on his side. She gives him the $3,000 that Shelly had paid her and suggests he give it to Shelly as a down payment. He goes inside to where Shelly is meeting with his partners, throws Natalie's bloody handkerchief on the table and punches Shelly in the stomach swearing to kill him if he touches Natalie again. Shelly and his men drag Bernie up to the roof. Shelly says he hurt Natalie because he never gives up on a good thing, and Bernie is a very good thing - the best cooler ever. Bernie says he's not that man anymore. He promises to leave, get a job and send Shelly half his paycheck, but.Shelly says if he tries to leave the casino without paying his debt, he'll toss both he and Natalie off the roof. Bernie says he won't do that, because with him dead, he'd no longer the biggest loser in the world - Shelly would. What do you have except this place, Bernie challenges, your legacy is an illusion - you've got nothing. Shelly isn't impressed by the speech and walks away. Bernie turns his $3,000 into chips and starts throwing the dice at the crap table and winning. After he has run up some serious money and gotten Shelly's attention (but no interference from him) Larry arrives demanding Shelly shut him down right now and proclaiming that Bernie isn't leaving with one dime. Shelly hauls Larry into the men's room and tells him Bernie is okay and nobody's touching a hair on his head. He pins Shelly down and declares, wait, on a subsonic level, I hear a mantra "Pain! Pain! Pain!" Then he breaks Larry's wrist. At the table, Bernie is up over 100 grand until he craps out. He bets again but craps out a second time. He then takes the rest of his chips - $80,000 in all and places one last bet, throwing the dice nervously. He is next seen walking out of the casino empty-handed. Natalie is just grateful that he is alive as he drives them away. Meanwhile, Shelly is in his office with a headache, refusing to answer his ringing phone. He finally smashes the model of the new Golden Shangri-La to bits. Miles away in the car, Natalie asks Bernie to tell her what happened. He stops the car on the side of a desert road and opens the door as if he has to throw up. Meanwhile, Shelly gets into his car in the parking lot only to find Nicky waiting in his back seat. Bernie, meanwhile, proceeds to pull wads of money out of his pockets. He tells Natalie he won big at the casino. "Bahamas, here we come", he declares. Then a cop appears at their window, ordering them to step out. Bernie tells the cop he's sorry if he was driving carelessly, but that they just won a load of money. The cop pulls out a gun and tells them they didn't win anything - and orders them to get on their knees. Nicky tells Shelly he's just protecting his investment the old school way. He points his gun at Shelly's temple and shoots him dead. Meanwhile, on their knees in the desert, Natalie whispers to Bernie that they should have known it was all too good to be true. They turn to give each other one last loving gaze as the cop cocks his gun. But instead of hearing a gunshot, they hear a loud thud. They turn to see that a car has run down and killed the cop. Bernie realizes it was just a random drunk driver - a freaky, lucky coincidence. Bernie and Natalie get back into the car and drive away with their money. We see Larry being introduced to the investors as the new Director of Casino Operations at the new Golden Shangri-La. "The future looks very bright, gentlemen. Very, very bright," he assures them. And with those words of endorsement ringing in our ears, we watch Bernie and Natalie drive off toward a new life together.

While attending college in New York City, sophomore Al / Alfred Connelly (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and freshman Imogen (Julia Stiles) begin dating. Al's roommate Monk (Zak Orth), who has become a pornographic film actor and director, tells him that love is illusory and fleeting. Monk gets paid $2500 per movie and is doing well for himself. Eddie (Shawn Hatosy) is Al's other roommate. Eddie wants to be part of the business, but Monk challenges Eddie to get a girl in bed by that night in their room, and he would be watching from Al's bunk. If Eddie succeeds, Monk agrees to get him an audition. Eddie and Monk go their separate ways, leaving Al looking for someone to spend some time with. Al and Imogen meet at the bar. Imogen was by the Juke Box picking songs when Al stops by and introduces himself. He says that he like female singers as his own mother was a DJ all her life and he has her influence in him. Lana (Rosario Dawson) is Imogen's friend. The girl that Eddie leaves the bar with is Lana. The night between Eddie and Lana goes weird as Al later finds out that Lana shoved her finger up Eddie's behind, throwing him off his game, and leading him to believe that he might be gay. Al and Imogen end up dancing together, though Imogen is approached by a fellow student Jim, who also offers her a drink. At the end of the night Imogen hugs Al, even though she wanted not to be in a relationship during her freshman year. Imogen says that she was in relationships all through high school and was looking forward to having a good time without being tied down. Al is intoxicated by the smell of her hair. Monk's co-star Cyrus (Selma Blair) shows up at the bar after Monk and Eddie had left and she flirts with Al. Cyrus is an MIT dropout and is now taking a break to explore herself and is looking to share herself. Monk is the closest person Al has for advice on the topics related to love. Soon, Al is visiting Imogen at her campus. Imogen hugs Al again and throws out all her rules about not dating anyone in her freshman year. Al finds that Imogen is majoring in art and has painted portraits of herself on album covers and so on. They do a fake therapy session to discover their likes and dislikes and also learn about each other's dating histories. Al takes Imogen to meet his parents Ray and Judy (Lucie Arnaz). They love spending time with each other. After three months they have fallen in love, and it is a first love for both of them. Imogen, an aspiring artist, arranges a private showing at an art gallery for Al's birthday, after which the two have sex for the first time. This was the honeymoon period of their relationship. Al loses a bet and must perform as an extra in one of Monk's films. This causes an argument between him and Imogen, who wants to spend time with him before she goes to France (in 2 weeks) for the summer. He abandons the film in favor of spending the night with her. Things are perfect and Al believes that they will remain this way. While in France, Imogen is asked by her cousin if she and Al will marry. This unnerves her as she is only nineteen, and she acts differently toward Al on her return. Al's father Chef Ray (Henry Winkler), who hosts a cooking show, wants to do a father-and-son show after Al graduates. His vision is of a reality TV show where Al and Ray travel all over the country in their large truck, and offer to cook dinner for families they pick on the fly with ingredients at the back of their truck. While they cook the food, they also teach their audience on how to cook various cuisines of food. Every week a new cuisine and a new home. But Al would rather pursue his dream of becoming a chef of French cuisine. Concerned that he and Imogen are drifting apart, Al arranges a picnic in the countryside. On the way back, she drives drunk and crashes into a tree. Seeing the accident as a sign, they try to improve their relationship. Though they seem happy, Monk predicts it is a precursor to a breakup. When Imogen declines to have sex one night, Al feels emasculated and has a sexual fantasy about Cyrus. Imogen fears that she may be pregnant, and though she turns out not to be, these further strains their relationship. At one of Monk's parties, Cyrus tries to seduce Al, but he declines. Meanwhile, Imogen spends time with musician acquaintance Jim (Ashton Kutcher). When Al learns she has agreed to design Jim's album cover, they argue and she leaves upset. The next day, she confesses she had sex with Jim afterward. After a tearful breakup, she moves to San Francisco to finish school. Al graduates but becomes depressed. Monk is too preoccupied with his new work as an author and lecturer to comfort him, and their friendship dissolves. After a period of isolation, Al starts dating again and has a casual relationship with Cyrus, but she eventually moves away. He enrolls in the French Culinary Institute but feels unmotivated and drops out and is reduced to bar-hopping with his single friend Eddie (Shawn Hatosy). Drunk and missing Imogen, he tries to purge himself of his feelings for her by drinking a bottle of her shampoo, resulting in his hospitalization. Al's parents throw a party with his friends to lift his spirits. Monk apologizes to Al, and they mend their friendship. Imogen appears, and they spend time catching up. She has become a cover artist for a San Francisco-based book publisher. She confesses that she misses him and gives him a book titled Down to You with her cover artwork depicting the two of them in love. They rekindle their romance, deciding that they met too young but can start over. Al takes a job at a four-star restaurant in San Francisco and surprises Imogen with a romantic evening.

Timothy "Dildo/Dunph" Dunphy (Shawn Hatosy), is in the Class of 1974 in his high school senior year living in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, comes from a troubled single parent working-class family, and is friends with those that have aspirations which do not exceed smoking marijuana at the water tower that has a view of the town. His father, Pat (Alec Baldwin), suffers from his wife committing suicide and appears naïve when the boys come back to the Dunphy's house to get a bong. A regularly held poker game is in progress. Pat insists that the boys be respectful and come in to say hello. The boys' intention is undetected by Pat that they are using drugs when Dunph's wheelchair-using younger brother, Jackie (Tommy Bone), attempts to hand off the bong wrapped in Dunph's coat. It falls to the floor. Jackie suggests that it is a musical horn which Pat's friend, Joey (George Wendt), asks Dunph to demonstrate, only able to make sounds about which Pat is dismissive. Pat's friends chuckle at Pat's reaction. Off the boys go on their adventures. The guys head home with Dunph at the wheel but he is unable to see the road with the cloud of marijuana smoke filling the cab. He rear-ends a police vehicle. Pat's poker game player, Caveech, uses his influence with a local judge to replace a reform school sentence with the stipulation of parole graduating high school at Cornwall Academy, a Connecticut boys' boarding school with a sister school nearby under the same name. Failure to graduate vacates the terms of parole and he will serve a one year jail sentence. He meets the rigid dorm master, Mr. Funderburk (Timothy Crowe), who emphases learning the school rules book. Dunph learns that new friend Wheeler and other new schoolmates, a class of people that seem to have more opportunities than himself, are involved in their own mischief just like the boys back home. Billy Fu is one particular example. He is a middle eastern exchange student with "the best reefer on campus". He routinely misses classes without repercussion because his father pledges a large donation to the school on the condition that Billy graduate. Dunph is no longer just any student at the school when "Drugs" Delaney (Jon Abrahams), writes Dunph with his particular colorful words and addressing the letter in the most simplest of ways that the school has to open it to learn of the contents; Dunph has low regard for both the school and Mr. Funderburk. Dunph routinely gets sanctioned with work hours as punishment for his school rules transgressions. He also develops a friendship with a sister school student, Jane Weston (Amy Smart), regarded as "hands down, the coolest girl in school". A romance develops and through her advice he learns about personal fulfillment which could be achieved by an education. She and others are found out by Mr. Funderburk smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol in a dorm room of the boys' dorm. The incident is resolved, unknown to Dunph's knowledge until too late, with Jane expelled for school rules violations. Dunph feels responsible for dashing Jane's goal of attending Brown University following graduation. He concludes: Wheeler's acceptance at Yale University is weighed heavily by a letter of recommendation from Funderburk and Wheeler was caught with marijuana during an earlier raid; therefore Wheeler made his own deal with Funderburk to inform on others which resulted in Jane being expelled. Dunph resolves to see Jane's college plans revitalized by speaking with the Dean at Brown University, as he explains that she was the innocent party in the incident. Dunph comes to terms with his father's apprehension discussing the death in the family because the latter felt responsible for imposing on her a life that she could not handle; she being too young when they married, depressed and agoraphobic. Dunph refuse to shake Funderburk's hand at the graduation ceremony in the auditorium and exits after asking his classmates for his "luggage". He then meets up with his father and Jackie as they arrive. Pat hands over an acceptance letter from the Community College of Rhode Island where Dunph points out that everyone is accepted although he could then transfer to a "senior college...where people sleep over and shit." Pat congratulates Dunph for being the first of the family to go to college and the younger brother not to be trumped surmises the possibility that it just very well may be that Jackie himself may be the first to graduate. Alternate ending An alternate ending is found on the DVD, which has Dunph leaving the graduation ceremonies, meeting Jackie and Clopsy, their three-legged dog. Also showing up is Jane, whom Dunph shares a passionate kiss with, which annoys Funderburk, who wastes no time in rebuking both Dunph and Jane. Dunph responds by punching Funderburk, knocking him to the sidewalk.

One evening at Herrington High School in Ohio, several teachers and the principal leave after discussions about the school's budget. Having left her keys behind, Principal Valerie Drake (Bebe Neuwirth) returns to retrieve them. In her office, she is barred from leaving by Coach Willis (Robert Patrick), who becomes increasingly erratic. As she attempts to leave, Willis impulsively stabs a pencil through her hand. Valerie flees to the entrance only to find the door chained up and the drama teacher Mrs. Olsen (Piper Laurie) is outside. She retrieves her keys and grabs a pair of scissors, and is able to escape. Outside, Mrs. Olsen emotionlessly grabs the scissors, and stabs Valerie to death. The following morning, the film's six protagonist students are introduced. Casey Connor (Elijah Wood), the dedicated but perpetually klutzy and harassed geek photographer for the school newspaper. The spiteful Delilah Profitt (Jordana Brewster), the paper's editor-in-chief and head cheerleader. Delilah's mistreated boyfriend Stan Rosado (Shawn Hatosy) who is contemplating quitting the school's football team to pursue academics. Zeke Tyler (Josh Hartnett), an intelligent yet rebellious student repeating his senior year who sells, among other illegal items, a powdery ecstasy-like drug he manufactures and distributes. Zeke is confronted by the timid Miss Elizabeth Burke (Famke Janssen), who expresses concern for him over his illegal activities. A naive transfer student from Atlanta, Georgia, Marybeth Louise Hutchinson (Laura Harris), attempts to befriend self-styled outcast, Stokely Mitchell (Clea DuVall), despite the fact that Delilah has deliberately spread rumors that Stokes is a lesbian even though she has a crush on Stan. Marybeth, on the other hand, develops a crush on Zeke. While eating lunch on the football field, Casey notices a strange creature in the grass. He takes it to science teacher Mr. Furlong (Jon Stewart), where the specimen is examined and believed to be a new species of cephalopod-specific parasite called a mesozoan. Delilah takes Casey into the teacher's lounge to find a story for the front page, where they hide in a closet. They witness Coach Willis and Ms. Olsen assault the school nurse, Ms. Harper (Salma Hayek) by forcing one of the creatures into her ear. They also find the body of Mrs. Brummel (Susan Willis). Casey and Delilah flee, and Casey calls the police. Principal Drake claims nothing is wrong and that Casey is seeking attention. The next day, Casey tells Delilah, Stan and Stokely that he believes the teachers are being controlled by aliens. After Zeke and Marybeth enter the classroom and tease them about their theory, Mr. Furlong confronts them. Furlong suddenly becomes defensive and attempts to infect them. Zeke cuts off Furlong's fingers and then injects his homemade drugs into Furlong's eye, apparently killing him. Zeke takes the five to his house where he examines and experiments with Casey's specimen. He discovers that it needs water to survive and can be killed by his drugs because it is a diuretic. Zeke makes everyone take some of his drug to prove they are human and unaffected. Delilah is revealed as infected, and she destroys Zeke's lab and most of his drug supply before escaping. Acting on Stokely's speculation that killing the queen alien would revert everyone to normal, the group returns to the school that evening, where their football team is playing a game and infecting opposing players. Believing Principal Drake to be the queen, they isolate her in the gym and fatally shoot her. Stan goes outside and confronts the coach and football team to see if it worked, but gets infected. Zeke and Casey go to Zeke's car to retrieve more of Zeke's drugs. Casey leads infected students away from Zeke, who encounters Miss Burke in the parking lot and seemingly kills her when he makes his escape. Back at the gym, Stokely becomes suspicious of Marybeth during a conversation about pretending to be what one isn't. Marybeth subsequently reveals herself to be the alien queen. Earlier, she faked taking the drug. Casey and Stokely flee to the swimming pool where Stokely gets injured and becomes infected. Zeke and Casey hide in the locker room, where Marybeth reverts to her human disguise, naked. She explains that she is taking over Earth because her own planet is dying. Marybeth transforms back into her true form and hurls Zeke across the room into several lockers, knocking him out. Casey seizes the drug and tricks the queen into following him into the retracting bleachers, thus trapping her. Casey then stabs the drug into the queen's eye. The queen infects Casey with her dying breath, but Casey almost immediately returns to normal upon the queen's death. The dead body of the alien queen dissolves into powdered remains. Casey returns to the locker room and finds Stokely and Zeke alive. One month later, everyone has returned to normal. Stan and Stokely begin dating, and Zeke takes Stan's place on the football team (while Miss Burke affectionately watches him practice). Mr. Furlong has miraculously survived the attack, now sporting an eyepatch and bandages on his hand. Casey begins dating Delilah and has been considered a local hero.