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The Ice Harvest My friends in Wichita might be excited to hear the movie is set in that fine city, but very disappointed when their hometown is the object of derision for a mediocre movie. John Cusack stars as Charlie - a lawyer for a mid-west mob kingpin, Mr. Gerard (I won't tell you who plays him, it might be one of the few pleasant surprises you get in the movie). Charlie has teamed up with Vic (Billy Bob Thornton) to skim over $2 million from Mr. Gerard, and sneak away from Wichita in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, the plan is taken off track when an ice storm hits, so the two have to cool their heels, as Gerard's henchmen get closer to figuring it all out and capturing them. Will Vic and Charlie be able to sneak away? Can they trust each other? In many ways, The Ice Harvest is like half of a movie. Director Harold Ramis and writers Richard Russo and Robert Benton (based on a novel by Scott Phillips) show us the getaway, but not the scheming and planning leading up to it that would flesh out the characters much better and add some tension and action to the film. We would understand how and why Vic and Charlie team up, which would help us comprehend why they are such a mismatched pair (as often referred to in the movie) and get a feel for the complications they face in getting away, why they would want to pull such a caper and what makes these characters so compelling. We get some laughs, but The Ice Harvest is not madcap enough or rapid fire enough or deadpan enough to be a wacky comedy, and gets much too serious towards the end instead of ending with a wild sequence that has us rolling on the floor with laughter (which leads to picking popcorn out of your hair, but it is worth it for the right movie). This lack of detail and context puts too much pressure on Thornton and Cusack to win over the audience, but they do their best in a bad situation. Cusack and Thornton are a decent pair as Thornton plays the cool as ice Vic, and Cusack portrays the nervous Charlie, but the supporting cast is given most of the best material and funny moments. Oliver Platt makes a raucous appearance as Charlie's buddy, Pete, as he commands the screen as a drunken fool who spews comments that get more inappropriate and hilarious as the movie unfolds. Even Connie Nielsen as femme fatale Renata has some great moments as Ramis lights her scenes to make Nielsen look like Ingrid Bergman in a great 1940's film noir like Notorious, and allows the actress to steam up the screen with her undeniable sexiness. Thornton gets some decent screen time, but doesn't appear enough, so we are left with Cusack's side of the story, which, once again, is only half the movie. The Ice Harvest reaps only an average reward, and only entertains when it goes for the outrageous. 1 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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