The Ice Harvest Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)November 21st, 2005
THE ICE HARVEST
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2005 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
"Just act normal for a few hours, and we're home free," the calm and collected Vic (Billy Bob Thornton) attempts to reassure Charlie Arglist (John Cusack), his very nervous partner in crime. THE ICE HARVEST, a black comedy about a con gone wrong, uses that age old formula of a con in which it's never clear who is conning whom. It starts off as a simple theft, when Charlie steals two million dollars from his boss, but, given that Charlie is a mob lawyer, something that his very drunken buddy Pete Van Heuten (Oliver Platt) broadcasts to everyone he meets, the crime quickly gets complicated.
The story, which occurs on Christmas Eve and which features lots of cheerfully ironic Christmas music and icons, is directed by Harold Ramis, who has previously delighted audiences with movies such as GROUNDHOG DAY and ANALYZE both THIS and THAT. There are plenty of dead bodies and bags of money gone missing to enliven the tale.
The action is set in that hotbed of strip joints -- Wichita, Kansas! Charlie's establishment, TeaseORama, is located there, as are other sleazy, porn palaces, including Velvet Touch and Sweet Cage. The bored young ladies who work in them would rather be at home with their kids for the holidays than stripping for old geezers who appear in danger of having a heart attack from over stimulation.
The dialog is as wickedly funny as the sets are tackily humorous. A very sexy Renata (Connie Nielsen) shows up looking for an embarrassing photo of a local politician. She thinks that Charlie might be able to get it for her, but you can easily guess that she'll soon be involved in more than blackmail.
A recurring joke involves a bit of graffiti that someone is penning on bathroom and other walls. "As Wichita falls, so falls Wichita Falls." Like most of the movie, it's never quite clear what it means, but it's funny, so who cares.
THE ICE HARVEST runs 1:28. It is rated R for "violence, language and sexuality/nudity" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Wednesday, November 23, 2005. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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