I tend to enjoy Christmas movies and have several that I watch every year now. Over the years, many have been made that were set at Christmas time without the holiday playing a major role in the plot of the movie. I have also enjoyed many of those movies. The Ice Harvest, a new movie featuring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thorton, is one of those movies. I enjoyed it, but this isn’t a movie for everyone.
Charlie Arglist was a lawyer working for Bill Guerrard, a mobster. Charlie wasn’t happy with his life in Wichita and along with Vic Cavanaugh, developed a plan to steal money from Bill and then get out of town on Christmas Eve. The plan worked fine when Charlie got the money, but things starting going downhill after that. A bad winter storm, including freezing rain, hit the area, complicating their plans to leave. A few people, like Renata, noticed that Charlie was acting a bit different. She worked at a strip club and Charlie seemed to have feelings for her. He agreed to do a favor for her. Roy, someone else that worked for Bill, turned up looking for Charlie and Vic. That made Charlie panic even though Vic wasn’t worried. Charlie ended up having to deal with Pete, his very drunk friend while the plan spiraled further out of control.
I don’t remember ever hearing Charlie or Vic say how long they had been planning before Charlie actually took the money. I got the impression they had been planning for a while. It seemed like they were prepared, at least at the beginning, but there were some aspects they hadn’t discussed as a few surprises that popped up to complicate the situation. Charlie got very worried and paranoid once he realized that someone was looking for him and Vic. That added a little mystery and suspense to the movie since it wasn’t completely clear why Roy wanted to see Charlie and Vic. That aspect wasn’t very strong, so anyone wanting to see a movie with a strong mystery will probably be disappointed. The small amount of mystery and suspense did keep me interested in what was going on.
The Ice Harvest was rated R for language, violence, and some nudity, so this is definitely not a movie for children to see. A few different scenes took place in strip clubs around town, and some of the dancers were shown in the backgrounds of scenes while Charlie was talking to someone else. That only happened in a few scenes, so it wasn’t like there were naked women popping up for no reason every few minutes. It could seem like that was what was going to happen earlier in the movie since most of the nudity turned up then. At one point, a picture that showed an important man in Wichita in a compromising position with a stripper was shown. That was the closest there was to a sex scene in the movie. Just about every character swore throughout the movie. The word that rhymes with luck, along with some variations, was used repeatedly throughout the movie. It wasn’t used as much as it has been in some other movies, like Bad Santa. Anyone that gets offended by that type of language probably shouldn’t see this movie.
I felt that The Ice Harvest successfully blended humor with the darker elements that were included in the movie. This wasn’t what I would consider a hilarious movie even though it did make me laugh several times. The humor wasn’t overdone or as obvious as it has been in some movies. Something serious would be going on, and then some bit of humor would be added, like when Vic sort of flipped out with a golf club. That made everyone in the theater laugh when I saw the movie. Several things were done to add humor that were dark and a bit twisted which could bother some viewers. It is hard to do this sort of movie and successfully blend humor with darker elements. I think it worked in this movie, though it could have been funnier. People in the mood for a good comedy may not be satisfied with the humor in this movie. Violence added to the darker side of the story once the movie was a little further along. The violence wasn’t extreme, but there were a few short shots that were graphic or even disturbing to watch. The movie could be too violent for some people.
I think that most of the Christmas movies I have seen have been of the more happy, family friendly variety. I really enjoy those movies as Christmas approaches, and over the last few years I have been slowly adding some of them to my DVD collection. They can be silly at times, but I do find them enjoyable. I have enjoyed a few action movies that connected to Christmas, like Lethal Weapon or Die Hard without making Christmas the main focus of the movie. There are other Christmas movies, like Bad Santa, that are the complete opposite of happy family friendly movies. I enjoyed Bad Santa, though I do realize it isn’t something for everyone. The Ice Harvest took place completely on Christmas Eve. The holiday did factor into the plot since that would give Charlie and Vic more time to get out of town before the missing money was discovered. The holiday was mentioned more than once, and Christmas decorations were shown in the backgrounds and Christmas music played at different times throughout the movie without it revolving around Christmas. This isn’t a happy, fun filled, family friendly Christmas movie and it isn’t something that everyone will enjoy. The fact that it is dark and somewhat twisted will turn off some people.
When movies are made, sometimes little goofs make into the final version, like a character would be holding an item, the item would disappear and then be back. Other times, a member of the crew is visible in the background, or even the boom mic can be seen at the top of the picture. I don’t always notice the goofs. In The Ice Harvest, there was one reoccurring problem that I kept noticing throughout the movie. The boom mic was clearly visible during many scenes. At first just a small amount of the mic was shown. Other times all of the mic and even some of the pole was visible. Thankfully it wasn’t in every shot, but it was in entirely too many of them. Once or twice wouldn’t be a big deal, but it happened so many times in this movie that I lost count. It was distracting to see the mic show up in the shots. I did read something online that said some theaters received a bad print of the movie that contained some scenes that the editing wasn’t done right and that is why the boom mic was visible. I have no idea how accurate that was since I didn’t see an official studio statement about this.
Charlie was the main character and in all the scenes. The movie really focused on him and his attempts to act normal until it was time for him to leave town. Charlie intended to follow the plan, but complications kept popping up. Charlie did seem to losing it as the night wore on. Charlie had flaws, more than just having stolen money from the mob. Even with his faults, it was likable for the most part. I really liked John Cusack in this part. I’ve mostly seen him in romantic comedies, like America's Sweethearts. He has also been in some more serious movies like Runaway Jury. Charlie was different from all the other parts I’ve seen him play. I think he handled it well.
Vic and Charlie had worked together to steal the money. I’m not sure exactly what Vic actually did. He kept telling Charlie to stick to the plan. Billy Bob Thorton was good in the part. Vic wasn’t in as much of the movie as Charlie was, so Thorton didn’t get as much to do. Vic wasn’t what I would consider a happy person, which does fit with parts Thorton has played in other movies. Thorton wasn't as funny as he has been in other movies like Bad News Bears (2005) or Bad Santa.
Renata ran one a strip club and wasn’t happy being in Wichita. She seemed to manage to avoid directly answering some things Charlie asked her. Not too much was shared about her and she did remain somewhat flat. It was shown that she was a strong woman that would go after what she wanted. When I watched the movie, I didn’t recognize Connie Nielsen. When I was double checking the cast online, I discovered that Nielsen had been in One Hour Photo. I thought she was fine in the part. She did seem to be making the character a femme fatale type, which did work for the movie.
Pete was one of Charlie’s friends who happened to be married to Charlie’s ex-wife Sarabeth. Pete had gotten involved with her while she was still married to Charlie, but somehow the men remained friends. Pete was drunk the first time he was in a scene, and got drunker as the movie progressed. He did provide a lot of comic relief. I thought that Oliver Platt was really good in the part. I’ve seen him in many movies over the years and do tend to like him. He does seem to usually inject humor into the movies he is in.
Bill was the local mob boss that Charlie worked for. Characters talked about him throughout the movie, but he wasn’t seen until very late in the movie. He didn’t seem like he was a nice person or someone you’d want to upset. Randy Quaid was very good in the part. I tend to remember his role of Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies when I think of him. Bill was extremely different from Eddie, but I still believed him in the role. This was the first movie I’d seen him in for a while. The last movie I saw he was involved in was an animated movie, Home on the Range, that he provided a voice for.
MAIN CAST
John Cusack - Charlie
Connie Nielsen - Renata
Oliver Platt - Pete
Randy Quaid - Bill
Billy Bob Thorton - Vic
Harold Ramis - Director
The Ice Harvest had a few minor problems, but I still thought it was an enjoyable movie. It is dark and twisted, so it isn’t for everyone. It is worth seeing for people who enjoy those types of movies or for fans of the cast.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.