"The Ice Harvest” (Focus Features)
Several years ago there was a dark comedy called “Very Bad Things.” It was full of sick humor and didn’t make very much money. Still it was one of my favorite films of that year. Somehow everything in that movie struck my funny bone and I laughed aloud in the theater; me and one woman seated a few rows below me.
That same kind of sick, dark humor permeates the new John Cusack/Billy Bob Thornton film "The Ice Harvest.” And once again I found myself howling at every sick and twisted incident in the movie. The movie is hilarious or at least it was to me.
Cusack and Thornton play Charlie and Vic, two men who have worked out a plan to rob the local mob of a couple of million. They do this successfully but can’t take the money and run for a few hours because the weather in Wichita Falls, where they are located, is so bad. It is freezing cold and the rain mixed with snow is coming down making the streets dangerous.
Vic tells Charlie just to lay low and act natural. Charlie does this by heading out to one of his favorite clubs which is run by Renata (Connie Nielsen). Renata is a smoky voiced woman who is Charlie’s latest love.
Charlie’s best friend is Pete Van Heuten (Oliver Platt). Pete is married to Charlie’s ex-wife, but Charlie doesn’t hold that against him. Pete is also a fall down drunk, which does tick Charlie off from time to time.
In the course of the night Charlie gets involved in multiple murders. He doesn’t seek out this type of activity but rather it just happens around him. He also loses the money and can’t find any clues as to where it is. All he seems to find is a message written in red marker on the walls, etc saying, “As Wichita Falls, so falls Wichita Falls.”
Cusack plays Charlie as wry speaking and beleaguered. Thornton’s Vic is smooth and cagey. Nielsen is channeling an exact Kathleen Turner imitation and makes it perfect for this role. Randy Quaid makes a brief appearance as a mob boss who wants his money back.
All of the actors are perfectly cast and play their roles with the necessary seriousness that lets the comedy seep through the lines. Platt gets to use inebriation as his means of being funny.
The film is rated R for profanity, violence and nudity.
"The Ice Harvest” is not a movie that will appeal to everyone. Still for those who like their humor a little dark, and a little bit off the wall this film is like manna from heaven. I had a great time and will see it again.
I scored "The Ice Harvest” a frozen 7 out of 10.
