In an era in which special effects drive big-budget
films and human interaction is regarded as an annoyance, memorable screen
teams are few and far between. However, there’s always an exception
that proves the rule. Case in point: John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton in The Ice Harvest. Having teamed
up once before in the air-traffic-controller film Pushing Tin, these two have reunited
for another black comedy that they salvage, thanks to the antagonistic
chemistry they generate that helps the movie over its bad patches, which
are far too frequent.
The locale is Wichita, Kan., and it’s Christmas
Eve. Shady lawyer Charlie (Cusack) and his partner in crime, strip-club
owner Vic (Thornton) decide to lift a satchel filled with just north of $2
million from mob chieftain Bill Guerrard (Randy Quaid). The timing for this
plan seems perfect, and the boys are ready to skip town for warmer climes
when their best-laid plan begins to unravel, as it must. Bad weather, in
the form of freezing rain, begins to fall, making travel hazardous, and
Charlie ends up saddled with his best friend, Pete (Oliver Platt),
who’s on a bender to make him forget his troubles at home, in the
person of Charlie’s ex-wife, to whom he’s married. Adding to
the turmoil are the sudden appearance of Guerrard’s right-hand man,
Roy Gelles (Mike Starr), who delights in shooting people, and overtures
made to Charlie by Renata (Connie Nielsen), a strip-club manager
Charlie’s had his eye on for years.
Though director Harold Ramis could learn a thing or
two about building tension, he keeps the film moving at a brisk pace that
helps us deal with the fact that we’re going through oft-traveled
cinematic territory. Still, there are inspired moments, such as when one of
this motley crew ends up trapped in a steamer trunk yet continues to
display a degree of optimism that Norman Vincent Peale would admire.
Equally effective is Platt, who steals each scene he’s in as his
charming yet offensive Pete goes out of his way to embarrass everyone in
view, using his drunken state as an excuse to wallow in a poignant display
of self-loathing.
In the end, though, the bulk of the film lies on the shoulders of the two leads, and they do not disappoint. Cusack’s nervous-Nellie routine is a perfect contrast to Thornton’s cool underplaying. These two have mastered the ironic tone needed for such material, and The Ice Harvest yields an unexpected bounty because of it.
In the end, though, the bulk of the film lies on the shoulders of the two leads, and they do not disappoint. Cusack’s nervous-Nellie routine is a perfect contrast to Thornton’s cool underplaying. These two have mastered the ironic tone needed for such material, and The Ice Harvest yields an unexpected bounty because of it.
