Obscure Christmas Part 1: John Cusack is Cool As Ice.

And here we go. The Christmas rush begins.

From now until the holly-jolly day, I will (hopefully) be supplying this blog with quick reviews of some of the more "obscure" Christmas movies that failed to ignite the box-office or just got lost in the holiday shuffle.

All these movies I recommend, so if you don't dig them like I did, sorry....you didn't have to listen to me anyway. 

First up is the 2005 blink-and-you-missed it movie The Ice Harvest.  I wanted to see this in theater, but I couldn't get anybody to go see it with me.  And then when I decided to just go to the theater myself, the thing had already been assassinated as D.O.A. at the box office.

This is a dark comedy, with John "Nope, I'm not in American Beauty" Cusack (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the infamous viral interview here), and Billy Bob Thornton as two pals who attempt extort $2 million from mob boss Randy "Always on the Run" Quaid.  The story takes place on Christmas Eve, and certain over-the-top hilarity ensues.

What follows is a great, darkly satiric portrait of small-town Americana, with a supporting cast (including the great-as-always Oliver Platt),  supplying laughs and guffaws along the way, and comedic vet Harold Ramis (we forgive you for Year One) in the director's chair. Sure, this film didn't fare well at getting people into the seats in the theater, but who cares? We have it to enjoy now, and usually when I mention this movie to anyone, I get looked at like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears. (Thank you, Jean Shepherd.)

Parts of the movie are mean-spirited, providing the Scrooge-like aura that should at least be present in all Christmas movies at some point, but just remember that this R-rated gem ain't a film for mom and grandmother to be watched while sipping egg-nog and enjoying macrame.  Watch it by yourself, as I did, presumably late at night, and enjoy a more obscure Christmas tale about a heist gone wrong. 

And if you hate it, well....then go watch The Grinch again. 

The Ice Harvest, 2005
Grade: B+