The Ice Harvest

The guy who made Caddyshack gets all dark and twisted. Director Harold Ramis, who also did Groundhog Day, concocts a nasty film noir with a pitch black sense of humor. John Cusack stars as a mob lawyer who steals a buttload of money from his boss (Randy Quaid), and Billy Bob Thornton costars as his shady partner in thievery. The film starts on a funny note. Then the bodies start to pile up. Cusack is perfect casting for this sort of film (his bemused reactions to the horrors around him are always entertaining), and Thornton is right at home in an ugly holiday movie given his Bad Santa pedigree. Connie Nielsen does decent work in the femme fatale role, and Quaid makes the most of his one scene as the mafia boss. An interesting departure for Ramis, who clearly has more up his sleeve than straight comedy movies.