The Bottom Line: ‘Ice’-man Cusack Again Gets Up to No Good

All John Cusack needs is love. Oh, and a .45.

Since wooing Ione Skye in Say Anything… (1989) and locking horns with Annette Bening in The Grifters (1990), Cusack’s made fluffy romances and offbeat crime capers his bread and butter. Sure, he occasionally strays from his stock in trade, but Cusack always has another High Fidelity or Grosse Pointe Blank lurking around the corner.

And this year is no exception.

Cusack’s already slobbered over Diane Lane in Must Love Dogs ($43.8 million). Now, in Ice Harvest, he’s a crooked lawyer who can’t get out of town after stealing $2.1 million from mobster Randy Quaid. A delightfully droll Cusack’s aided and abetted by Billy Bob Thornton in this slow, sleazy but amusing black comedy from Groundhog Day’s Harold Ramis.

Cusack ’s curious criminal endeavors are very much an acquired taste, resulting in critical acclaim but low paydays. The Grifters only fleeced $13.4 million. Money for Nothing barely made more than the $1.2 million Cusack stumbled upon in that fact-based thriller. And Grosse Pointe Blank—Cusack ’s best post-Grifters endeavor–nailed just $28 million. Unlikely to generate much holiday cheer with its dark humor and violent nature, Ice Harvest will likely suffer the same unfortunate fate.

Cusack obviously breaks the law to amuse himself, not audiences who prefer to board Con Air than hang with The Grifters. And that’s OK, as long as it keeps Cusack from constantly engaging in affairs of the heart.

With the exception of the music-driven High Fidelity, Cusack ’s romantic comedies seem so predictable and disposal. And he always plays the same conflicted underachiever who ends up winning over his true love with his kindness, sensitivity, and vulnerability.

But women seem to fall for him, especially when he’s courting a big-name leading lady like Lane, Julia Roberts (Americas Sweethearts) and Kate Beckinsale (Serendipity). Chances are, had Cusack gone gaga for costar Catherine Zeta-Jones–and not Iben Hjejle–then High Fidelity may have exceeded $27.2 million.

Why fall in love time and again?

That’s easy: romantic comedies pay the bills. And Cusack ’s always willing to take the money to score a hit. That’s evident by Con Air and Identity. Hey, all the more luck to him if that means he can get away with doing something more rewarding like Grosse Pointe Blank or such quirky comedies as Being John Malkovich, Bullets Over Broadway and, possibly, next year’s The Martian Child.

The Bottom Line 
Ice Harvest may receive a chilly reception from those who prefer Cusack the dog lover to Cusack the fun lovin’ criminal. Too bad, because breaking the law brings out the best in him. So hopefully audiences will wise up and realize that it’s often more entertaining to watch Cusack shoot his costars than it is for him to smooch them.