Review:
"Thin Ice"
Release Date: March 2, 2012
Rating: R Running Time: 94 minutes The con is on in Thin Ice, a diverting black comedy that follows the efforts of Greg Kinnear’s crooked insurance agent to scam a client of a violin he doesn’t realize is worth a small fortune. The seemingly easy mark is an elderly man played with endearing loopiness by Alan Arkin, Kinnear’s Little Miss Sunshine costar. Kinnear thinks he’s got Arkin just where he wants him, but everything goes awry with the arrival of Billy Crudup’s alarm installer. Crudup’s nervous but intimidating ex-con takes control of a situation that threatens to land both men in prison. Set in a chilly Wisconsin small town, Thin Ice mines moderately amusing laughs from the unraveling of the suitably smarmy Kinnear’s best-laid plans and his desperate attempts to literally get away with murder. The lesson: you may think you are the smartest and most devious man in the room, and even if you are, you can never truly take the unexpected into consideration. Thin Ice’s biggest victim may be director Jill Sprecher, who lost final edit of the film, which was cut by at least 20 minutes. Only Sprecher can advise how much this current version of Thin Ice remains faithful to her vision of this comedic morality tale, but her lack of involvement in the finished product could explain why the film not only unfolds at a clunky pace but its ending is mishandled. Still, Thin Ice offers enough mildly intriguing twists and turns to satisfy fans of the similar but superior con jobs Fargo and A Simple Plan. Robert Sims Aired: March 1, 2012 Web site: https://www.facebook.com/thinicemovie |
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