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The Ice Storm

113 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Kevin Kline Ben Hood
Joan Allen Elena Hood
Sigourney Weaver Janey Carver
Jamey Sheridan Jim Carver
Christina Ricci Wendy Hood
Tobey Maguire Paul Hood
Elijah Wood Mikey Carver
Adam Hann-Byrd Sandy Carver
Michael Cumpsty Philip Edwards
Katie Holmes Libbets Casey
Henry Czerny George Clair
David Krumholtz Francis Davenport
Allison Janney Dot Halford
Barbara Garrick Weather Reporter

The Ice Storm | The Rewatchables

Explore episodeClose episode
In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:47Read transcript
  • Nominations are framed as good scenes rather than truly rewatchable ones.
  • The first dinner party, from the spilled wine to the couples sitting beside spouses they seem not to like, sets the tone.
  • Ben’s affair reveal with Weaver’s character is nominated, including his golf babbling and her reply that she already has a husband and needs no other.
  • Kline left alone in Weaver’s house then discovering Wendy and Mikey with the Nixon mask is nominated and called one of the most unnerving scenes in a non-horror film.
  • The film handles Christina Ricci’s character without feeling exploitative; carrying her home because her feet are cold captures a child longing to be older.
  • Paul’s homecoming exchange with his sister shows the kids know their parents are odd.
  • The car ride to the key party, where Ben and Joan Allen’s character debate what will happen, is where tensions come to a simmer.
  • The Elton John needle drop is loved even though the party it scores lacks a payoff; the song is called a top-five Elton John song.
  • The key party itself is nominated, returned to in pieces until one key remains and Ben is passed out in the bathroom.
  • The electrocution is not fun to rewatch but is called brilliant and horror-like, with impressive ice effects for 1997.
  • The final 30 minutes cross-cut three storylines in a novelistic way, making it hard to isolate scenes; the key party spans about 30 minutes.
  • Under the Fucked Up Family February “most gripping” framing, the final 15 minutes would win, though a channel-flipper would start at the key party.
  • Joan Allen at the book sale meeting the Reverend and seeing Wendy on her bike is nominated by two hosts.
  • Ben driving Paul home from the train and discussing self-abuse is held for Aged Best.
  • The key party is settled on as the scene.

What’s Aged the Best?

Self-abuse talk; key parties; split-level house; Nixon shadow; Kline and Weaver pairing; bong scenes; Maguire and Holmes debuts; dorm posters; Francis and Paul; Weaver

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:29Read transcript
  • Ben’s awkward self-abuse advice to his son is the first pick.
  • Key parties as a pop-culture gimmick age well; CBS’s Swingtown tried and failed, and Mad Men had adultery but no key party.
  • The 1970s house with a single step up between rooms is a style never seen again, recalling the sunken living room in Help!
  • The Nixon and Watergate shadow is cited again.
  • Kline and Weaver, who played a president and first lady four years earlier, reuniting as adulterers is enjoyed.
  • Bong scenes and the Amaretto-and-brandy combination are enjoyed.
  • This was the Paul actor’s breakout before Pleasantville and Katie Holmes’s first film, before Dawson’s Creek and Disturbing Behavior; admiration for Holmes and a sneaky-tall anecdote follow.
  • Paul’s boarding-school posters, including Planet of the Apes, the Doors, and Nixon, reward set-dressing attention.
  • Francis and Paul’s roommate banter, including their reading-recommendation exchange, is a welcome change of gear.
  • Sigourney Weaver is picked out of simple love for her.
  • Asked who should have been Oscar-nominated since the film had no acting nominations, the hosts agree on Joan Allen, citing her tearing up when the Reverend hits on her.
  • Reviewing that year’s supporting-actress field, the Titanic nomination is called an abomination that took Allen’s spot, and Heather Graham in Boogie Nights is also raised.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Water beds; Jim Carver’s premature ejaculation; Mikey’s dropped pass

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:21Read transcript
  • Water beds are baffling; Licorice Pizza revived them, but they are blamed for a generation’s back problems.
  • Jim Carver’s premature ejaculation literally aged the worst, drifting into sports-roster jokes.
  • Mikey dropping an easy pass in the football game is mocked as the one moment that feels directed by someone who did not grow up in America; one host also had it as a nit.
  • A defense says Mikey was in an emotional crisis as the world shifted beneath him.
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:13Read transcript
  • A host’s wife recognized the TV weather reporter as the over-laughing date from Sleepless in Seattle.
  • The actor playing the Reverend (transcribed “Michael Comstey”) is called the definition of a that guy who often plays clergy.
  • For a second he was thought to be the guy from another show, whom he kind of looks like; it is weird the two never teamed up.
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:40Read transcript
  • Instead of an overacting pick, an award is proposed for Jim Carver needing a bigger reaction on seeing his electrocuted son.
  • Jamey Sheridan could go big as Randall Flagg in The Stand but is restrained here; nearly everyone is restrained, with the Ben character only at about a seven.

Apex Mountain

Joan Allen; key parties

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:45Read transcript
  • Kline is not at Apex; Weaver is also a no, her peak being around Ghostbusters, Aliens, and Working Girl.
  • Ang Lee is a no, with Brokeback Mountain cited among his two directing Oscars.
  • Joan Allen’s Apex is opened as this film versus her first spy-franchise role. — Chris Ryan
  • Counter-alternatives are her Pamela Landy role, Face/Off and Pleasantville, or The Contender, which earned an Oscar nomination.
  • Her filmography is recapped, from Manhunter and a chess-prodigy film through The Crucible and The Contender.
  • This is declared her Apex for the podcast’s purposes while still admiring her Pamela Landy. — Chris Ryan
  • The Upside of Anger is praised, and Allen is called one of the most believable movie moms.
  • Maguire and Holmes are no; key parties are an emphatic yes.
  • Whether key parties peaked elsewhere is questioned, perhaps with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, at the Playboy Mansion, in John Updike’s fiction, or in Thy Neighbor’s Wife.
  • Forrest Gump remains the peak for premature-ejaculation scenes, so this film is not.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Ten-episode series with aftermath; five-day miniseries; Jim Carver spinoff; one-family-per-episode anthology

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:52Read transcript
  • A 10-episode remake is judged likely to be bad by one host.
  • A series could add an aftermath coda about Sandy and his mother, though the film’s abrupt tragic ending is both its best and worst quality.
  • The trailer’s lighthearted voiceover misrepresents the film.
  • A five-part miniseries could cover one day of Thanksgiving weekend per episode.
  • A joke IP spinoff would center on Jim Carver’s condition.
  • A remake would need to be bigger and more 1970s; a 13-episode show following one New Canaan family per episode is proposed.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Nixon mask; sweaters; football playbook; Buick; key party bowl

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:52Read transcript
  • The Nixon mask or one of Mikey’s sweaters are the first options.
  • Mikey’s football playbook and Jim Carver’s Buick are added.
  • The key party bowl with its keys is embraced as the best.
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:31Read transcript
  • Ang Lee is the first pick.
  • Ang Lee and Joan Allen are the finalists; Allen wins among the actors, Jim Carver clearly lost, and Lee is favored because the film confirmed him as a major American filmmaker.
  • Lee is rejected because the film did not do well; Joan Allen is picked for her run of roles and her best dramatic performance besides The Contender, which has aged poorly.
  • Her Face/Off and Ice Storm work together are said to have solidified 1997 for her.
Podcast choices
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Ang Lee
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Joan Allen