Thin Ice (2012)
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 56
Fresh: 39 | Rotten: 17
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Critic Reviews: 20
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 8
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 2,469
My Rating
Movie Info
Mickey Prohaska (Greg Kinnear) is a small-time insurance agent looking for a way to jump-start his business, reunite with his estranged wife (Lea Thompson) and escape the frigid Wisconsin weather. This self-proclaimed master of spin believes that salesmanship is about selling a story - all he needs is a sucker willing to buy it. He hits pay dirt with a lonely retired farmer (Alan Arkin) who is sitting on something much bigger than an insurance commission. But Mickey's attempt to con the old man
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Cast
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Greg Kinnear
Mickey Prohaska -
Alan Arkin
Gorvy Hauer -
Billy Crudup
Randy -
Bob Balaban
Leonard Dahl -
Lea Thompson
Jo Ann Prohaska -
David Harbour
Bob Egan -
Michelle Arthur
Karla Gruenke -
John Paul Gamoke
Man at Coffee Shop -
Jennifer Edwards
Sherri -
Scott Crouch
Casino Emcee -
Peter Moore
Phil Peters -
Michelle Hutchison
Judy Vandenhoevel -
Jim Detmar
Glen Vandenhoevel -
Michael Paul Levin
Chuck Stankel -
Kathryn Lawrey
Hotel Clerk -
Joe Minjares
Hotel Manager -
Peter Thoemke
Frank Richie -
Alan Johnson
Bill Morton -
Alec George
Shane -
Tony Papenfuss
Buckhorn Bartender -
Sue Scott
Bank Teller -
Terry Hempleman
Dick Zimmer -
Chris Carlson
Don Schmidt -
John Elsen
Patrol Cop -
Gary Groomes
Traveler -
Isabell Monk O'Connor
Samaritan -
Mike Hagerty
Jerry -
Wayne Morton
The Real Gorvy -
Peggy O'Connell
The Real Gorvy's Wife -
Johnny Hagen
Buckhorn Bar Patron -
Gibson
Pete the Dog -
Didja
Pete the Dog
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Thin Ice Trailer & Photos
All Critics (56) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (17)
It's just a little slow getting started.
Top CriticThe movie never fully clicks.
At one point you're looking at the screen going, "This makes no sense!" Then after a long conclusionary explanation, you shake your head and say, "I'm still not sure that made much sense."
There's nothing like the macabre to bring intrigue to an ordinary life, and nothing like the logistics of body disposal to challenge an insurance salesman.
If only the film were as good as Kinnear.
The movie is familiar and generic, a pastiche that often reminds you of other, better films.
It builds suspense slowly and surely as things begin to come apart for Kinnear, but it eventually grows tiresome and the twist ending is still a bit hard to swallow.
...the film that has made its way into theaters is no disgrace to any of the names in the credits. Still, it would be very interesting to see the movie that the Sprechers intended to make.
The movie's gently snowbound Midwestern setting blunts some of the story's harsher edges, and the characters mostly feel real.
... the ride is pretty giddy ...
Cracks show in Thin Ice
The only things differentiating Thin Ice from Fargo? A lack of Midwestern accents and entertainment value.
Sprecher and her co-writer sister Karen seem to have gone through a card file of used ideas to cobble together this black comedy.
An amusingly nerve-wracking trek into the snow and out onto the ice with those funny folks in the land of "you betcha."
It's convoluted and clever, and on that score it works quite nicely. But if you're looking for something substantial beyond this, you're looking for a different movie.
A climactic twist tries to make the movie that preceded it more interesting in retrospect than it was while it unfolded, but the plot is too implausible -- too unbelievable, really -- to be clever.
Thin Ice is choppy, its tone jumps, it has an unnecessary voice-over, and one wonders about the easy, sappy ending. One also wonders what the original movie was like before it fell through the thin ice of manipulation.
...has the requisite twists and turns of a good whodunit and entertains right to the end.
Writer sisters Karen and Jill (who also directs) Sprecher look to the "Fargo" playbook for their twisty modern noir, and while much of it feels awfully familiar, a great cast and third act twist raise it above similar wannabes...
As a caustic comedy, "Thin Ice" resides just slightly south of "Fargo."
Arkin, as expected, is terrific ... but it's Crudup who steals the show. His brutal annihilation of an ice cream cone on Mickey's dashboard is truly a sight to behold.
If Mickey were a little less sneaky, he'd be the perfect protagonist for these hard economic times.
Ingenious, cleverly plotted engima.
Audience Reviews for Thin Ice
Good movie! I really liked this movie. It did remind me of Fargo in some ways and Greg Kinnear was excellent as the bumbling,slightly crooked insurance agent. The film maintains a steady pace, each detail is thoroughly absorbed and clearly never losing sight that its all building up to, not if, but when Mickey will cross the line from white-collar liar to criminal. Although "Thin Ice" is a fascinating take on the relationship between a simple Midwest farmer and convincing insurance man, it is foremost a story of the consequences of lying and when those lies will come back to haunt you. This thoroughly engaging and captivating little tale works from beginning to end. If one were to focus on possible weaknesses it would only be that true to it's Midwestern stylings its not overly flashy Nor particularly gritty compared to slicker studio productions. That being said "Thin Ice" is completely its own film and gives very little to dislike.
Mickey Prohaska (Greg Kinnear) is a small-time insurance agent looking for a way to jump-start his business, reunite with his estranged wife (Lea Thompson) and escape the frigid Wisconsin weather. This self-proclaimed master of spin believes that salesmanship is about selling a story - all he needs is a sucker willing to buy it. He hits pay dirt with a lonely retired farmer (Alan Arkin) who is sitting on something much bigger than an insurance commission. But Mickey's attempt to con the old man spins out of control when a nosy, unstable locksmith (Billy Crudup) with a volatile temper dramatically ups the stakes, trapping him in a madcap spiral of danger, deceit and double-crossing.
Super Reviewer
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- Gorvy Hauer: It used to be you could trust people. You let your dog out in the middle of the night and they kill him.
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- Mickey Prohaska: People will try to convince you of anything. Anything can be the start of a conversation.
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- Mickey Prohaska: Believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see.
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- Gorvy Hauer: Do you sell dog insurance?
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- Mickey Prohaska: What starts out lookin' like an easy score, can turn out to be anything but simple.
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Latest News on Thin Ice
February 17, 2012:
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