In The Believer interview there is the following exchange:


BLVR: Rumor has it that you turned down the chance to direct Disney’s remake of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner because you felt they weren’t interested in really exploring racism.

HR: The way they wanted to do it didn’t have a lot to do with the colossal amount of pain and violence that swirls around racial injustice. It would’ve been like an episode of The Jeffersons. What’s the point? But who knows, maybe that’s as much as most people want. I can’t tell you how many people have told me, “When I go to the movies, I don’t want to think.”

BLVR: Does that offend you as a filmmaker?

HR: It offends me as a human being. Why wouldn’t you want to think? What does that mean? Why not just shoot yourself in the fucking head?

Amen, brother.

Ramis obviously wasn't using any of his intelligence when he made "The Ice Harvest."

based on the thread title, i completely expected this thread to be from aneg

ha! ... all this time i thought i kept my lustings for harold ramis to myself.

One of the few 'adult' crime films in quite a while. And I mean that in a good way.

It was a horrible attempt at comedy, it wasn't suspenseful, interesting, or enjoyable in any way. Everyone in the film was clowning it up to no avail.

No script = shit film.

The complete lack of pandering to teenagers ala Snatch was appealing to me.

The problem was that it was totally marketed as a Comedy, when it sure as hell wasn't. Friggnin' movie PR people.

Ramis has got a good head on his shoulders with that bit of interview. Thanks for sharing, Tony.

OMG guys, have seen the movie Crash?

Sooooooooooooooo deep. I'm totally never going to kick my Mexican landscaper again.

I'd like to know the strings the folks at The Believer had to pull to land an interview with Harold Ramis.

I enjoyed the heck out of it, too...particularly the nasty threats to and from a man stuffed in a trunk - classic scene...and the drunken "Turkey lurkey!" Oliver Pratt during Christmas dinner? Awesome.

I think Harold Ramis has been involved with more of my favorite movies than anyone else.

Harold Ramis directed one movie I'd put in my top 20 and probably one of my favorite Bill Murray movies.

Groundhog Day

So watch it again not expecting a comedy. Its a dark story with a few good moments of dark humor. If you go in without the comedy expectation, you might enjoy it better.

BURN Hollywood, BURN.

I quite like Ice Harvest then again I'm a fan of both Billy Bob and Cusack and Platt was a riot

it's too bad him and murray have a love hate relationship

they really need to make more movies together

Caddyshack
Stripes
Groundhog Day all in my top 25

Snatch was aimed at teenagers? I guess. But you just pulled a film out of nowhere (and one that next to no one saw) in comparison.

And the idea that Ice Harvest wasn't intended to be a comedy is ludicrous.

Not only was it marketed that way, not only are there many attempts at broad humor, not only is the whole thing aside from some darker moments steered towards comedic sensibilities, but Harold Ramis, a fucking comedy director was behind it!

It'd be nice if people just recognized that the reason it's so easy to not necessarily classify it as just a comedy is because the filmmakers and actors failed to find the right tone at any point to make it so.

And if it's a suspense or crime thriller, then it's not even interesting enough to care what happens to anyone involved in it.

D- / 1/2 star