Ice Men (2004)

Not What I Expected

Whoever thought that this movie should be classified gay, should have their thinking process re-examined. In my opinion, the main plot or story of this movie is very heterosexual. Perhaps because there is a bed scene between two guys classifies it as gay, but it is mostly about guys bonding and their relationships since kids.

The plot revolves about a weekend outing of five guys who grew up together somewhere in Canada. It is the 30th birthday of one of the guys. They go to a cabin in the woods, a place where they use to hang together as kids. The cabin is now owned by a very successful lawyer, who happens to have a brother who is invited by one of the other guys. This guy is a looser and hated by his brother.

There is a songwriter (whose birthday is being celebrated), a gym instructor (who is acting straight but deep inside he is not), and a failing photographer (who is open gay and lets them all know at the reunion. At least he is honest about himself.) The photographer and the gym instructor go at it one night in bed. The gym instructor resents the fact that it happened, he claims he was drunk, the other guy doesn't think so.

The story is basically about how screwed up these men lives are, whether they are successful or not. The two brothers lives are closely examined and there seems to be a lot of flashback scenes on one of them dealing with a deer hunting trip with their father, whether he was forced to kill a dove to prove to be a man.

There is a lot drinking, inner soul searching, a lot of bickering and fighting among each other. A near drowning by the gambling brother (trying to commit suicide) brings them all back together at the end of the movie.

The movie was not a total disappointment but it is not what I expected. This is a mixed movie. May be some gay men can associate with this kind of material. January 4, 2008

Wish there were more films out of Canada like this one

Excellent script, dialog, cast, etc. The characters were fully believable and it's too bad the actors only had a two hour movie to explore them. Martin Cummins and David Hewlett were especially good as the up-tight, controlling Yuppie and the hapless musical screwup respectively. Maybe there'll be a sequel or something similar?

I'm just happy they set the story in Canada and then did NOT pretend it was Michigan or up-state New York.

Kudos. November 22, 2007

Beautiful story of Friendship

Ice Men (2004) is one of my favorite David Hewlett films. This is a story of five boys who were best friends and as grown men were still friends. Their relationships with each other are anything but perfect, but there is an undeniable deep bond between these guys.

They get together for an annual event at a cabin. At first things seem normal and pleasant, guys getting together to hang out like guys normally do. As the movie progresses we start to see conflicts between the guys and flashbacks to their earlier years.

There are two scenes in the film that really stands out:

First, the guys are watching old films of themselves when they were kids. There is a poignant reflection here of happier, more innocent times, but as the viewer we start to see a painful past revealed. This painful past supplies an underlying tension in the film, which plays out in the final scene.

Second (and this will be hard to describe without spoiling), is the friendship between Hewlett's character Bryan and his best friend, Vaughn. Something has happened between these two that should have ended their friendship. The scene where Bryan asks Vaughn for advise concerning this incident, is an a true testament of their feelings (feelings of friendship) for each other.

The movie was gorgeously filmed with Canadian winter landscapes, a memorizing musical score and solid acting with strong characterizations including the quirky Hewlett.

The ending gives us a hint of closure, but as the viewer I felt there should have been something more. Overall, I enjoyed this film and will enjoy watching it many times.

One last comment: I've noticed some review this as a gay film. There is one gay character and one "non-explicit sexual scene" between the gay friend and straight friend. I enjoy gay films and heartily recommend them, this should not be classified as such. This is simply a film of friendship. Enjoy! July 22, 2007

howmany plots can you have

if you want to see what happens when you surpress things and don't see what is realy going on then watch it if not then don't this dvd shows you how messed up some families can be and that you do not always have to do things the way they were done in the past. June 30, 2007

These guys are friends?

The guys in this movie are miserable. And it makes me miserable watching them. April 2, 2007

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