The Ice Storm

**The Ice Storm** is episode 175 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of the Podback Mountcast miniseries covering the films of Ang Lee. Posted 29 July 2018.

## Summary

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> Emily Yoshida (Night Call podcast) returns to discuss 1997’s bleak drama, *The Ice Storm*. But what drew Ang Lee to this project? Is ‘HU’ a good shorthand for hook up? Is this one of the top films to portray the winter in the Northeast? Together they discuss key parties, being passed out in a bathroom, reminisce about the nineties and Griffin shares a Elliott Gould tale.
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> And check out Blank Check’s wiki!
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Everyone please welcome the Mother of Blankies! Emily Yoshida joins the Six-Timers Club - she is in the Audioboom studio to talk about the movie that changed her life, man. In her application to the UCLA School of Film and Television, she wrote her critical essay about this film. And she got in!

This movie and the recent Annihilation are both exceptionally great at the visual and atmospheric depiction of depression. Griffin also makes the point that as Do The Right Thing is to hot weather, The Ice Storm is to cold weather. This movie is one way to learn about the sociogeography of the greater New York area, with Connecticut a little train ride away as a distant (in every sense) suburb populated by people that were isolating themselves.

Emily also makes note of the mid-century Modern architecture of the New Canaan CT area, which plays a significant role in establishing the antiseptic feel of the movie's setting. Love it! Always happy to see a prominent architecture mention.

Let's talk about the cast: Joan Allen is perfectly cast, and apparently this also was her favorite film that she was in. Sigourney Weaver - yes, Sigarooney herself - collected some nominations and awards for her performance. Admittedly it's a bit odd to recognize her small role with no huge defining moments, but David thinks it's just bizarre (6th best performance in this movie? Really?). Katie Holmes' first screen appearance.... Also great are Kevin Kline, Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood... and David Krumholtz, whattttttttt

The setting is 1973 America, with a presidency in turmoil and controversy, lying on TV about criminal activities, everyone's glued to the news despite how bad it makes you feel... we just can't truly understand from our 2018 vantage point. Hmm.

By the way, Producer Ben spends this episode "collapsed on the bathroom floor talking through the door." So that's why his voice is so muffled.

How did Ang Lee approach this material differently than other directors would have, and how did the score affect his directorial touch? How do key parties work, anyway? The characters in the movie seem to be winging it. How does the Fantastic Four tie in to this film? When Christina Ricci's wheelhouse got supplanted by another archetype, what was the movie that marked that turning point? And what are the worst possible ways for parents to talk to their kids about sex and sexuality?

Anyway this movie is a straight shot of sadness, and hells yeah Griffin is all about that.

Check out Griffin's anecdote about his personal encounter with Elliott Gould on the set of "Mulaney." The note he wrote to help Griffin with his anxiety is framed on his wall.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* C'mon, UCLA. Send Emily her diploma already.
* Wiki shoutout!
* the actor that took Krumholtz's career niche away from him: Oscar Isaac
* Elliot Gould's *A Long Goodbye*: part of the Goulden Age
* One of David's all-time favorite movies: *Pleasantville*
* graphic novels, according to Emily: baby books
* The tumblr version of Christina Ricci: Aubrey Plaza
* Winner of an Iowa statewide high school monologue competition as Helena from Midsummer Night's Dream: Emily Yoshida
* Shafted by the drama teacher and pointedly not cast in a local production as Helena from Midsummer Night's Dream: Emily Yoshida
* Listen to Night Call!
* Box office game: Weekend of September 26, 1997

### Sponsors

* Griffin suffers from poor food and diet choices while working on The Tick. **RXBAR** to the rescue! It's his favorite Blank Check sponsor product. Tastes good, he knows it's good for him, the ingredients are simple and printed right on the front of the wrapper. They use egg whites and Griffin notoriously avoids eggs, but he loves these! Or send some to Griffin, he'd love it! Send to Casa Griffin, 1717 Griffin Boulevard.
* Friend-of-the-show Bobby Finger hosts the **Who? Weekly** podcast! Griffin and David are big fans - they wish they'd thought of the idea themselves. Every episode, they delve into the biggest "who-lebrity" stories of the moment - that is, news about people that are famous but aren't stars. And they answer listeners' questions from a hotline, too. Who is that again? Why are they famous? What are they doing in the spotlight? Who Weekly! Twice a week, available wherever you get your podcasts.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. The Ice Storm. Audioboom. Retrieved on May 12, 2022.