Cool as Ice rightfully flopped at the box office and is a terrible vanity project for Vanilla Ice but there are some fun good-bad moments that really would make for a good time to watch amongst friends, particularly those who grew up during that time.
Cool as Ice
(1991)
Genre(s): Comedy, Romance
Kino Lorber| PG – 91 min. – $24.95 | May 4, 2021
Date Published: 04/29/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Kino Lorber provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2½/5 |
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“Plot” Synopsis: Johnny (VANILLA ICE) is a freewheeling, motorcycle-riding musician who rolls into a small town with his band. There he meets Kathy (KRISTIN MINTER), a high school honor student who catches his eye and his heart. Can a “good” girl like Kathy fall for such a “bad” guy?
Quick Hit Review: Cool as Ice is a movie I have certainly heard of but never got around to watching, mainly didn’t have very much interest in it or seeing Vanilla Ice trying act. But as years gone by and getting into the whole good-bad aspects of certain movies, with this one coming out on Blu-ray, gave me the chance to see what this was all about. I guess I can say it did not disappoint. Cool as Ice has all the hallmarks of the 1990s with the colorful wardrobe, choppy editing, cheesy dialogue, over-the-top stunt work (didn’t take long for Ice’s motorcycle to glide in the air, over a fence). The film also has the benefit of being a laughable vanity project, Vanilla Ice for his time was an okay “rapper” (all due respect to true talents), he was an awful actor, little-to-no charisma, not that it mattered with a plot that felt slapdashed and romantic angle that didn’t really work, although Kristin Minter wasn’t half bad considering what she had to work with.
The film was directed by David Kellogg, whose career from what I can tell was doing commercials and his “style” shows here with quick cuts and perfectly framed angles (or Dutch angles, another trademark of the 90s). Kellogg’s only other film came several years after this with 1999’s Inspector Gadget live action comedy. Cool as Ice is a terrible movie however even watching by myself, I had some fun laughing at the absurdity for the majority of the time and can see how seeing this in a group setting might make for a fun time. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2/5 |
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It wouldn’t be 2021 without a film like Cool as Ice to include an Audio Commentary with friggin’ film historians, this one with Josh Nelson and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. This release also has a Theatrical Trailer. |
VIDEO – 4/5 |
| Cool as Ice chills onto Blu-ray through Kino Lorber, presented in the original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. While I can’t say this is an all around brilliant picture as it has that somewhat splotchy texture versus any fine grain, the transfer still looks pretty good overall. Colors are bright and vibrant in keeping with the incredible color palette that infiltrated the late 80s and early 90s (pictures of me in that era can attest to that) and outside of some minor scratches, it’s also fairly clean. Without comparing it to previous DVD releases, I can say this is very likely a significant upgrade. |
AUDIO – 3½/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is basic yet still effective, showcasing the amazing “rap” stylings of Vanilla Ice out of the duel channels. Outside of the music and really forgettable score, dialogue does come across with good clarity and there were no perceptible pops or hissing. |
OVERALL – 2½/5 |
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Cool as Ice rightfully flopped at the box office and is a terrible vanity project for Vanilla Ice but there are some fun good-bad moments that really would make for a good time to watch amongst friends, particularly those who grew up during that time. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.