Cool as Ice is a 1991 American romantic musical comedy film directed by David Kellogg, starring rapper Vanilla Ice in his feature film debut. It also starred Kristin Minter and Michael Gross (from the TV show "Family Ties").
It was released on October 18, 1991 by Universal Pictures and was developed as a vehicle for Vanilla Ice, but it was a critical and commercial failure, grossing only $1.2 million from a $6 million budget.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
Johnny Van Owen is a rapper who drifts from city to city. He is shown performing at a nightclub rapping & dancing with his crew and a club background songstress playing the song "Cool as Ice (Everybody Get Loose)”.
While the group passes through a small town, Johnny falls for honor student Kathy Winslow. After one of the crew’s motorcycles breaks down and has to be left at a local repair shop, the crew is left stranded in the town which gives Johnny an opportunity to see Kathy, who already has a boyfriend, Nick.
Johnny shows up with his crew at a local club that is frequented by Kathy and her friends. After noticing that no one was enjoying the live music playing at the club, Johnny and the crew decide to perform a musical number called "People's Choice", by unplugging the other band's instruments and taking control which shocks the audience and ends with Johnny sweeping Kathy off her feet, humiliating Nick. He offers to forgive Kathy and take her home, but she refuses and decides to walks home by herself.
While walking home, Kathy ends up stalked by two strange men in a car., but she is saved by Johnny, who takes her home. At the club's parking lot, a jealous Nick and his friends smash up the motorcycles of Johnny's friends. Nick's friends attack the rapping biker who fights back which leaves Nick & his buddies unconscious and Nick ends up in the hospital with a broken nose.
Kathy’s father, Gordon (who becomes suspicious of Johnny) warns her to stay away from him because they can't trust strangers. The next day, against her father’s wishes, Kathy goes for a ride with Johnny where they ride all over town, including a construction site. When they finally return home, they are greeted by an angry Gordon, who coldly warns Johnny to stay away from Kathy. Gordon (who is under pressure from his wife Grace) reveals to Kathy the secret of his past: he was once a police officer & they were on the run from two corrupt cops and were able to escape using fabricated documents, explaining why he kept his life a secret from Kathy all these years. Kathy criticizes her father, saying it wasn’t fair that he lied to her in order to protect her, yet refuse to permit her to see a total stranger.
The next day, Johnny agrees to give Tommy a ride on his bike. They cruise through the streets, and finally back to the Winslow home where Tommy ends up getting kidnapped. At the repair shop, the crew prepares to leave town since the bike has been repaired, but they tell Johnny to say goodbye to Kathy.
When Johnny arrives at the Winslow house, he discovers an envelope meant for the family. It turns out to be a message from the crooked cops with Tommy recording it. Fearing the worst, Gordon accuses Johnny of criminal involvement, much to Kathy's dismay. When Kathy asks Johnny to play the tape left behind by the kidnappers, he hears a loud clanging noise from a construction vehicle, revealing the message was recorded at the construction site.
The gang ambushes the kidnappers and rescue Tommy. and when the police arrive, the gang returns Tommy to the Winslows & Gordon apologizes to Johnny. Johnny tells Kathy he has to move on, but she decides to follow him. Nick arrives in his car, telling Kathy to get used to being a biker chick because she will never see him again. Kathy holds on as Johnny uses the car as a ramp and they ride off into the big city.
The movie ends with Johnny reaching his destination, rapping the song "Get Wit It" & dancing with his crew to an audience at a night club. After the show ends, Kathy joins Johnny on stage, dancing alone in the spotlight.
Cast[]
- Vanilla Ice as Johnny Van Owen
- Kristin Minter - Kathy Winslow
- Michael Gross - Gordon Winslow
- Deezer D as Jazz
- John Haymes Newton as Nick
- Candy Clark as Grace Winslow
- Victor DiMattia as Tommy Winslow
- Naomi Campbell as Singer
- Kathryn Morris as Jen
- Jack McGee as Clarke
- S.A. Griffin as Morrisey
- Sydney Lassick as Roscoe
- Dody Goodman as Mae
Production[]
The movie began filming in April to May of 1991 & was filmed in Glendale, California. The role of Kathy was offered to actress Gwyneth Paltrow, but her father forbade her from accepting the role due to the script’s sexual content.
Box Office[]
“Cool as Ice” grossed $638,625 during its opening weekend in theaters at the box office and $1,93,062 domestically.
Critical Reception[]
Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a score of 8% with an average rating of 2.4\10 based on 13 reviews.
Blender magazine ranked Vanilla Ice’s performance in the movie as the 7th-worst performance by a musician turned actor and even director David Kellogg disowned the film.
Richard Harrington of the Washington Post wrote in his review: “The film itself is a cross between an after-school special and MTV video, melding threadbare plot with colorful visuals and delivering a message, which is, basically, Vanilla Ice is cool, you know?”
The New York Times wrote: “The lifeless music and dance sequences in which the rapper [Vanilla Ice] performs with his crew have the feel of low-budget video clips that have been inserted almost by mistake.“
Accolades[]
Vanilla Ice was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for “Worst Actor” & won the Golden Raspberry for “Worst New Star” among other various awards such as “Worst Picture,” “Worst Screenplay” and “Worst Director.”
Trailer[]
Cool As Ice Trailer