The Good Humor Man Doesn't Put Me In a Bad Humor

LOST is my favorite show on television, now or ever, and it has given me dozens of characters in whom to become emotionally invested. Among those, it’s pretty much impossible to choose a single favorite, but one of the top contenders has always been Hugo “Hurley” Reyes, a huggable teddy bear of a guy who can always be counted upon to deliver a laugh and a whole lot of love. He’s played by Jorge Garcia, whose list of other roles is limited to 20 or so. Only three of his movies are available on Netflix, and one is a Christmas movie, so I decided to go ahead and rent the other two in order to give me a bit of Jorge in another context.

Little Athens arrived first, and I found it tedious in every respect. Hoping for better luck, I popped in The Good Humor Man. It came out the same year - 2005 - and received the same rating - R. Both movies include nudity, drug use, violence and excessive profanity. The difference is that The Good Humor Man, written and directed by Tenney Fairchild, also has a decent story.

Jay (Nathan Stevens) is a run-of-the-mill high school student. He’s a bit of a loser, in love with a girl way out of his league and getting a charge out of such pranks as dumping fake vomit over his fellow cinema-goers from the balcony before bolting. His best friend is a slacker nicknamed Mt. Rushmore (Garcia).

The two of them hang out with an assortment of burnouts that includes Jason Segel as the cantankerous Smelly Bob, which strengthens the connection between this movie and the superior series Freaks and Geeks. Like Lindsay Weir, Jay doesn’t feel entirely comfortable with these delinquents, but he spends time with them anyway, at least until something happens to make him seriously question the company he keeps.

There are some movies in which an R rating seems inevitable and appropriate, but as I watched, I couldn’t help thinking that all of the elements that make The Good Humor Man deserving of that rating are unnecessary. I would have much preferred the movie if it had been a little bit less abrasive. Freaks and Geeks never needed a flurry of colorful metaphors or bare bosoms to feel thoroughly realistic.

That said, I found Jay a very likable character, and the same goes for his crush Wendy (Cameron Richardson), a sweet girl who soon proves to be more than just a pretty face. As with Little Athens, I was disappointed that Garcia’s role was smaller than I’d expected, but I found this character much more sympathetic, albeit still not nearly as endearing as Hurley. I also loved Kelsey Grammer’s brief appearance in the role of Jay’s supportive, thoroughly PG-rated father.

It could be that my distaste for Little Athens caused me to enjoy this movie more than I otherwise might have. But while I could have done without all the swearing, I did find it to be entirely watchable. If you want a really great peek into the lives of high schoolers in the late 1970s / early 1980s, check out Freaks and Geeks. But if you’re willing to settle for just good, The Good Humor Man delivers.