User reviews

"The Good Humor Man" is a movie that takes place in the suburbs during the spring of 1976 and is about a smart high schooler whose parents question his choice in friends. Judging from the cover art of the DVD, it looks like a comedy very similar to its predecessors like "Dazed & Confused " (1993) , "Detroit Rock City" (1999), and the short-lived but legendary TV series "Freaks & Geeks" (1999-2000). The first 30 minutes of the movie feel like a comedy too, especially with Jorge Garcia playing a character nicknamed "Mt. Rushmore". It's not hard to compare Garcia to John Belushi. Not only does his facial features bear a striking resemblance to Saturday Night Live's fallen angel, but his Mt. Rushmore character lives for drinking and using drugs the same way Bluto Blutarsky did in "Animal House" (1978). Garcia echos Belushi in a unique way that miraculously doesn't translate as a rip off, and Garcia has a commanding presence on screen. Every time he's in a scene, he owns it big time.

Garcia is a supporting character in this film, the Falstaff to the Henry V that is Jay, played by Nathan Stevens. Jay is the central character, and Mt. Rushmore is the bad influence of a friend his yuppie parents (Elise Robertson and Kelsey Grammar) wish he would stop hanging out with. Jay also takes an interest in Wendy (the gorgeous Cameron Richardson), a girl in his class who is supposedly out of his league both financially and in terms of popularity. In high school, popularity is its own social class scale with blurry lines drawn that only high schoolers can see, and it's evident in this film perhaps better than in other high school movies.

So the setup for a high school comedy is here, but not even one quarter of the way through does the film take a strangely dark and dramatic turn while not letting go of its comedic ideals. Jay, Mt. Rushmore, and two other stoner buddies crash a wedding for the free booze and food. Mt. Rushmore and Jay mostly succeed in remaining incognito, but one of their friends makes anti semitic remarks to a guy their age wearing a yarmulke. Eventually, a fight breaks out resulting in more than just a damaged wedding cake. Ultimately, Mt. Rushmore gets into a fight with a popular jock at the wedding, goes from using fists to bringing out a knife, and unintentionally kills him.

This point is where the film pushed the envelope and sacrificed its comedic potential, but not its credibility. It still told a very intriguing story as Mt. Rushmore somehow manages to successfully hide from the police despite his size and his penchant for hanging out in the park with Jay and other acquaintances. Meanwhile, Jay refuses to tell the police about Mt. Rushmore's whereabouts in the only unrealistic part of the movie. Jay's reasons not to rat his friend out are understandable. In reality, it would seem as though the police would arrest him for holding evidence. Here, they shake their heads in dismay and leave, something that's unlikely to happen in real life.

Probably the scene I liked best involved Mt. Rushmore breaking into the basement of the guy he incidentally killed. There's no expression of remorse on his face, but his following actions scream through his skin that is thick both literally and figuratively. Garcia here really masters the storytelling rule of showing, not telling, and the result is quite powerful. Again, it takes the film in an unexpectedly dark direction, but not an inappropriate one.

Similarly, Jason Segel took a turn from what one would expect to be a comedic role as Smelly Bob, a 25-year-old ex-convict who for reasons unexplained likes to hang out with the stoner high school crowd. He's significantly older than the others, but doesn't look out of place and makes Matthew McConaughey's character in "Dazed & Confused" look noble. Plus, he plays a guy who's a far cry from the nice guy he would later make a name for himself as in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (2007) & "I Love You, Man" (2009).

Credit to this film also lies in Stevens' and Richardson's undeniable on-screen chemistry and poignant love scenes other filmmakers may have exploited for a cheap sex gag. This effective plot point added to the 70's decor that naturally fits into the film and the appropriately grainy picture that gives the film depth makes the film unique and original enough to recommend. It's just best to know that although this film has its funny moments, it's more dramatic than the cover art suggests. It may not be the filmmakers fault, although the name of this film doesn't quite fit with the story either. A part about ice cream is mentioned in the end, but you never know who the Good Humor Man is or why. Maybe that's the point of this film, but who knows?

Wow!! From the opening till the end i was into this movie, Tenney does an amazing job, I love when there is about to be a rumble they have the classic stare down and everyone gets up in slow mo, very cool stuff, throughout all the drama u find yourself laughing as well, Great Story!! And since this film is based in the 70's it has an amazing classic rock soundtrack!! Some of my favorite's... I love all the character's names in the film.. very original..It always fun to watch a film that has a lot of talented up and coming actor's. I know I will see these guys again...This film truly had it all, I can't wait for the DVD to come out. I will for sure buy it!!!

I disagree in calling this a stoner movie just because weed also makes an appearance. I can't imagine this as even approaching "stoner classic." That would be like calling Singles a "grunge film." The movie definitely plods along with a murky plot. At times I wondered if the script had either been dropped and shuffled or if they lost it entirely and just tried to wing it. Watching this movie reminded me of watching children play-acting and making the story up as they go along.

The characters are wooden, the dialog is taxed, and the whole story seems to be completely disconnected. Who got killed? When? What? And this is how you act when your friend overdoses? Complete lack of emotion and utter disconnect from reality.

As for the droning guitar soundtrack that accompanies each scene: enough! It was like watching the opening menu screen where the same track loops endlessly in the background, neither moving forward or back.

I kept watching and hoping that the plot would somehow fall in to order, the acting and dialog would improve or something, somehow would focus this mess in to a coherent movie. After 112 minutes, it never happened.

The acting made you feel like you were watching a kindergarten play. The story is full of holes and gaps and skips around so you have no idea as to what just happened. Half the scenes are pointless. There is not an inkling of character development. The score/soundtrack consists of about three songs one in particular is played in about 70% of the scenes. I'm glad I only rented the movie yet I still feel cheated. Avoid this movie at all costs unless you want to see some decent actors give horrible performances. It seems like the bulk of the budget was spent on putting a few name brand actors in this less than bad film. This movie is equivalent to visiting a strip club, it tries to get you excited and interested but just as you think something is going to happen your thrown into some unrelated scene and left trying to figure out how you arrived there.

I saw "The Good Humor Man" at Methodfest awhile back and then I heard it was going to be on TV. I watched it again and remembered just how good it was.

The overall feeling I had is that I was watching a film that had been lost in the 70's, gathering dust on a shelf in the back of an office, and someone found it and said, "maybe folks could relate to this today." It seems more as if it was made in that period rather than trying to evoke it. The production values definitely said "indie" to me (in a good way). I loved the transition from the well-lit, perfectly blocked and shot interiors to the grainy, almost home movie look of the exteriors. A less experienced director would have used a lot more hand-held and faster cuts. That would have been the easy way out. But Tenney Fairchild let the story dictate the shots and not the other way around. The script was brilliant, and I can see it becoming an instant "cult classic" in the most complimentary sense of the term. So many great lines -- I kept thinking, "I've got to remember that line," then there'd be another, and another...

Of course, the music had me from the word go, but I knew that it would going in. How can you go wrong with a score by Robin Trower? Everything about the look, of course -- the hair, clothes, cars, appliances, Pop-Tarts...

The juxtaposition of the raw, almost jarring language of the stoners (I didn't know there were that many slang terms for sex acts and body parts -- I should count next time -- actually, I'll bet someone has) with the tender, innocent, almost childlike relationship between the lovers was what made it like a perverse Afterschool Special. At its heart, it's really an old-fashioned romance.

I was rolling on the floor more than once -- at some point I started thinking, "man I wish I made this." I found myself wanting to rush things along at the start -- it felt a bit slow. By the end, I was looking at the clock thinking, "damn, that's it?" I didn't want it to end. I could stay with those kids another couple of hours.

The kids were great. It didn't feel scripted, for the most part. To me a great director doesn't "direct" so much as let the actors do what they do best. That's what I felt from opening to closing credits.

When I think of a 1970s-period film, this is not what I think of. I don't want a monotonous, one-song Robin Trower soundtrack; I want a soundtrack punctuated with the top-40 bubblegum songs of the day that epitomized the '70s. The generic karaoke-style disco music during the prom scene was especially annoying. The acting (if you can call it that) was very wooden, and seemed just read from script in monotone. The film quality and camera work was horrid; the dialog murky, the script seemed thrown together without much thought and the plot was thin if not nonexistent. I can't believe people are giving it the high ratings I've read here. Basically a forgettable, poor attempt at recreating a beloved era of the past. Two stars is all I can come up with. Sorry, guys.

This movie reminded me a lot of "Napoleon Dynamite". Every time you watch it you find new details that are just gems. Keep an eye on the mom's feet while she is in the kitchen. She's standing on paper towel because, I assume, she just finished washing it. My mom totally did that. Very good acting all around and you can see how the director let the actors be free, especially visible in the scenes between Nathan and Cameron. I get so drained by the constant big budget studio pics that lack the heart of true indie's such as this movie and Dynamite. It's refreshing and gives hope that personal film making still exists. When you find a movie that you can continue to watch and discover new things each time, you know you have a great movie.

Plodding, maybe that should have been the title. Bad dialogue delivered at a snail's pace. All the characters are single dimension with the exception of one. Unfortunately, that character has some of the worst lines and does not seem to fit into this cliché ridden two- hour drag. Having grown up in the seventies, this film is seriously lacking in detail, atmosphere and authenticity. Surprisingly, this was produced by Kelsey Grammar, someone who should recognize sharp dialogue and a consistent narrative in a script. Cameron Richardson is about the only element that lights up this film. Robin Trower's music is also a welcomed addition.

The recent DVD release of Good Humor Man labels the film as comedy. It's hardly a comedy, rather a dull indie film about a group of losers. Supposedly set in the 70s, there is scant attention paid to period details, with overly muted color correction taking its place. The monotonous soundtrack only serves to accentuate the repetitiveness of the film (perhaps that is the point, but it does not add to the enjoyment of the viewing experience.) Apprarently the clique of losers only like to hang out at one location, the bleachers. It seems like the packaging of the film as a comedy is meant to deceive people into renting or buying this film, which is a complete waste of time.

I saw this on a screener DVD a couple months before it was released.

I liked the main characters and the overall story but some scenes are pretty sloppy and confusing. The sets were fitting but a few just looked like left overs from Freaks & Geeks or reminded me of a cell phone commercial shot in a middle class home. Definitely not what the DVD cover claims, "Destined to be the next stoner classic", hardly.

Wardrobe and hairstyles are done well and yes, there are some really pretty girls in this, always nice to see a good looking cast.

Almost every scene contained guitar that just droned on and on. Sound design was a bit poor. I think less would have been best.

I loved this movie. It is one of those small movies that is a great find. I have watched it several times and I figure out something new each time. I hope the director continues to make more movies because this one is very entertaining. I really liked the friendship between the character's "Jay" and "John". I think you could really see why they were the two guys in the group to be close. Then there was the good relationship "Jay" had with "Wendy" and his relationship with his parents. This was a great movie to discuss with friends. The movie also had some great lines. When Jay told his mom he would try to be a better "guest". I cracked up.

I just watched it and I love it, the cast was hot, the retro vibe of the whole film was done very well, the drone one song soundtrack i couldn't get enough of.....I am still trying to find a way to get a copy of the song no luck yet, but i can see how it is not a movie for everyone. It is definitely an acquired taste, but it is worth viewing yourself u might like it, i think the guy who plays hurley from lost was my favourite character he did a great job, the whole cast did a good job, I don't understand why people are saying they could not make sense of the film. It made perfect sense by the end to me...lol and i couldn't believe jason dill was in it too....oh well bottom line if you like strange dry humor kinda movies watch the good humor man.

The good humor man was a very interesting movie I have never seen a movie like that it was a love story some what but also it had a lot of drama in it. Things you would have not expected happened I liked the movie it was very real it was not a fairy tail at all it was very raw and to the point. Its just like real life cause things like that really happen. So those who have not seen it I'm not going to say to much but I recommend it. It just basically going into the life of teenagers and how they are separated into different clique's like Jocks and Burn outs. I like the romance about that because Wendy was able to look past the fact that her and Jay were from different backgrounds and thats what I liked about it the most.

The writing and directing of Good Humour Man were top notch. Now if we can just get Tenney Fairchild and Vincent Chase in the same room...would that be something you're interested in?

The soundtrack, cinematography, and directing style of this movie were a refreshing departure from the CGI'd world.

Good Humour Man Trivia: Paul Mumford, who plays The Groom, was one of America's top sports car racers until he (along with Good Humour Man cameo, Chris Premer) died tragically in a plane crash outside of Corona, CA.

I believe Showtime is re-airing it a few times this month. Definitely a great way to chill out and have a few laughs.