The Good Humor Man

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.

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.

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.

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.