Ice Cream Man (1995)

“I guess not every day is a happy, happy, happy day!”  21 October 2019

As a young child, Gregory Tudor was witness to the violent murder of his hero, the Ice Cream King.  Years later (and after much therapy and a stint in a sanitarium), Gregory has taken over the battered ice cream truck as the Ice Cream Prince.  All he wants to do is make children happy - even if that means committing a few murders and mixing body parts into his ice cream.   

Call it a guilty pleasure, call it “so bad it’s good”, call me crazy, call it whatever you want - but I had a great time watching Ice Cream Man.  By any traditional measure, Ice Cream Man isn’t what you’d call a “good” movie. But for me, the film has a quirky vibe to it that works. I think with a little more money and a bit more creativity, Ice Cream Man could have been something like Pee Wee’s Playhouse meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  Clint Howard (of all people) is fantastic as the titular Ice Cream Man. This has to be one of his best pieces of acting. He’s creepy, he’s funny, and he’s perfect for the role. Fortunately for us, Howard is in on the joke and plays the ridiculous requirements of the role with all the gusto required.  He looks like he’s having a blast. Nothing in Ice Cream Man should be taken seriously. For example, one of my favorite moments had to be the dismembered head puppet show. What a hoot! The special effects are cheap and gaudy, the murders are over-the-top, and the flashback scenes are a total trip. The supporting cast is interesting, with Olivia Hussey (of all people) being the standout.  Like Howard, she’s giving it her all. On the other end of the spectrum is Jan-Michael Vincent. You can pretty much see the disdain he has for the film written all over his face. I think he would have rather been anywhere than filming the sanitarium scene. Still, that’s just one more thing for me to enjoy.

6/10