Top 10 Ice Cream Vans in movies

Oh no! Summer is over...Booooo!

Yet fear not, as the medium of film can breathe the feeling of sun, sand and sea into your evening by whisking you away from the icy clutches of winter, taking you back to your warmer memories. And what better way to hark back to sunnier times than by a trademark of British summer...the ice cream van!

Or ice cream truck, depending on what part of the world you are from. Whatever the title, nothing unearths summers of our youth better than the ever-nearing jungle of a rainbow coloured vehicle; a chariot of creamy treats and fruity flavours that turns every playing kid into a Tazmanian devil! Yes, there's nothing more craze-inducing for a child then the moment the ice cream man turns up!

So, as we slowly lose grip on the brighter period of 2014, let's embark on a trip through cinema with a list of the top ice cream vans in movies...filmbore style!

The criteria:

• The ice cream van needs to be involved in at least a decent scene in the movie. It doesn't necessarily need to be the basis of the entire movie yet should be integral to a particular moment at the very least.
• Preferably, I expect to see an alternative approach to running an ice cream van, may it be in method, manner or reason for owning one.
• The ranking within this top ten is based on the strength of the owner's business model, not necessarily the quality of the film. If they can impress me with their ingenuity of enterprise, I'll move them up the chart

Everybody.....ICE CREAM MAN IS COMIIIIINNGGG!

WARNING! Spoilers and brain freeze up ahead!

10. Despicable Me 2 (2013)

Kudos goes to an unusual way to capture the minions, as they're suckered into the ice cream trucks lure even more so than the kids in Gru's neighbourhood's. Lack of enterprise keeps it low though I'm afraid.

Busin-ice Model: 3/10
Scoop a minion...stop him waffling!

9. After Hours (1985)

This early black comedy by Martin Scorsese is a building farce of dilemmas for one unlucky word processing clerk. Things get worse, however, as he's hunted down by a crowd, led by a Mister Softee ice cream van.

Busin-ice model: 4/10
Thriller in vanilla

8. Assault On Precinct 13 (1976)

Kids should think twice for rushing to an ice cream truck in this neighbourhood. As the owner of the van looks out vigilantly, an innocent young girl begs for an ice cream, only to shot by the local Street Thunder gang.

Busin-ice model: 5/10
Heavy on the raspberry sauce

7. Trees Lounge (1996)

Steve Buscemi's Tommy Basillo inherits an ice cream business from his uncle, with his alcoholic ways preventing a thriving enterprise. His efforts are wasted, as his actions lead to the truck being smashed by a begrudged associate.

Busin-ice model: 6/10
Desserted by friends and family

6. Phantasm (1979)

Reggie's ice cream business can do more than provide creamy treats. It exposes the weakness of the film's antagonist the Tall Man, who is affected by the cold. Not bad for an local ice cream vendor!

Busin-ice model: 7/10
Ice Screeaaammm! (Sorry...I couldn't help it!)

5. Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (1999)

Ghost Dog's best-friend can only speak French but he runs a mean ice cream stand. Somehow, he still has a business after giving away free ice cream to little girls and allowing people to be killed right in front of his parlour. Impressive!

Busin-ice model: 8/10
Tasty Chopolate (these puns are getting worse!)

4. Nice Dreams (1981)

Cheech and Chong's "Happy Herb Nice Dreams" is an ice cream truck as a front for pedalling their marijuana (surprise, surprise!). If they weren't high off their own supply, they may have had a more fruitful business.

Busin-ice mode: 8/10
Cheech and Chong go all Ben and Jerry

3. Do The Right Thing (1989)

The Icee Man is here! Forget the boy nearly run over chasing the ice cream truck - check the man preceding it! Strutting about Brooklyn, scraping ice off a block, adding fruity flavours, he's both lo-fi and enterprising. Cooler than the ice itself!

Busin-ice model: 9/10
Old sCool!

2. Friday (1995)

Big Perm..I mean...Big Worm plays this just right. Like Cheech and Chong, his ice cream truck is a front for his drugs business. Yet, he still actually sells ice cream. Convincing and profitable...and you know this maaan!

Busin-ice model: 9/10
Friday betters the sundae 

And the winner is... 

1. Comfort And Joy (1984)

The ultimate ice cream van movie. Okay...a lot of you may not have heard of this small, Scottish film. Made by Bill Forsyth (Local Hero, Gregory's Girl) it's a prime example of grounded British cinema of the eighties.

Bill Paterson plays Allan Bird aka "Dicky", a Glaswegian celebrity due to his status as a radio disc jockey. Out on his travels one day, he catches the eye of a girl (Clare Grogan) in the back of an ice-cream van. Enamoured by the lady, he pursues the vehicle, leading him to witness an unexpected attack on the van by two masked men with baseball bats.

The owner and the girl scare the men away by covering them with raspberry sauce and scoops of ice cream. Dicky goes over to check on them; his first step to involving himself in a turf war between two competing ice cream business. But can he help bring the battle to an end?

 
This is a typical British comedy of this era, making it an easy and enjoyable watch. But this isn't top of the list due to its movie stature. As mentioned in the criteria, the ranking is based on the business strength, where here we have two ice cream vendors taking their vocation so seriously they begin warring with each other.

No film delves further into the seedy world of ice cream van trucks than Comfort And Joy. A dry comedy drama that takes the softy out of the Mr Soft and injects it with its Italian roots...a Gelato of the Gangster realm, as it were.

Busin-ice model: 10/10
Walls fair in love and war!

Just missed out:

Once Bitten

Maximum Overdrive

Ice Cream Man 

When The Bough Breaks

Killer Klowns From Outer Space

If you disagree, and have other suggestions, please post comments at the bottom of the post. Or, email me directly on topten@filmbore.co.uk.

And don't forget, you can tweet me @filmbore or post on my Facebook page here.