Jason Mendoza: ‘The Good Place’ season 3 nails Florida Man
For years we’ve been following the escapades of “Florida Man”, the elusive fellow mentioned in so many headlines about the unbelievably dumb crimes Floridian residents get up to.
From the man who wore a tee that read “No seriously, I have drugs” getting arrested for drug possession to the man who threw an alligator through a drive-thru window in a fit of rage, we always know a good story is afoot when the headline starts with “Florida Man”.
Florida law stipulates the state’s court and criminal records are to be kept open and public for any person to see, explaining why non-Florida news outlets are seen reporting on Florida Man stories as well. Everyone from The New York Times to The Smalltown Gazette has taken a crack at reminding everyone how stupid the people of Florida can be at times.
The Good Place shows all the sides of Florida Man
Sending a Florida Man to fake heaven was a great idea. Mike Schur couldn’t have picked better characters than Jason Mendoza (Manny Jacinto), Pillboi (Eugene Cordero), and Donkey Doug (Mitch Narito) to represent the great American State of Florida on The Good Place.
Jason Mendoza’s stories about his life on Earth are outrageous and unbelievable, yet somehow completely plausible when you remember he’s a Florida Man. With Donkey Doug and Pillboi by his side, Jason has an endless arsenal of bad ideas to act upon.
While NBC may not have been planning to start a war with the people of Florida, they definitely haven’t avoided doing so either. Season three of The Good Place takes us to a fictionalized version of Jacksonville, where you leave the airport and everyone starts chanting “Duval!” and a monster truck taxi will take you to the swamps. But that’s where the comedy of Florida Man comes from in the first place.
An early death means Jason Mendoza transcends his Florida Man future
The whole appeal of Florida Man disbelief that anyone could be so monumentally stupid to commit such ridiculous crimes. While watching The Good Place, we can’t understand how Jason and Pillboi would think installing a safe and then removing it a day later would work, yet the minute they get caught, we can’t stop laughing.
Likewise, Donkey Doug trying to make a monster-cum-axe combination product sounds unbelievably bad, but that’s just what we expect from him.
Pillboi & Donkey Doug need a spinoff
The Good Place’s real Florida Men are Pillboi and Donkey Doug. While still not perfect, Jason definitely improves and learns something from the decades of philosophy study with Chidi (William Jackson Harper). On the other hand, Donkey Doug and Pillboi are still going at it with their terrible ideas.
Listening to Pillboi talk to the elderly residents on his job at the assisted living facility – advising them on how to trip out the best on their meds – is beyond ridiculous. Then again, his name is Pillboi. That’s his specialty!
Donkey Doug has a laundry list of points against him: from bonding with young Jason while blinding airplane pilots with laser pointers together by the runway to carjacking the MC at the dance competition Jason’s crew entered. Is it really a surprise Jason is the way he is when Donkey Doug is his dad? Ethically. Donkey Doug’s greatest deed was trying to sacrifice himself to the cops so his son had time to run away.
The Flori-duh Boys are far from perfect, but they’re a highlight no matter what dumb plot they have cooked up. Who needs real Florida Man headlines when we have these fictional Florida Men in The Good Place? Jason may have strayed from his ways a bit, but Pillboi and Donkey Doug will undoubtedly remain golden-hearted idiots – and we can’t wait to see what nonsense they come up with in season four.
