WATERMELON MAN

Insurance salesman Jeff Gerber lives in an all-white suburban neighborhood with his liberal-minded housewife Althea, who tolerates her husband's character flaws out of love. Every morning when Jeff wakes up, he spends some time under a tanning machine, hits the speedbag, drinks a health drink, and races the bus to work on foot. He presents himself as happy-go-lucky and quite a joker, but others tend to see him as obnoxious and boorish. Althea, who watches the race riots every night on TV with great interest, chastises Jeff for not having sympathy for the problems of Black Americans.

One morning, Jeff wakes up to find that he has turned Black. He tries to fall back asleep, thinking that it is a dream, but to no avail. As he tries to wash the color off, Althea walks into the bathroom and screams. He explains to her that the "Negro in the bathroom" is him. He initially believes this to be the result of spending too much time under the tanning machine. He spends almost the entire day at home, afraid to go out of the house, only going out once to venture into the "colored part of town" to buy lightening creams. His attempts to change his skin color fail.

The next day Althea persuades Jeff to go to work. As he runs through the neighborhood to catch the bus, the neighbors assume that he is a thief and panic until the Black bus driver vouches for him. During his lunch break, he visits his doctor who cannot explain Jeff's condition either. Jeff's boss suggests that they could drum up extra business with a "Negro" salesman and reassigns him to deal only with Black customers. Althea receives harassing phone calls all day demanding that Jeff move out. Although she loves Jeff, she struggles to cope with the situation.

At work the following day Erica, the office's German secretary, makes several advances. His doctor gives up and suggests that he might do better with a Black doctor. He tries to advise Black customer leads in earnest, but his boss is unsatisfied and insists that he use hard-sell tactics. He visits the employment office, where a counselor reviews his history and recommends him for a garbage dump job. Returning home, Jeff finds neighbors waiting. They offer him $50,000 to move out for the sake of their own property values, and he bids them up to $100,000.

Althea sends the children to live with her sister and later leaves her husband. Jeff sleeps with Erica but is repelled by her objectification of him afterward. He moves into an apartment and uses the money from the home sale to start his own insurance business. Finally accepting that he is a Black, he quits his usual exercise routine and takes up martial arts with a group of Black men.

Jeff ultimately accepts his new identity, resigns from his job, starts his own business, and finds solidarity with other Black menial workers.

The ending underscores Jeff’s transformation from clueless bigot to a man forced to confront the realities of racism firsthand. His new life is a blend of self-acceptance and community, highlighting how personal growth and compassion often come at a steep price. The film lands by refusing to offer easy closure, instead asking its audience to reckon with the consequences of systemic prejudice.